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Topic Review
Artificial Intelligence in Combating Antimicrobial Resistance
Artificial intelligence (AI) is a branch of science and engineering that focuses on the computational understanding of intelligent behavior. Many human professions, including clinical diagnosis and prognosis, are greatly useful from AI. The rising incidence of antimicrobial resistance has become a significant issue, and authorities must take measures to combat the overuse and incorrect use of antibiotics in order to combat rising resistance rates. When it comes to infectious diseases, AI has the potential to be a game-changer in the battle against antibiotic resistance. 
  • 1.1K
  • 30 Jun 2022
Topic Review
Sinks and Bacterial Healthcare-Associated Infections in ICU
Sink drains in hospitals have long been known to harbor an abundant microbiota comprising up to 103–105 CFU/mL Gram-negative rods, especially waterborne bacteria. intensive care unit (ICU) sink/sink drains can be contaminated by MDR bacteria originating from patients. These reservoirs can in turn be a source of contamination of other ICU patients. Studies have used molecular biology techniques to ascertain whether bacterial clones causing such heathcare-associated infections can indeed come from contaminated sinks.
  • 1.1K
  • 15 Jun 2022
Topic Review
Marine Antiviral Peptides
The marine environment presents a favorable avenue for potential therapeutic agents as a reservoir of new bioactive natural products. Due to their numerous potential pharmacological effects, marine-derived natural products—particularly marine peptides—have gained considerable attention. These peptides have shown a broad spectrum of biological functions, such as antimicrobial, antiviral, cytotoxic, immunomodulatory, and analgesic effects. The emergence of new virus strains and viral resistance leads to continuing efforts to develop more effective antiviral drugs.
  • 1.1K
  • 26 Apr 2022
Topic Review
Canine Leishmaniasis
During canine leishmaniasis (CanL) due to Leishmania infantum (L. infantum), uncontrolled infection leads to a strong humoral immune response. As a consequence of the production of high antibody levels and the prolonged presence of parasite antigens, circulating immune complexes (CIC) are formed, which can be deposited in certain organs and tissues, inducing vasculitis, uveitis, dermatitis and especially glomerulonephritis and renal failure. A method to detect CIC, and quantify their levels in serum samples from dogs infected with L. infantum has been recently described. It allowed to demonstrate a correlation between CIC levels and disease severity. Thus, CIC measurement may be useful for diagnosis, assessment of disease progression and for monitoring response to treatment. This is an interesting finding, considering that there remains an urgent need for identification of novel biomarkers to achieve a correct diagnosis and for optimal disease staging of dogs suffering from Leishmania infection.
  • 1.1K
  • 24 May 2021
Topic Review
Hydatid Cyst Chemotherapy by Nanotechnology
Hydatid cysts have been widely recognized for decades as a common medical problem that affects millions of people. A revolution in medical treatment may be on the prospect of nanotechnology enhancing chemotherapy against hydatid cysts.
  • 1.1K
  • 17 Nov 2023
Topic Review
Adrenomedullin and COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic is still in progress, and a significant number of patients have presented with severe illness. Recently introduced vaccines, antiviral medicines, and antibody formulations can suppress COVID-19 symptoms and decrease the number of patients exhibiting severe disease. However, complete avoidance of severe COVID-19 has not been achieved and there are insufficient methods to treat it. Adrenomedullin (AM) is an endogenous peptide that maintains vascular tone and endothelial barrier function. The AM plasma level is markedly increased during severe inflammatory disorders, such as sepsis, pneumonia, and COVID-19, and associated with its prognosis. Exogenous AM administration reduced inflammation and related organ damage in rodent models. The results strongly suggest that AM could be an alternative therapy for COVID-19. Researchers are currently conducting an investigator-initiated phase 2a trial for moderate to severe COVID-19 using AM.
  • 1.1K
  • 07 Mar 2022
Topic Review
Novel Strategies to Combat Antimicrobial Resistance
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is one of the most important global public health problems. The imprudent use of antibiotics in humans and animals has resulted in the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The dissemination of these strains and their resistant determinants could endanger antibiotic efficacy. Therefore, there is an urgent need to identify and develop novel strategies to combat antibiotic resistance. 
  • 1.1K
  • 20 Feb 2023
Topic Review
Nanotechnology Platform for Advancing Vaccine Development Against COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on societies, public health, healthcare systems, and the world economy. Vaccination emerged as the most effective strategy to combat this infectious disease. For vaccination strategies, any conventional vaccine approach using attenuated live or inactivated/engineered virus, as well as other approaches, typically requires years of research and assessment. However, the urgency of the situation promoted a faster and more effective approach to vaccine development against COVID-19. The role of nanotechnology in designing, manufacturing, boosting, and delivering vaccines to the host to counter this virus was unquestionably valued and assessed.
  • 1.1K
  • 26 Dec 2023
Topic Review
Nanotechnology in Viral Respiratory Infections
Viral-associated respiratory infectious diseases are one of the most prominent subsets of respiratory failures, known as viral respiratory infections (VRI). VRIs are proceeded by an infection caused by viruses infecting the respiratory system. Due to their specific physical and biological properties, nanoparticles hold promising opportunities for both anti-viral treatments and vaccines against viral infections.
  • 1.1K
  • 05 Aug 2021
Topic Review
Dipeptidyl Peptidase-4 (DPP4) on COVID-19 Physiopathology
DPP4/CD26 is a single-pass transmembrane protein with multiple functions on glycemic control, cell migration and proliferation, and the immune system, among others. It has acquired an especial relevance due to the possibility to act as a receptor or co-receptor for SARS-CoV-2, as it has been already demonstrated for other coronaviruses. The broad spectrum of functions regulated by DPP4 is performed both as a protease enzyme, as well as an interacting partner of other molecules on the cell surface. 
  • 1.1K
  • 07 Sep 2022
Topic Review
Ampicillin Plus Ceftriaxone Regimen against Enterococcus faecalis Endocarditis
Enterococcus faecalis infective endocarditis (EFIE) continues to represent a potentially fatal infectious disease characterized by elevated morbidity and mortality. Despite advances in antimicrobial therapy, changing demographics and the reduced availability of useful antibiotics combined with the dissemination of multi-drug resistant strains, the mortality rate remained unchanged in the last decades. Nowadays, optimizing the antibiotic regimen is still of paramount importance.
  • 1.1K
  • 15 Oct 2021
Topic Review
Intranasal Live Attenuated Influenza Vaccine
Although influenza is a major public health concern, little is known about the use of spray live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV) among adults. For this reason, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to investigate the efficacy and safety of LAIV, especially in adults with/without clinical conditions and children <2 years, with the final aim of possibly extending the clinical indications. PubMed/MEDLINE and Scopus were the two databases consulted through February 2021. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines were followed. A critical appraisal was conducted. Analyses were performed by using ProMeta3 software. Twenty-two studies were included, showing that LAIV was associated with a higher probability of seroconversion when compared with a placebo and considering the A/H1N1 serotype (pooled OR = 2.26 (95% CI = 1.12–4.54), p-value = 0.022; based on 488 participants, without heterogeneity (I2 = 0.0%)). The meta-analysis also confirmed no significant association with systemic adverse events. Only rhinorrhea, nasal congestion, and sore throat were significantly associated with LAIV compared to the placebo. Despite the limited available evidence, LAIV has proved to be a safe and effective flu vaccination, also due to its very low invasiveness, and our review’s results can be considered a starting point for guiding future research and shaping forthcoming vaccination campaigns. 
  • 1.1K
  • 22 Sep 2021
Topic Review
Antiseptic Agents for Chronic Wounds
Chronic wounds are wounds failing to proceed through the normal phases of healing in an orderly and timely manner. The definition of time without complete or partial healing differs across countries, ranging from 4 weeks to 3 months. In many parts of the world, antiseptic agents remain non-indicated in chronic wound care. In the current context of bacterial resistance to antibiotics and the development of new-generation antiseptic agents, wound antisepsis represents an asset for the prevention of wound infection.
  • 1.1K
  • 28 Mar 2022
Topic Review
Aspergillus sp. and Calcineurin Pathway
Aspergillus species, especially A. fumigatus, and to a lesser extent others (A. flavus, A. niger, A. terreus), although rarely pathogenic to healthy humans, can be very aggressive to immunocompromised patients (they are opportunistic pathogens). Calcineurin is a serine/threonine phosphatase activated by elevated concentrations of calcium, which connects upstream calcium signaling pathways to downstream protein signaling through changes in phosphorylation states.
  • 1.1K
  • 27 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Treatment Advances in Sepsis and Septic Shock
Sepsis is defined as a life-threatening organ dysfunction caused by a dysregulated host response to infection, and it affects over 25 million people every year. Even more severe, septic shock is a subset of sepsis defined by persistent hypotension, and hospital mortality rates are higher than 40%. As new pathophysiological mechanisms have been uncovered, immunostimulatory therapy has emerged as a promising path forward. Highly investigated treatment strategies include cytokines and growth factors, immune checkpoint inhibitors, and even cellular therapies.
  • 1.1K
  • 04 May 2023
Topic Review
COVID-19 and Rheumatoid Arthritis Crosstalk
COVID-19 and RA share similar immune-inflammatory features of disease pathogenesis executed by analogous mechanistic pathways. However, the treatment of RA patients in the COVID-19 setting itself stands as a challenging task. Implementation of individualized clinical surveillance of RA patients considering the disease severity and appropriate risk-benefit study referring to the recommendations of using anti-rheumatic drugs in the COVID-19 setting by different professional rheumatology associations would stand as the optimal therapeutic strategy for effective disease control during the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • 1.1K
  • 02 Dec 2021
Topic Review
Membrane Efflux Pumps of Pathogenic Vibrio Species
Infectious diseases caused by bacterial species of the Vibrio genus have had considerable significance upon human health for centuries. V. cholerae is the causative microbial agent of cholera, a severe ailment characterized by profuse watery diarrhea, a condition associated with epidemics, and seven great historical pandemics. V. parahaemolyticus causes wound infection and watery diarrhea, while V. vulnificus can cause wound infections and septicemia. Species of the Vibrio genus with resistance to multiple antimicrobials have been a significant health concern for several decades. Mechanisms of antimicrobial resistance machinery in Vibrio spp. include biofilm formation, drug inactivation, target protection, antimicrobial permeability reduction, and active antimicrobial efflux. Integral membrane-bound active antimicrobial efflux pump systems include primary and secondary transporters, members of which belong to closely related protein superfamilies. The RND (resistance-nodulation-division) pumps, the MFS (major facilitator superfamily) transporters, and the ABC superfamily of efflux pumps constitute significant drug transporters for investigation.
  • 1.1K
  • 11 Mar 2022
Topic Review
HBV Reactivation in Hemato-Oncologic Patients with COVID-19
Onco-hematologic patients are highly susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection and, once infected, frequently develop COVID-19 due to the immunosuppression caused by tumor growth, chemotherapy and immunosuppressive therapy. In addition, COVID-19 has also been recognized as a further cause of hepatitis B virus (HBV) reactivation, since its treatment includes the administration of corticosteroids and some immunosuppressive drugs.
  • 1.1K
  • 27 May 2022
Topic Review
Epigenetic-Mediated Antimicrobial Resistance
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) mechanisms include the horizontal and vertical transfer of resistance genes, gene mutations affecting antibiotic targets, drug influx/efflux strategies, or antibiotic inactivation. Among the common and severely affecting pathogens attributed to AMR development include Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Helicobacter pylori, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, but there are many more.
  • 1.1K
  • 23 Jun 2022
Topic Review
Cytoskeleton during Late Steps of HIV-1 Life Cycle
HIV-1 has evolved a plethora of strategies to overcome the cytoskeletal barrier (i.e., actin and intermediate filaments (AFs and IFs) and microtubules (MTs)) to achieve the viral cycle. HIV-1 modifies cytoskeletal organization and dynamics by acting on associated adaptors and molecular motors to productively fuse, enter, and infect cells and then traffic to the cell surface, where virions assemble and are released to spread infection. The HIV-1 envelope (Env) initiates the cycle by binding to and signaling through its main cell surface receptors (CD4/CCR5/CXCR4) to shape the cytoskeleton for fusion pore formation, which permits viral core entry. Then, the HIV-1 capsid is transported to the nucleus associated with cytoskeleton tracks under the control of specific adaptors/molecular motors, as well as HIV-1 accessory proteins. Furthermore, HIV-1 drives the late stages of the viral cycle by regulating cytoskeleton dynamics to assure viral Pr55Gag expression and transport to the cell surface, where it assembles and buds to mature infectious virions. 
  • 1.1K
  • 04 Sep 2023
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