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Topic Review
Biological Therapies for Sjögren’s Syndrome
Sjögren's syndrome (SS) is a systemic autoimmune disorder affecting approximately 3% of the population in the United States. This disease has a female predilection and affects exocrine glands, including lacrimal and salivary glands. Dry eyes and dry mouths are the most common symptoms due to the loss of salivary and lacrimal gland function. Symptoms become more severe in secondary SS, where SS is present along with other autoimmune diseases like systemic lupus erythematosus, systemic sclerosis, or rheumatoid arthritis.
  • 1.3K
  • 17 Jan 2021
Topic Review
Oncomarkers in IPF Patients
This paper is a review of the literature on the clinical role of oncomarkers in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) progression, and a description of the routine oncomarker trend in IPF patients over the longest follow-up yet reported. This is the first meta-analysis to review the results of studies evaluating the predictive prognostic value of circulating oncomarkers (CEA, Ca15.3, Ca19.9, Ca125, and KL-6) for IPF. The study focused on the discovery of multiple biomarker signatures, such as combinations of oncomarkers, that are widely and routinely available in biochemistry laboratories.The combination of clinical parameters and biological markers could help achieve more accurate results regarding prognosis and response to treatment in IPF. Our results could pave the way for a more “personalized” medical approach to patients affected by IPF.
  • 1.3K
  • 04 Feb 2021
Topic Review
Dengue
Dengue fever is one of the most important viral infections transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes and a major cause of morbidity and mortality globally. 
  • 1.3K
  • 06 Aug 2021
Topic Review
A Telemedicine Approach to Covid-19
        COVID-19 is an RNA virus that has caused a pandemic leading to death and disability on a global scale. The virus gains entry into the cell using host protein angiotensin-converting enzyme-2 (ACE-2) receptor. The viral envelope fuses with the cell membrane through the endosomal pathway, allowing the viral particle to enter the host cell, where it can release its RNA and replicate. After an initial asymptomatic period, common presenting signs and symptoms of COVID-19 infection are non-specific and may include those of a common cold or influenza such as fever, dry cough, myalgia, headache and fatigue. Sore throat and nasal congestion may also be noted. Gastrointestinal and other symptoms may occur and loss of sense of taste and smell is a frequent early symptom that may distinguish COVID-19 from other respiratory infections. The virus is highly contagious and there is no cure. In order to avoid transmission, social distancing, mask wearing and reduced person-to-person interaction are key.  Definitive diagnosis is based on reverse-transcription PCR of nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal swab samples. The clinical spectrum of the disease ranges from mild to moderate or severe. In order to minimize spread of COVID-19 to both patients and healthcare workers, virtual evaluation of suspected cases is being widely implemented and has necessitated an adjustment to the new medium by all participants. The use of virtual technology for real-time telemedicine assessment for COVID-19 provisional diagnosis and categorization of severity allows patients to receive an appropriate level of care without endangering others. We created a protocol for implementing a remote visit using a computer or mobile device. This enables patient assessement without direct contact to determine the need to visit a healthcare facility or alternatively, to be managed at home. If stable, the patient can isolate and be monitored so that should their condition worsen, they can be directed to in-person care at a hospital. Vigilance in checking on the patient's condition is crucial because those who develop severe COVID-19 may not experience dyspnea and other signs of rapid deterioration until about 5-8 days after symptom onset.  
  • 1.3K
  • 04 Feb 2021
Topic Review
Cellular Mechanisms in Wounds after Photodynamic Therapy
Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a two-stage treatment that combines light energy with a photosensitizer designed to destroy cancerous and precancerous cells after light activation. Photosensitizers are activated by a specific wavelength of light energy, usually from a laser. The photosensitizer is nontoxic until it is activated by light. However, after light activation, the photosensitizer becomes toxic to the targeted tissue. Among sensitizers, the topical use of  5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA), a natural precursor of protoporphyrin IX, a precursor of the heme group, and a powerful photosensitizing agent, represents a turning point for PDT in the dermatological field, as it easily absorbable by the skin. Wound healing requires a complex interaction and coordination of different cells and molecules. Any alteration in these highly coordinated events can lead to either delayed or excessive healing.
  • 1.3K
  • 22 Jul 2022
Topic Review
Gut Microbiome and Liver Diseases
The important role of human gut microbiota in liver diseases has long been recognized as dysbiosis and the translocation of certain microbes from the gut to liver. With the development of high-throughput DNA sequencing, the complexity and integrity of the gut microbiome in the whole spectrum of liver diseases is emerging. Specific patterns of gut microbiota have been identified in liver diseases with different causes, including alcoholic, non-alcoholic, and virus induced liver diseases, or even at different stages, ranging from steatohepatitis, fibrosis, cirrhosis, to hepatocellular carcinoma. At the same time, the mechanism of how microbiota contributes to liver diseases goes beyond the traditional function of the gut–liver axis which could lead to liver injury and inflammation.
  • 1.3K
  • 11 May 2021
Topic Review
Urinary Tract Infections and Microbiota
Urinary tract infections (UTIs) belong among the most common bacterial infections. They comprise the contamination of the periurethral space by specific uropathogens residing in the gut, followed by urethral colonization and pathogen ascension to the urinary bladder. Studying the association between gut microbiota and subsequent development of bacteriuria and UTI is of great interest and importance. Nevertheless, with discovering a multifaceted, symbiotic microbiome in the healthy urogenital tract, the well-established diagnostic and therapeutic approaches for the urinary tract infections (UTIs) need to be re-assessed. Precisely, emerging data suggest that vaginal dysbiosis may result in Escherichia coli colonization and prompt recurrent UTIs. At the same time, urinary microbiome perturbations may precede UTIs' development and other pathologic conditions of the urinary system. Therefore, by the thoroughly assessment of specific gut, urinary tract, and genital tract microbiomes regarding their potential influence on UTI development, knowledge for the incidence reduction and new treatment approaches will be obtained.
  • 1.3K
  • 21 Jan 2021
Topic Review
Sepsis Physiopathology
Sepsis is a major health problem worldwide. It is a time-dependent disease, with a high rate of morbidity and mortality. In this sense, an early diagnosis is essential to reduce these rates.
  • 1.3K
  • 28 Jun 2021
Topic Review
TGF-β in Cancer
TGF-β is a well know cytokine and growth factor related to tumor growth and fibrosis in different kind of cancers such as lung, pancreas, colon cancer and hepatocellular carcinoma.
  • 1.3K
  • 25 Feb 2021
Topic Review
Management Strategies for COVID-19
The emergence of a novel human coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) causing severe contagious respiratory tract infections presents a serious threat to public health worldwide. Moreover, no specific antiviral agents are available against this disease known as COVID-19. Therefore, scientific, economic and social measurements are urgently needed for an effective pandemic containment. In the present work, we reviewed recent findings from literature about COVID-19 prophylaxis and management, which could provide a clear view and help readers to be aware of the current pandemic situation.
  • 1.3K
  • 27 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Ketogenic Dietary Therapies in Autism
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder with increasing incidence. An expanding body of literature is examining connections between ASD and dietary interventions. Existing reports suggest a beneficial effect of ketogenic dietary therapies (KDTs) in improving behavioral symptoms in ASD.
  • 1.3K
  • 07 Jul 2021
Topic Review
VWF, Platelets and Antiphospholipid Syndrome
The antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) is characterized by thrombosis and/or pregnancy morbidity with the persistent presence of antiphospholipid antibodies (aPLs). Laboratory criteria for the classification of APS include the detection of lupus anticoagulant (LAC), anti-cardiolipin (aCL) antibodies and anti-β2glycoprotein I (aβ2GPI) antibodies. Clinical criteria for the classification of thrombotic APS include venous and arterial thrombosis, along with microvascular thrombosis. Several aPLs, including LAC, aβ2GPI and anti-phosphatidylserine/prothrombin antibodies (aPS/PT) have been associated with arterial thrombosis. The Von Willebrand Factor (VWF) plays an important role in arterial thrombosis by mediating platelet adhesion and aggregation. Studies have shown that aPLs antibodies present in APS patients are able to increase the risk of arterial thrombosis by upregulating the plasma levels of active VWF and by promoting platelet activation. Inflammatory reactions induced by APS may also provide a suitable condition for arterial thrombosis, mostly ischemic stroke and myocardial infarction.
  • 1.3K
  • 05 May 2021
Topic Review
Down Syndrome
Down Syndrome (DS) (OMIM#190685, Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man®, An Online Catalog of Human Genes and Genetic Disorders) is a genetic disorder caused by a trisomy of chromosome 21 and is the most common genetic cause of intellectual disability (ID).
  • 1.3K
  • 05 Nov 2020
Topic Review
RSU1 in Tumor Tissues
Cancer is a multifactorial disease responsible for millions of deaths worldwide. It has a strong genetic background, as mutations in oncogenes or tumor suppressor genes contribute to the initiation of cancer development. Integrin signaling as well as the signaling pathway of Ras oncogene, have been long implicated both in carcinogenesis and disease progression. Moreover, they have been involved in the promotion of metastasis, which accounts for the majority of cancer-related deaths. Ras Suppressor-1 (RSU1) was identified as a suppressor of Ras-induced transformation and was shown to localize to cell-extracellular matrix adhesions. Recent findings indicate that its expression is elevated in various cancer types, while its role in regulating metastasis-related cellular processes remains largely unknown. Interestingly, there is no in vivo work in the field to date, and thus, all relevant knowledge stems from in vitro studies.
  • 1.3K
  • 27 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Portal Vein Thrombosis
The purpose of our study was to examine the prevalence of inherited and acquired thrombophilia in cirrhotic non-malignant portal vein thrombosis (PVT) at our center. As secondary aims we explored the influence of these disorders on the clinical presentation of PVT and response to anticoagulation. 
  • 1.3K
  • 12 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Central Vein Sign in MS
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the most important paraclinical support in multiple sclerosis (MS) diagnostic work-up. Still, its specificity using conventional sequences is limited as the cerebral white matter (WM) findings in patients with different morbidities may be mistakenly interpreted as MS lesions. Therefore, more MS-specific MRI criteria to rule out disorders are needed. The central vein sign (CVS) has been proposed as an MS imaging biomarker to differentiate MS from MS-radiological mimicking disorders, implementing susceptibility-based MRI sequences. In this study, we aim to systematically review the proportion of MS  lesions which show the CVS and estimate the performance diagnostic value in discriminating MS from its common radiological differential diagnosis. Also, we investigate the impact of using different magnetic field strengths, specific sequences and post-processing techniques.
  • 1.3K
  • 10 Dec 2020
Topic Review
Muscle Proteolysis and Autophagy
Several pathophysiological mechanisms such as oxidative stress, systemic inflammation, increased proteolysis, autophagy and apoptosis, and signaling pathways were shown to be involved in the process of muscle mass loss in limb muscles of cachectic patients with chronic conditions and in animal models. Whether prolonged periods of immobilization may impair to a greater extent the muscle mass loss and dysfunction elicited by cancer-induced cachexia needs to be further investigated. Investigation of to what extent each particular condition: either cancer cachexia or prolonged immobilization contributes to the wasting process of muscle mass also remains to be clarified. 
  • 1.3K
  • 10 Nov 2020
Topic Review
HMGB1
Aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) is a complex and potentially deadly disease. Despite successful obliteration of aneurysm from the circulation, the clinical outcome of aSAH patients is often poor. The reasons for poor outcomes are numerous, including cerebral vasospasm (CVS), post-hemorrhagic hydrocephalus, systemic infections and delayed cerebral ischemia. Although CVS with subsequent cerebral ischemia is one of the main contributors to brain damage after aSAH, little is known about the underlying molecular mechanisms of brain damage. Damaged central nervous system cells release damage-associated molecular pattern molecules (DAMPs) that are important for initiating, driving and sustaining the inflammatory response following an aSAH. The evidence suggested that HMGB1contributes to brain damage during early brain injury and also to the development of CVS during the late phase. Different pharmacological interventions employing natural compounds with HMGB1-antagonizing activity, antibody targeting of HMGB1 or scavenging HMGB1 by soluble receptors for advanced glycation end products (sRAGE), have been shown to dampen the inflammation mediated brain damage and protect against CVS. The experimental data suggest that HMGB1 inhibition is a promising strategy to reduce aSAH-related brain damage and CVS. Clinical studies are needed to validate these findings that may lead to the development of potential treatment options that are much needed in aSAH.
  • 1.3K
  • 28 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Diabetic Polyneuropathy
Diabetic polyneuropathy (DPN) is the most common neuropathy manifested in diabetes. Symptoms include allodynia, pain, paralysis, and ulcer formation. No radical treatment has not been established.
  • 1.3K
  • 04 Jan 2021
Topic Review
Nuclear Src
Src is the representative member of the Src-family kinases (SFK), a group of tyrosine kinases involved in several cellular processes. Its main function has been for long confined to the plasma membrane/cytoplasm compartment, being a myristoylated protein anchored to the cell membrane and functioning downstream to receptors, most of them lacking intrinsic kinase activity. In the last decades, new roles for some SFKs have been described in the nuclear compartment, suggesting that these proteins can also be involved in directly regulating gene transcription or nucleoskeleton architecture. In this review, we focused on those nuclear functions specifically attributable to Src, by considering its function as both tyrosine kinase and adapting molecule. In particular, we addressed the Src involvement in physiological as well as in pathological conditions, especially in tumors.
  • 1.3K
  • 29 Oct 2020
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