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Topic Review
Cystic Fibrosis and Oxidative Stress
Cystic fibrosis (CF) is still today the most common lethal genetic disease with autosomal recessive inheritance in the Caucasian population, with a prevalence of 1 case per 2500 live births. The disease is caused by a mutation in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene that causes the CFTR protein to become dysfunctional. When the protein is not working correctly, there is reduced transport of chloride ions with consequent dysregulation of epithelial lining fluid (mucus) transport in the lung, pancreas and other organs. Oxidative stress is a complex process in which excess reactive oxygen species (ROS) affect, either directly or indirectly, all structural and functional components of cells at a molecular level. This arises because the production of these chemical species is increased and/or because the physiological defense capacity towards them, thanks to the antioxidant system, is reduced. 
  • 784
  • 06 Sep 2022
Topic Review
Yellow Fever Vaccination
Yellow fever (YF) remains a threat to global health, with an increasing number of major outbreaks in the tropical areas of the world over the recent past. In light of this, the Eliminate Yellow Fever Epidemics Strategy was established with the aim of protecting one billion people at risk of YF through vaccination by the year 2026. The current YF vaccine gives excellent protection, but its use is limited by shortages in supply due to the difficulties in producing the vaccine. There are good grounds for believing that alternative fractional dosing regimens can produce strong protection and overcome the problem of supply shortages as less vaccine is required per person. However, immune responses to these vaccination approaches are yet to be fully understood. In addition, published data on immune responses following YF vaccination have mostly quantified neutralising antibody titers. However, vaccine-induced antibodies can confer immunity through other antibody effector functions beyond neutralisation, and an effective vaccine is also likely to induce strong and persistent memory T cell responses.
  • 781
  • 30 Jun 2021
Topic Review
Acupressure for Managing Osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis (OA) is a common joint disease, which is linked to joint degeneration, loss of cartilage, and alterations of the subchondral bone, and mainly affects the hands, knees, and hips. OA is a highly predominant health condition, which has affected over 260 million people worldwide, and it is becoming even more common due to the combined effects of aging and obesity. OA is even more problematic as it is associated with pain, disability, and personal and economic burden. This review aims to evaluate the effectiveness of acupressure as a treatment method for osteoarthritis. 
  • 776
  • 18 May 2021
Topic Review
PSTS-h
Primary malignant cardiac tumors are rare, with a prevalence of about 0.01% among all cancer histotypes. At least 60% of them are primary soft tissue sarcomas of the heart (pSTS-h) that represent almost 1% of all STSs. The cardiac site of origin is the best way to classify pSTS-h as it is directly linked to the surgical approach for cancer removal. Indeed, histological differentiation should integrate the classification to provide insights into prognosis and survival expectancy of the patients. The prognosis of pSTS-h is severe and mostly influenced by the primary localization of the tumor, the difficulty in achieving complete surgical and pharmacological eradication, and the aggressive biological features of malignant cells.
  • 776
  • 05 Jul 2021
Topic Review
Primary Membranous Glomerulonephritis
The detection of phospholipase A2 receptor (PLA2R) and thrombospondin domain containing 7A THSD7A among primary membranous glomerulonephritis (MGN) patients transformed the diagnosis, treatment monitoring, and prognosis. Anti-PLA2R can be detected in 70–90% of primary MGN patients while anti-THSD7A in 2–3% of anti-PLA2R negative primary MGN patients depending on the technique used. Serum and urine samples are less invasive and non-invasive, respectively, and thus can detect the presence of anti-PLA2R and anti-THSD7A with higher sensitivity and specificity, which is significant in patient monitoring and prognosis. It is better than exposing patients to a frequent biopsy, which is an invasive procedure. Different techniques of detection of PLA2R and THSD7A in patients’ urine and sera were reviewed to provide newer and alternative techniques. We proposed the use of biomarkers (PLA2R and THSD7A) in the diagnosis, treatment decision, and follow-up of patients with primary MGN.
  • 776
  • 08 Jul 2021
Topic Review
Altered Pathways in Fabry Disease
Fabry disease is a rare X-linked disease characterized by deficient expression and activity of alpha-galactosidase A (α-GalA) with consequent lysosomal accumulation of glycosphingolipid in various organs. Enzyme replacement therapy is the cornerstone of the treatment of all Fabry patients, although in the long-term it fails to completely halt the disease’s progression. This suggests on one hand that the adverse outcomes cannot be justified only by the lysosomal accumulation of glycosphingolipids and on the other that additional therapies targeted at specific secondary mechanisms might contribute to halt the progression of cardiac, cerebrovascular, and renal disease that occur in Fabry patients. 
  • 776
  • 15 Mar 2023
Topic Review
Acute Hepatic Porphyrias
Porphyrias are a group of congenital and acquired diseases caused by an enzymatic impairment in the biosynthesis of heme. Depending on the specific enzyme involved, different types of porphyrias (i.e., chronic vs. acute, cutaneous vs. neurovisceral, hepatic vs. erythropoietic) are described, with different clinical presentations. Acute hepatic porphyrias (AHPs) are characterized by life-threatening acute neuro-visceral crises (acute porphyric attacks, APAs), featuring a wide range of neuropathic (central, peripheral, autonomic) manifestations.
  • 775
  • 19 Jan 2022
Topic Review
Radioiodine-Refractory Thyroid Cancer
Recurrent, metastatic disease represents the most frequent cause of death for patients with thyroid cancer, and radioactive iodine (RAI) remains a mainstay of therapy for these patients. Unfortunately, many thyroid cancer patients have tumors that no longer trap iodine, and hence are refractory to RAI, heralding a poor prognosis. RAI-refractory (RAI-R) cancer cells result from the loss of thyroid differentiation features, such as iodide uptake and organification. This loss of differentiation features correlates with the degree of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) activation, which is higher in tumors with BRAF (B-Raf proto-oncogene) mutations than in those with RTK (receptor tyrosine kinase) or RAS (rat sarcoma) mutations. Hence, inhibition of the mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase-1 and -2 (MEK-1 and -2) downstream of RAF (rapidly accelerated fibrosarcoma) could sensitize RAI refractivity in thyroid cancer. However, a significant hurdle is the development of secondary tumor resistance (escape mechanisms) to these drugs through upregulation of tyrosine kinase receptors or another alternative signaling pathway. The sodium iodide symporter (NIS) is a plasma membrane glycoprotein, a member of solute carrier family 5A (SLC5A5), located on the basolateral surfaces of the thyroid follicular epithelial cells, which mediates active iodide transport into thyroid follicular cells. 
  • 774
  • 22 Oct 2021
Topic Review
Surgically Resectable NSCLC
Early-stage NSCLC (stages I and II, and some IIIA diseases) accounts for approximately 30% of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cases, with surgery being its main treatment modality. The risk of disease recurrence and cancer-related death, however, remains high among NSCLC patients after complete surgical resection. In previous studies on the long-term follow-up of post-operative NSCLC, the results showed that the five-year survival rate was about 65% for stage IB and about 35% for stage IIIA diseases. Platinum-based chemotherapy with or without radiation therapy has been used as a neoadjuvant therapy or post-operative adjuvant therapy in NSCLC, but the improvement of survival is limited. Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have effectively improved the 5-year survival of advanced NSCLC patients. Cancer vaccination has also been explored and used in the prevention of cancer or reducing disease recurrence in resected NSCLC.
  • 771
  • 07 Jul 2021
Topic Review
Novel Oral Anticoagulants
The use of novel oral anticoagulants in patients with impaired renal function or undergoing immunosuppressive therapy is limited due to the risk of drug-to-drug interactions and anticoagulation-related adverse events. Novel oral anticoagulants (NOACs) have been commonly used in patients facing a higher risk of cardiovascular (CV) incidents such as atrial fibrillation (AF) and venous thrombo-embolic events (VTE), successfully decreasing numbers of CV incidents in the general population. The probability of those incidents increases in specific groups of patients, including those with chronic kidney disease (CKD) where the risk of developing AF averages between 19–24%, reaching up to 27% in patients with end-stage kidney disease (ESKD).
  • 771
  • 04 Jul 2022
Topic Review
Possible Evolutionary Origin of Alzheimer’s Disease
The enormous, 2–3-million-year evolutionary expansion of hominin neocortices to the current enormity enabled humans to take over the planet. However, there appears to have been a glitch, and it occurred without a compensatory expansion of the entorhinal cortical (EC) gateway to the hippocampal memory-encoding system needed to manage the processing of the increasing volume of neocortical data converging on it. The resulting age-dependent connectopathic glitch was unnoticed by the early short-lived populations. It has now surfaced as Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in today’s long-lived populations. With advancing age, processing of the converging neocortical data by the neurons of the relatively small lateral entorhinal cortex (LEC) inflicts persistent strain and high energy costs on these cells. This may result in their hyper-release of harmless Aβ1–42 monomers into the interstitial fluid, where they seed the formation of toxic amyloid-β oligomers (AβOs) that initiate AD. At the core of connectopathic AD are the postsynaptic cellular prion protein (PrPC). Electrostatic binding of the negatively charged AβOs to the positively charged N-terminus of PrPC induces hyperphosphorylation of tau that destroys synapses. The spread of these accumulating AβOs from ground zero is supported by Aβ’s own production mediated by target cells’ Ca2+-sensing receptors (CaSRs).
  • 771
  • 05 Jul 2023
Topic Review
Sleep Disorders and Diabetic Foot
Diabetic foot is associated with a low quality of life since physical disabilities, mood disturbances and psychological disorders are frequent. One of the most important biological processes to ensure quality of life is sleep. Sleep disorders can impair glycemic control in patients with diabetes mellitus or even cause long-term type 2 diabetes mellitus. 
  • 770
  • 05 Jul 2021
Topic Review
Insulin and Transcriptional Regulation of Lipid Metabolism
There is a wide variety of kinds of lipids, and complex structures which determine the diversity and complexity of their functions. With the basic characteristic of water insolubility, lipid molecules are independent of the genetic information composed by genes to proteins, which determine the particularity of lipids in the human body, with water as the basic environment and genes to proteins as the genetic system. After the well-studied PI3K-AKT pathway, insulin affects fat synthesis by controlling the activity and production of various transcription factors.
  • 769
  • 31 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Endoscopic Papillary Abnormalities and EPSR
The increasing efficiency of the different lasers and the improved performance of endoscopic devices have led to smaller stone fragments that impact the accuracy of microscopic evaluation (morphological and infrared). Before the stone destruction, the urologist has the opportunity to analyze the stone and the papillary abnormalities endoscopically (endoscopic papillary recognition (EPR) and endoscopic stone recognition (ESR)). Our objective was to evaluate the value for those endoscopic descriptions.
  • 766
  • 10 Aug 2021
Topic Review
Differential Diagnosis of Sensory and Cognitive Malingering
Malingering relates to intentionally pretending or exaggerating physical or psychologic symptoms to gain an external incentive, such as avoiding work, law prosecution or military service, or seeking financial compensation from insurance companies. Accordingly, various techniques have been developed in recent years by the scientific community to address this challenge.
  • 758
  • 31 Jul 2023
Topic Review
Adipose Tissue and Physical Exercise
The study of adipose tissue has received considerable attention due to its importance not just in maintaining body energy homeostasis but also in playing a role in a number of other physiological processes. Beyond storing energy, adipose tissue is important in endocrine, immunological, and neuromodulatory functions, secreting hormones that participate in the regulation of energy homeostasis.
  • 754
  • 20 Dec 2023
Topic Review
Neuro-Inflammaging and Psychopatological Distress
Inflammaging is a low degree of chronic and systemic tissue inflammation associated with aging, and is intimately linked to pro-inflammatory mediators. These substances are involved in the pathogenesis of chronic inflammatory diseases and related psychopathological symptoms. Aging and inflammation have been defined in their interplay since the 1991 New York Academy of Sciences conference by a group of researchers. It ihas been suggested that  biological, chemical, and physics damage led to a chronic inflammatory process. The link between the molecular and cellular balance capable of permitting a physiological healthy aging or a cognitive impairment is still unclear. The innate immune system plays a crucial role in the inflammatory processes, usually reduced at advanced ages. In the elderly, senescent microglia augment the production of proinflammatory mediators with reduced chemotaxis and phagocytosis capacities, particularly of amyloid-β fibrils. The raised systemic inflammatory state and peripheral immunosenescence interfere with neuronal immune cell activity and reactivity.
  • 751
  • 28 Jun 2023
Topic Review Peer Reviewed
Diabetic Kidney Disease: Goals for Management, Prevention, and Awareness
Diabetic kidney disease (DKD), which is diagnosed on the basis of reduced glomerular filtration rate (GFR), increased albuminuria, or both, is the leading cause of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and end-stage renal disease (ESRD) worldwide. Future projections anticipate a significant increase in diabetes cases, with close to 700 million diabetes patients internationally by the year 2045. Amidst ongoing research into novel biomarkers and therapeutic agents for DKD, the current clinical preventative strategy for DKD involves (1) intensive glycemic control, (2) treatment of associated co-morbidities (hypertension and hyperlipidemia), and (3) instruction on lifestyle modifications, including smoking cessation, exercise, and dietary habits. In addition to these three categories, patient education on renal injury, a fourth category, is equally important and necessary in the collaborative effort to reduce global rates of DKD. In this entry, authors highlight and discuss these four core categories for DKD prevention.
  • 749
  • 28 Sep 2023
Topic Review
Etiopathogenic Factors for Obesity
Obesity is an abnormal or excessive accumulation of fat that represents a health risk, and it is characterized by reaching a body mass index (BMI) equal to or greater than 30 kg/m2. Obesity is a chronic disease of multifactorial etiology that involves an energy imbalance, genetic and epigenetic factors, alterations in glucose and lipid metabolism, disorders of adipose tissue functioning, neuroendocrine dysregulation, and alterations in the intestinal microbiota, among others.
  • 749
  • 05 Mar 2024
Topic Review
Genomics of Endometriosis
Endometriosis is a gynecologic disease affecting women of reproductive age. Its precise prevalence is in fact unknown, but classically estimated at around 10%. It is characterized by two major clinical manifestations: pain and infertility.
  • 747
  • 21 Jul 2021
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