Topic Review
IPF
In idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), several factors may have a negative impact on the nutritional status, including an increased respiratory muscles load, release of inflammation mediators, the coexistence of hypoxemia, and physical inactivity. Nutritional abnormalities also have an impact on IPF clinical outcomes. Given the relevance of nutritional status in IPF patients, we sought to focus on some critical issues, highlighting what is known and what should be further learned about these issues. We revised scientific literature published between 1995 and August 2019 by searching on Medline/PubMed and EMBASE databases including observational and interventional studies. We conducted a narrative review on nutritional assessment in IPF, underlining the importance of nutritional evaluation not only in the diagnostic process, but also during follow-up. We also highlighted the need to keep a high level of attention on cardiovascular comorbidities. We also focused on current clinical treatment in IPF with Nintedanib and Pirfenidone and management of gastrointestinal adverse events, such as diarrhea, induced by these antifibrotic drugs. Finally, we concentrated on the importance of pulmonary rehabilitation program, including nutritional assessment, education and behavioral change, and psychological support among its essential components. More attention should be devoted to the assessment of the undernutrition and overnutrition, as well as of muscle strength and physical performance in IPF patients, taking also into account that an adequate clinical management of gastrointestinal complications makes IPF drug treatments more feasible. 
  • 979
  • 30 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Bacterial Phospholipase ExoU
The opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa employs the type III secretion system (T3SS) and four effector proteins, ExoS, ExoT, ExoU, and ExoY, to disrupt cellular physiology and subvert the host's innate immune response. Of the effector proteins delivered by the T3SS, ExoU is the most toxic. In P. aeruginosa infections, where the ExoU gene is expressed, disease severity is increased with poorer prognoses. This is considered to be due to the rapid and irreversible damage exerted by the phospholipase activity of ExoU, which cannot be halted before conventional antibiotics can successfully eliminate the pathogen. Here we explore what is currently known about ExoU and its potential as a therapeutic target, highlighting some of the small molecule ExoU inhibitors that have been discovered from screening approaches.
  • 979
  • 23 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Algae and Fungi: use in Pre-Hispanic Mexico
The use of microorganisms in Mexico began before the Spanish conquest. Grains and fruit were fermented for thousands of years around the world, and Mexico was no exception. Many beverages are still prepared nowadays using an assortment of different microorganisms. These beverages use several yeasts, including Saccharomyces and non-Saccharomyces species. Although not conclusive, it has been suggested (and strong evidence points towards it) that pre-Hispanic cultures not only fermented beverages, but also distilled them.
  • 979
  • 13 Dec 2021
Topic Review
Inappropriate Secretion of Thyroid-Stimulating Hormone
The term “inappropriate secretion of thyroid-stimulating hormone; IST” was proposed by Gershengorn and Weintraub in 1975. In a subsequent report, IST was described as a condition characterized by elevated serum levels of immunoreactive thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) in the presence of elevated free thyroid hormone concentrations. Similarly, the term "syndrome of IST (SITSH)" is widely used in Japan to refer to a closely related condition; however, unlike that for IST, an elevated serum free triiodothyronine concentration is not a requisite criterion for SITSH diagnosis. IST or SITSH is an important indicator of resistance to thyroid hormone β (RTHβ) caused by germline mutations in genes encoding thyroid hormone receptor β (TRβ) and TSH-secreting pituitary adenoma.
  • 978
  • 12 Aug 2021
Topic Review
ANO1 in Cystic Fibrosis
Cystic fibrosis (CF) is the most common of rare hereditary diseases in Caucasians, and it is estimated to affect 75,000 patients globally. CF is a complex disease due to the multiplicity of mutations found in the CF transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene causing the CFTR protein to become dysfunctional. Although CFTR is the main chloride channel in the lungs, others could, e.g., anoctamin-1 (ANO1 or TMEM16A), compensate for the deficiency of CFTR. 
  • 978
  • 26 Oct 2021
Biography
Fernando Holiday
Fernando Silva Bispo, better known as Fernando Holiday (September 22, 1996) is a Brazilian politician affiliated with Democratas (DEM) and councilor of the city of São Paulo.[1] He was elected with 48,055 votes in the 2016 elections,[2] and became the first openly gay councilor.[3] He is the national coordinator of the Free Brazil Movement (MBL) and a law student.[4][5] Holiday became known fo
  • 977
  • 07 Dec 2022
Topic Review
Scleroderma
Vitamin D status has been linked to immune system and autoimmune disorders; in fact, low levels of vitamin D are common in many autoimmune disorders. The aims of our study were to assess the prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency and the possible correlation with clinical parameters in systemic sclerosis (SSc). We recruited 40 patients (38 female and two male) with scleroderma and 40 healthy controls matched for age and gender. Demographic and clinical parameters were recorded and the 25-hydroxivitamin D3 serum levels were measured. Serum 25-hydroxivitamin D3 levels were significantly lower in patients with systemic sclerosis than in the control group. The prevalence of 25-hydroxivitamin D3 insufficiency was 50% in the patients and 22.5% in the control group. A statistically significant association was observed between the insufficiency of 25-hydroxivitamin D3 and skin involvement (p = 0.02) and echocardiography systolic pulmonary artery pressure >35 mmHg (p = 0.02). Our data show that the systemic sclerosis group has significantly lower serum 25-hydroxivitamin D3 concentrations compared to the control group; skin involvement and pulmonary hypertension are associated with vitamin D3 insufficiency.
  • 977
  • 01 Nov 2020
Topic Review
Double-Stranded Break Repair
In mammalian cells, double-strand breaks (DSBs) are repaired predominantly by error-prone non-homologous end joining (NHEJ), but less prevalently by error-free template-dependent homologous recombination (HR). DSB repair pathway selection is the bedrock for genome editing. NHEJ results in random mutations when repairing DSB, while HR induces high-fidelity sequence-specific variations, but with an undesirable low efficiency.
  • 978
  • 12 May 2022
Topic Review
Application of Hydrogels for Bone Regeneration
Hydrogels are versatile biomaterials characterized by three-dimensional, cross-linked, highly hydrated polymeric networks. These polymers exhibit a great variety of biochemical and biophysical properties, which allow for the diffusion of diverse molecules, such as drugs, active ingredients, growth factors, and nanoparticles. Meanwhile, these polymers can control chemical and molecular interactions at the cellular level. The polymeric network can be molded into different structures, imitating the structural characteristics of surrounding tissues and bone defects. Interestingly, the application of hydrogels in bone tissue engineering (BTE) has been gathering significant attention due to the beneficial bone improvement results that have been achieved.
  • 984
  • 29 Jun 2023
Topic Review
Leukaemic Stem Cells
Hematopoietic stem cells ‘choose’ a cell lineage from all options to develop towards a mature blood cell type and they are a mixture of cells with different lineage signatures. However, hematopoietic stem cells and their progeny retain enough versatility to ‘step sideways’ into a different pathway. Most, if not all cancers, arise from tissue-specific stem cells that have accumulated oncogenic insults to their genome and epigenome. We believe that the first oncogenic insult to a normal hematopoietic stem cell restricts the resulting leukaemia stem cell and its progeny to a single pathway. We hypothesized this from studies of transgenic mice in which we restricted oncogene expression to hematopoietic stem cells, via the Sca-1 promotor, and this led to lineage-restricted leukaemias.
  • 977
  • 30 Oct 2020
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