Topic Review
Biomarkers during COVID-19
As the COVID-19 (Coronavirus disease 19) pandemic spreads worldwide, the massive numbers of COVID-19 patients have created a considerable healthcare burden for every country. The clinical spectrum of SARS-CoV-2 infection is broad, ranging from asymptomatic to mild, moderate, severe, and critical. Most COVID-19 patients present with no or mild symptoms, but nearly one-fifth of all patients develop severe or life-threatening complications. In addition to localized respiratory manifestations, severe COVID-19 cases also show extra-pulmonary complications or induce multiorgan failure. Identifying, triaging, and treating patients at risk early is essential and urgent. Biomarkers are measurable biochemical substances used to recognize and indicate disease severity or response to therapeutic interventions. The information they provide is objective and suitable for delivering healthcare providers with a means of stratifying disease state in COVID-19 patients. 
  • 400
  • 25 Feb 2022
Topic Review
Systems Medicine, Redoxomics and Type 2 Diabetes
Medicine has largely utilized a reductionist approach in which disease states are generally reduced to a single organ or defect. Consequently, this approach often overlooks potential interactions between both intrinsic and extrinsic modulators and environmental risk factors. Alternatively, an integrative systems medicine approach is becoming increasingly favored. Redoxomics is a branch of systems medicine focusing on oxidative stress, reactive oxygen species, and antioxidants. Systems medicine, also referred to as precision or “P4” medicine, captures the power of omics technologies, such as genomics, epigenomics, proteomics, and metabolomics, and their interaction with environmental factors like nutrition and the gut microbiome.
  • 400
  • 13 Jul 2022
Topic Review
Controversies in Pathogenesis of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome
Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a heterogeneous and extremely common disease with symptoms that vary with the age of the patient, typically characterized by hyperandrogenism, chronic oligo-anovulation, and/or several metabolic disorders. The syndrome includes various phenotypes, and the pathogenesis is multifactorial, often involving insulin resistance. This feature is closely related to ovarian dysfunction, inflammation, hyperandrogenism, and metabolic disorders, which characterize and complicate the syndrome. Therapy currently considers both lifestyle improvements and medications, and must be tailored on a case-by-case basis. To date, the published studies have not arrived at a definition of the most suitable therapy for each individual case and many of the drugs used are still off-label.
  • 398
  • 24 Apr 2022
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.
  • 395
  • 31 Jul 2023
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. 
  • 393
  • 06 Sep 2022
Topic Review
SARS-CoV-2 in Thyroid Disorders
A properly functioning thyroid gland is crucial for health, influencing growth, neuronal development, reproduction and as a key regulator of energy metabolism, although thyroid disorders/diseases are extremely common and affect 200 million people worldwide. Viral infection may represent one of the major environmental factors related to common thyroid disorders, including subacute thyroiditis (SAT), nonthyroidal illness syndrome (NTIS) and autoimmune thyroid diseases (AITDs) including Graves’ disease (GD) and Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (HT).
  • 393
  • 08 May 2023
Topic Review
The Products of Bone Resorption
Surprisingly little is known about the factors released from bone during resorption and the metabolic roles they play. This entry describes what we have learned about factors released from bone, mainly through the study of burn injuries, and what roles they play in post-burn metabolism. From these studies, we know that calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium, along with transforming growth factor (TGF)-β, are released from bone following resorption. Additionally, studies in mice from Karsenty’s laboratory have indicated that undercarboxylated osteocalcin is also released from bone during resorption. Questions arising from these observations are discussed as well as a variety of potential conditions in which release of these factors could play a significant role in the pathophysiology of the conditions. Therapeutic implications of understanding the metabolic roles of these and as yet other unidentified factors are also raised. While much remains unknown, that which has been observed provides a glimpse of the potential importance of this area of study.
  • 390
  • 12 Apr 2021
Topic Review
Chatbots in Critical Care Nephrology
The exponential growth of artificial intelligence (AI) has allowed for its integration into multiple sectors, including, notably, healthcare. Chatbots have emerged as a pivotal resource for improving patient outcomes and assisting healthcare practitioners through various AI-based technologies. In critical care, kidney-related conditions play a significant role in determining patient outcomes.
  • 391
  • 24 Oct 2023
Topic Review
Evolution of Chemistries and Pharmaceutical Properties of ASOs
Myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) is a dominant genetic disease in which the expansion of long CTG trinucleotides in the 3′ UTR of the myotonic dystrophy protein kinase (DMPK) gene results in toxic RNA gain-of-function and gene mis-splicing affecting mainly the muscles, the heart, and the brain. The CUG-expanded transcripts are a suitable target for the development of antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) therapies. Antisense therapy is an attractive strategy making it possible to target almost every gene by simply modifying the base sequence. 
  • 389
  • 15 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Clean Language
Clean Language is a technique primarily used in counseling, psychotherapy and coaching but now also used in education, business, organisational change and health. More recently it has been applied as a research interview technique. Clean Language intends to support clients discovering and developing their own symbols and metaphors, rather than the therapist/coach/interviewer suggesting-contributing their own framing of a topic. In other words, instead of "supporting" the client by offering them ready-made metaphors, when the counselor senses a metaphor would be useful; or, is conspicuous by its absence, the counselor asks the client, "And that's like what?" The client is invited to innovate their own metaphor. The benefit to the counselor is the client is likely to come up with a metaphor from their most-open sensory channel. Learning a client's most open sensory channel is valuable for the counselor for future metaphor construction if the client is stuck. Clean Language was devised by David Grove in the 1980s as a result of his work on clinical methods for resolving clients' traumatic memories. Cei Davies Linn was closely involved in the early evolution and development of Grove's work such as Clean Language and Epistemological Metaphors. As Lawley and Tompkins describe it, Grove realized many clients were describing their symptoms in metaphors drawn from the words of previous therapists, instead of from their own experience. Clean Language also is the basis of Symbolic Modelling, a stand-alone method and process for psychotherapy and coaching, developed by Lawley and Tompkins; Clean Space; and Systemic Modelling, applied in organisational development. Clean Language can also be used in addition to a therapist or coach's existing approach.
  • 385
  • 26 Oct 2022
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