Topic Review
γ-Glutamyltransferase in Urologic Neoplasms
γ-Glutamyltransferase (GGT), a membrane-bound enzyme, contributes to the metabolism of glutathione (GSH), which plays a critical physiological role in protecting cells against oxidative stress. GGT has been proposed as a biomarker of carcinogenesis and tumor progression given that GGT activity is important during both the promotion and invasion phases in cancer cells.
  • 780
  • 14 Apr 2021
Topic Review
α- and β-Pinene
α- and β-pinene are well-known representatives of the monoterpenes group, and are found in many plants’ essential oils. A wide range of pharmacological activities have been reported, including antibiotic resistance modulation, anticoagulant, antitumor, antimicrobial, antimalarial, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-Leishmania, and analgesic effects. 
  • 3.0K
  • 23 Jul 2021
Topic Review
Zebrafish Model to Understand Epigenetics
Epigenetic modifications are able to alter gene expression and include DNA methylation, different histone variants, and post-transcriptional modifications (PTMs), such as acetylation or phosphorylation, and through short/long RNAs, respectively. In this review, we focus on current knowledge concerning epigenetic modifications in gene regulation. We describe different forms of epigenetic modifications and explain how epigenetic changes can be detected. The relevance of epigenetics in renal diseases is highlighted with multiple examples and the use of the zebrafish model to study glomerular diseases in general and epigenetics in renal diseases in particular is discussed. We end with an outlook on how to use epigenetic modifications as a therapeutic target for different diseases. Here, the zebrafish model can be employed as a high-throughput screening tool not only to discover epigenetic alterations contributing to disease, but also to test novel substances that change epigenetic signatures in vivo. Therefore, the zebrafish model harbors the opportunity to find novel pathogenic pathways allowing a pre-selection of potential targets and compounds to be tested for renal diseases. 
  • 535
  • 29 Nov 2021
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.
  • 392
  • 30 Jun 2021
Topic Review
Writing Therapy
Writing therapy is a form of expressive therapy that uses the act of writing and processing the written word as therapy. Writing therapy posits that writing one's feelings gradually eases feelings of emotional trauma. Writing therapeutically can take place individually or in a group and it can be administered in person with a therapist or remotely through mailing or the Internet. The field of writing therapy includes many practitioners in a variety of settings. The therapy is usually administered by a therapist or counselor. Several interventions exist online. Writing group leaders also work in hospitals with patients dealing with mental and physical illnesses. In university departments they aid student self-awareness and self-development. When administered at a distance, it is useful for those who prefer to remain personally anonymous and are not ready to disclose their most private thoughts and anxieties in a face-to-face situation. As with most forms of therapy, writing therapy is adapted and used to work with a wide range of psychoneurotic issues, including bereavement, desertion and abuse. Many of these interventions take the form of classes where clients write on specific themes chosen by their therapist or counsellor. Assignments may include writing unsent letters to selected individuals, alive or dead, followed by imagined replies from the recipient, or a dialogue with the recovering alcoholic's bottle of alcohol.
  • 293
  • 28 Sep 2022
Topic Review
Western Diet, Insulin/IGF-I Signaling Pathway and Metabolic Syndrome
The metabolic syndrome is a cluster of overlapping conditions resulting in an increased incidence of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. In the last few decades, prevalence of the metabolic syndrome in the Western world has reached epidemic proportions and this is likely due to alterations in diet and the environment as well as decreased physical activity. The Western diet and lifestyle (Westernization) plays an important etiological role in the pathogenesis of the metabolic syndrome  by exerting negative effects on activity of the insulin–insulin-like growth factor-I (insulin–IGF-I) system. Interventions that normalize/reduce activity of the insulin–IGF-I system may play a key role in the prevention and treatment of the metabolic syndrome. For successful prevention, limitation, and treatment of the metabolic syndrome, the focus should be primarily on changing our diets and lifestyle in accordance with our genetic make-up, formed in adaptation to Paleolithic diets and lifestyles during a period of several million years of human evolution.
  • 537
  • 03 Mar 2023
Topic Review
WBC and HBOT in Depression
Treatment with antidepressants is often insufficiently effective, especially in treatment-resistant depression. In such a situation, it is possible to change the drug, add a second antidepressant, or use pharmacological and non-pharmacological methods of augmenting the effect of pharmacotherapy. New methods that may fall into the scope of multi-module depression treatment as an augmentation of depression treatment are whole body cryotherapy (WBC) and hyperbaric oxygen treatment (HBOT). 545 records were selected and analyzed for these two treatments and finally three clinical trials were selected for analysis. 
  • 377
  • 22 Sep 2021
Topic Review
Water Intoxication
Water intoxication, also known as water poisoning, hyperhydration, overhydration, or water toxemia, is a potentially fatal disturbance in brain functions that results when the normal balance of electrolytes in the body is pushed outside safe limits by excessive water intake. Under normal circumstances, accidentally consuming too much water is exceptionally rare. Nearly all deaths related to water intoxication in normal individuals have resulted either from water-drinking contests, in which individuals attempt to consume large amounts of water, or from long bouts of exercise during which excessive amounts of fluid were consumed. In addition, water cure, a method of torture in which the victim is forced to consume excessive amounts of water, can cause water intoxication. Water, just like any other substance, can be considered a poison when over-consumed in a brief period of time. Water intoxication mostly occurs when water is being consumed in a high quantity without adequate electrolyte intake. Excess of body water may also be a result of a medical condition or improper treatment; see "hyponatremia" for some examples. Water is considered one of the least toxic chemical compounds, with an LD50 of over 150 ml/kg in rats.
  • 321
  • 07 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Vitamin D—Practical Considerations and Clinical Guidance
Empirical evidence establishes the connection between exposure and clinical outcomes. Clinical studies show that chronic diseases and infections can be prevented by proactively correcting vitamin D deficiency in individuals who are vitamin D deficient, and in the community. In RCTs, with proper daily or once-a-week vitamin D supplementation in the intervention group, the serum 25(OH)D concentration must be meaningfully increased to the above pre-planned level to ensure the validity of the clinical study. Clinical outcomes correlate well with the serum 25(OH)D concentrations but not necessarily with the administered doses. It is a common error by researchers and healthcare workers to assume that the amount taken automatically produces the stipulated serum levels.
  • 449
  • 01 Nov 2023
Topic Review
Vitamin D in Oral Diseases Development
Vitamin D is a fat-soluble secosteroid that plays a significant role in the whole body, including the maxillofacial region. The discovery of its receptors in many cells and organs made it possible to reveal the participation of vitamin D not only in the regulation of calcium phosphate metabolism, but also in immune processes, in providing anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial effects, slowing down cell proliferation and stimulating differentiation. In this literature review, we demonstrate the association between low vitamin D levels and the development of recurrent aphthous stomatitis, the course and response to treatment of squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity, the severity of periodontal diseases, and the processes of osseointegration and bone remodeling during dental implantation and guided tissue regeneration. 
  • 402
  • 17 Nov 2021
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