Topic Review
Vulnerabilities That Spread Systemically to Cause Complications
COVID-19 and long COVID-19 vulnerabilities may be caused indirectly by albumin binding deficiency (ABD), which can be corrected by the correct administration of human serum albumin(HSA). The liver is the primary site of nutrient regulation and fluid volume maintenance; control of both is by changes to albumin concentration. In healthy subjects, the HSA lymphatic nutrient pump(HSALNP) ensures continual pumping of nutrients from the liver and that nutrients are appropriately distributed to organs. Nutrients are delivered to cells according to the availability of binding to HSA.The HSALNP, therefore, maintains the correct nutrient and colloidal pressure balance in all tissues independently. In unhealthy tissues, following COVID-19 infection, the passage of HSA/nutrients through the interstitial spaces and lymph will be impeded. Fluid therapy into the periphery leads to the dilution of essential nutrients attached to the protein carriers such as albumin. The levels of albumin being charged by the liver with nutrients is critical in maintaining immune stability by maintaining nutrient support and colloidal pressure of the cellular structures. The site of HSA binding by the liver is of great importance, and direct infusion of albumin into the hepatic portal vein is the most appropriate method of maintaining colloid pressure and cellular nutrient levels.
  • 388
  • 10 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Vortioxetine´s Effects on Sleep of Adolescent Major Depression
The relationship between depression and insomnia is bidirectional and both conditions need to be treated adequately, especially in a vulnerable neurodevelopmental stage of adolescence. Sleep disturbances in adolescents have been associated with a more severe clinical course of depression (i.e., suicidal behavior, worse psychosocial functioning, and risk of recurrence). Due to the rising incidence of both disorders, it is crucial to understand the underlying pathophysiology (e.g., disrupted neuroplasticity and neurotransmitter dysbalance), especially in the vulnerable adolescent age period characterized by developmental changes and sensitivity to endogenous and exogenous factors.
  • 145
  • 20 Nov 2023
Topic Review
Von Willebrand Factor, ADAMTS13 and Cardiac Disease
This entry briefly describes the involvement of VWF (von Willebrand factor) and ADAMTS13 (a disintegrin and metalloproteinase with thrombospondin type 1 motif-13) in the pathophysiology of cardiac disease.
  • 555
  • 24 Nov 2021
Topic Review
Von Willebrand Factor
The von Willebrand factor (vWF) is a plasma protein that mediates platelet adhesion and leukocyte recruitment to vascular injury sites and carries coagulation factor VIII, a building block of the intrinsic pathway of coagulation. A steep rise in shear rates, which may occur at sites of arterial stenosis and injury, is crucial for unfolding and activation of vWF. The hemostatic activity of vWF is counterbalanced by ADAMTS-13, a vWF-cleaving protease. The presence of ultra-large multimers of vWF in the bloodstream is associated with spontaneous thrombosis, whereas its deficiency leads to bleeding.
  • 1.1K
  • 12 Nov 2020
Topic Review
Von Hippel–Lindau Disease
Over the last several decades, an improved understanding of von Hippel–Lindau disease and its underlying biology has informed the successful development of numerous anti-cancer agents, particularly for the treatment of advanced renal cell carcinoma.
  • 346
  • 18 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Volumetric Muscle Loss
Volumetric muscle loss (VML) is the massive wasting of skeletal muscle tissue due to traumatic events or surgical ablation. This pathological condition exceeds the physiological healing process carried out by the muscle itself, which owns remarkable capacity to restore damages but only when limited in dimensions. Upon VML occurring, the affected area is severely compromised, heavily influencing the affected person’s quality of life. Overall, this condition is often associated with chronic disability, which makes the return to duty of highly specialized professional figures (e.g., military personnel or athletes) almost impossible. The actual treatment for VML is based on surgical conservative treatment followed by physical exercise; nevertheless, the results, in terms of either lost mass and/or functionality recovery, are still poor. On the other hand, the efforts of the scientific community are focusing on reconstructive therapy aiming at muscular tissue void volume replenishment by exploiting biomimetic matrix or artificial tissue implantation. Reconstructing strategies represent a valid option to build new muscular tissue not only to recover damaged muscles, but also to better socket prosthesis in terms of anchorage surfaces and reinnervation substrates for reconstructed mass. 
  • 1.8K
  • 26 May 2021
Topic Review
Volumetric Absorptive Microsampling
Volumetric absorptive microsampling (VAMS) is the newest and most promising sample-collection technique for quantitatively analyzing drugs, especially for routine therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) and pharmacokinetic studies. This technique uses an absorbent white tip to absorb a fixed volume of a sample (10–50 µL) within a few seconds (2–4 s), is more flexible, practical, and more straightforward to be applied in the field, and is probably more cost-effective than conventional venous sampling (CVS).
  • 361
  • 28 Aug 2023
Topic Review
Voltage-Gated Sodium Channel in Neurodegenerative Diseases
The pore-forming subunits (α subunits) of voltage-gated sodium channels (VGSC) are encoded in humans by a family of nine highly conserved genes. Among them, SCN1A, SCN2A, SCN3A, and SCN8A are primarily expressed in the central nervous system. The encoded proteins Nav1.1, Nav1.2, Nav1.3, and Nav1.6, respectively, are important players in the initiation and propagation of action potentials and in turn of the neural network activity. In the context of neurological diseases, mutations in the genes encoding Nav1.1, 1.2, 1.3 and 1.6 are responsible for many forms of genetic epilepsy and for Nav1.1 also of hemiplegic migraine. Conversely, VGSCs seem to have a modulatory role in the most common neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, where SCN8A expression has been shown to be negatively correlated with disease severity.
  • 369
  • 30 May 2023
Topic Review
Voltage-Gated K+ Channels
Voltage-gated K+ (Kv) channels are intrinsic plasma membrane proteins mediating the selective flow of potassium ions in response to depolarization of the transmembrane electric field. Their ionic selectivity and voltage dependence allow Kv channels to be central players in virtually all physiological functions, including the maintenance and modulation of neuronal and muscular (both cardiac and skeletal) excitability, regulation of calcium signaling cascades, control of cell volume, immune response, hormonal secretion, and others.
  • 941
  • 29 Jan 2022
Topic Review
Voltage Gated Ion Channels
Safety Pharmacology is one of the most dynamically developing disciplines, whose objective is to assess the potential risks of improperly conducted pharmacotherapy. Evaluation of a potential risks in the use of a given substance is vital for placing a new medicine on the market. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has issued a number of guidelines for drug safety testing [1, 2]. However, the continuous development of medicine demands the extension and refinement of the test panel that a new molecule must undergo before it can be released for use by patients. Toxic effects of compounds on the most important organs are among the most frequent reasons of elimination of substances from further tests. Additionally, safety tests are also performed for medicines already approved for use. Such trials are required, e.g., to register new indications for "old" drugs.  The above mentioned activities require a suitable identifications of the antitargets which are commonly defined as undesirable molecular targets that play an essential role in the proper functioning of cells. Down modulation of an antitarget results in clinically unacceptable side effects, initiation of disease, or deleterious alterations in disease progression. This results in shorter onset time of the disease, increased disease burden, poorer patient outcome, or decreased survival time.
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  • 27 Jan 2021
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