scholarly journals Caspases, Cell Death and Diabetic Nephropathy

2015 ◽  
Vol 53 (4) ◽  
pp. 296-303 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elena Bălăşescu ◽  
Daniela Adriana Ion ◽  
Mirela Cioplea ◽  
Sabina Zurac
Keyword(s):  
Cell Death ◽  
Diabetic Nephropathy ◽  
Cell Injury ◽  
Relative Proportion ◽  
Cysteine Proteases ◽  
Renal Tissue ◽  
World Health ◽  
Ultrastructural Changes ◽  
Number Of Patients ◽  
Health Organization

Abstract Diabetic Nephropathy. In 2014 (according to data published by the World Health Organization) 9% of the global population was affected by Diabetes which was considered to be directly responsible for 1.5 million deaths just two years prior (in 2012). From the entire number of patients suffering from diabetes, approximately a quarter of them develop renal affection. Diabetic nephropathy has similar physiopathology mechanisms and ultrastructural changes in cell injury characteristics in both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. Cell Death. Cell Death was less studied in the renal diabetic disease, although it could represent an important pathogenic mechanism in the appearance and progression of nephropathy. At renal level the cellular loss can be explained by several mechanisms; different stimuli with cellular lesion potential can trigger apoptosis signaling with appearance of regulatory proteins having a double role (they participate in the initiation of the apoptosis path and cell death or in the ending of this process). The types of Cell Death and their relative proportion between themselves in the renal tissue have not been completely elucidated. Caspases. Discovered in the middle of the 1990’s, Caspases are a part of the cysteine proteases family and play a role in numerous aspects of physiology (having a role in development, aging and apoptosis), but also in aspects of physiopathology of several degenerative affections, autoimmune diseases, oncologic diseases – having an important part in apoptosis, necrosis and also inflammation.

scholarly journals Immunohistochemical Aspects of Cell Death in Diabetic Nephropathy

2016 ◽  
Vol 54 (1) ◽  
pp. 54-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elena Bălăşescu ◽  
Mirela Cioplea ◽  
Alice Brînzea ◽  
Roxana Nedelcu ◽  
Sabina Zurac ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Death ◽  
Diabetic Nephropathy ◽  
Renal Tissue ◽  
Ultrastructural Changes ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Caspase 9 ◽  
Tissue Samples ◽  
Diabetic Kidney ◽  
Variable Expression ◽  
Positive Immunostaining

Introduction. Diabetes Mellitus causes ultrastructural changes triggered by partially clarified cellular mechanisms. Since cell death is an important mechanism in the appearance and progression of diabetic nephropathy, we studied alteration of several markers of apoptotic pathways signaling in renal tissue of diabetic or prediabetic patients. Methods. We analyzed 48 human kidney tissue samples divided into two study groups: the research group (43 renal tissue samples from diabetic or prediabetic patients), and the control group (5 renal tissue samples from patients without diabetes). Immunohistochemistry revealed expression of Bcl-2, APAF-1, CD-95 and Caspase-9 in the renal cortical structures. Statistical analysis was also performed (significance level P<0.05). Results. We found a variable expression of the antiapoptotic Bcl-2 with a decrease of Bcl-2 expression in diabetes. The control samples render evident intensely positive immunostaining for CD-95. In diabetes and diabetic nephropathy, there was positive immunostaining for APAF-1 at tubular cell level. Nuclear and cytoplasmic positivity for Caspase-9 was more frequently recorded as kidney damage progresses. APAF-1 and Caspase-9 positivity are arguments for an intrinsic apoptotic mechanism of cell death in diabetic nephropathy. Conclusion. The mechanisms of apoptotic cell death identified in diabetic kidney samples prove that Bcl-2, CD-95, APAF-1 and Caspase-9 represent reliable markers of cell death in human renal tissue. Our results support the hypothesis that apoptosis is a pathogenic and initiator mechanism of renal remodeling in diabetic kidney disease.

Patterns of skull base meningioma progression after failed radiosurgery

2007 ◽  
Vol 106 (1) ◽  
pp. 30-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
William T. Couldwell ◽  
Chad D. Cole ◽  
Ossama Al-Mefty
Keyword(s):  
Skull Base ◽  
Stereotactic Radiosurgery ◽  
Growth Patterns ◽  
World Health ◽  
Benign Tumors ◽  
Subtotal Resection ◽  
Surgical Removal ◽  
Skull Base Meningioma ◽  
Number Of Patients ◽  
Health Organization

Object Stereotactic radiosurgery has been reported to be an effective alternative to surgical removal of small to medium benign meningiomas as well as an adjuvant treatment modality to reduce the risk of tumor progression after subtotal resection. Its efficacy has been proved by excellent short-term radiosurgically demonstrated control rates, which have been reported to approach or exceed 90% in many contemporary studies involving the use of either linear accelerator–based systems or the Gamma Knife. Little is known, however, regarding the growth patterns of meningiomas that fail to stabilize after radiosurgery. Methods The authors report 13 cases of benign skull base meningiomas (World Health Organization Grade I) that demonstrated progression after radiosurgical treatment as a primary or an adjuvant therapy. Several tumors demonstrated rapid growth immediately after radiosurgical treatment, whereas other lesions progressed in a very delayed manner in some patients (up to 14 years after treatment). Regardless of the interval after which it occurs, tumor growth can be quite aggressive once it has begun. Conclusions Skull base meningioma growth can be aggressive after failed radiosurgery in some patients, and treatment failure can occur at long intervals following treatment. Special attention must be devoted to such significant occurrences given the increasing number of patients undergoing stereotactic radiosurgery for benign tumors, and careful extended (> 10 years) follow up must be undertaken in all patients after radiosurgery.

scholarly journals A PIECEWISE GROWTH MODEL FOR MODELING THE ACCUMULATED NUMBER OF COVID-19 CASES IN THE CITY OF CAMPO GRANDE

2021 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 240
Author(s):  
Erlandson Ferreira SARAIVA ◽  
Leandro SAUER ◽  
Basílio De Bragança PEREIRA ◽  
Carlos Alberto de Bragança PEREIRA
Keyword(s):  
Growth Model ◽  
Health Department ◽  
World Health ◽  
Mathematical Study ◽  
Number Of Patients ◽  
Technical Report ◽  
The World ◽  
The Government ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
The City

In December of 2019, a new coronavirus was discovered in the city of Wuhan, China. The World Health Organization officially named this coronavirus as COVID-19. Since its discovery, the virus has spread rapidly around the world and is currently one of the main health problems, causing an enormous social and economic burden. Due to this, there is a great interest in mathematical models capable of projecting the evolution of the disease in countries, states and/or cities. This interest is mainly due to the fact that the projections may help the government agents in making decisions in relation to the prevention of the disease. By using this argument, the health department of the city (HDC) of Campo Grande asked the UFMS for the development of a mathematical study to project the evolution of the disease in the city. In this paper, we describe a modeling procedure used to fit a piecewise growth model for the accumulated number of cases recorded in the city. From the fitted model, we estimate the date in which the pandemic peak is reached and project the number of patients who will need treatment in intensive care units. Weekly, was sent to HDC a technical report describing the main results.

Can luteolin be a therapeutic molecule for both colon cancer and diabetes?

2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 230-239 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rashmi K Ambasta ◽  
Rohan Gupta ◽  
Dhiraj Kumar ◽  
Saurabh Bhattacharya ◽  
Aditi Sarkar ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Colon Cancer ◽  
Signaling Pathway ◽  
World Health ◽  
Molecular Signaling ◽  
Immunofluorescence Analysis ◽  
Number Of Patients ◽  
Patients With Diabetes ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
Multiple Signaling

Abstract Diabetes and colon cancer are the leading cause of mortality worldwide. According to World Health Organization, the number of patients with diabetes and cancer is going to be elevated by 50% in 2020. However, several flavonoids have been known to be useful in reducing the chance of cancer/diabetes but the hunt of a single biomolecule that can act as therapeutic and preventive molecules for future epidemic continues. In this review, we aim to perform an illustration of all researches done that target molecular signaling using luteolin in cancer/diabetes and predicted target protein using PharmMapper. The search confirms that luteolin can be a remedial molecule for both cancer and diabetes via acting on variety of signaling pathway. Furthermore, we also intend to illustrate/compare the predicted and verified molecular modes of action of luteolin. Fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis confirms the expression of CCND1 in colon cancer while immunofluorescence analysis confirms the CDK4 in diabetes. Finally, an effort has been made to map docking of marker protein-luteolin at a particular site using docking software. This review gives a holistic overview about luteolin as a therapeutic molecule for cancer/diabetes via acting on multiple signaling cascade such as p53, Wnt, eNOS, iNOS, SOD and MMP9, with especial emphasis on the cyclin-CDK pathway. Altogether, the review concludes that luteolin can be a molecule for the therapy of both cancer and diabetes by acting on broad signaling pathway.

scholarly journals Development of the Troponin Detection System Based on the Nanostructure

Micromachines ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 203 ◽  
Author(s):  
Taek Lee ◽  
Jae-Hyuk Ahn ◽  
Jinha Choi ◽  
Yeonju Lee ◽  
Jin-Myung Kim ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Detection System ◽  
Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy ◽  
The Body ◽  
World Health ◽  
Detection Techniques ◽  
Number Of Patients ◽  
Creatine Kinase Mb ◽  
High Death ◽  
Surface Enhanced Raman ◽  
Health Organization

During the last 30 years, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported a gradual increase in the number of patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD), not only in developed but also in developing countries. In particular, acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is one of the severe CVDs because of the high death rate, damage to the body, and various complications. During these harmful effects, rapid diagnosis of AMI is key for saving patients with CVD in an emergency. The prompt diagnosis and proper treatment of patients with AMI are important to increase the survival rate of these patients. To treat patients with AMI quickly, detection of a CVD biomarker at an ultra-low concentration is essential. Cardiac troponins (cTNs), cardiac myoglobin (cMB), and creatine kinase MB are typical biomarkers for AMI detection. An increase in the levels of those biomarkers in blood implies damage to cardiomyocytes and thus is related to AMI progression. In particular, cTNs are regarded as a gold standard biomarker for AMI diagnosis. The conventional TN detection system for detection of AMI requires long measurement time and is labor-intensive and tedious. Therefore, the demand for sensitive and selective TN detection techniques is increasing at present. To meet this demand, several approaches and methods have been applied to develop a TN detection system based on a nanostructure. In the present review, the authors reviewed recent advances in TN biosensors with a focus on four detection systems: (1) An electrochemical (EC) TN nanobiosensor, (2) field effect transistor (FET)-based TN nanobiosensor, (3) surface plasmon resonance (SPR)-based TN nanobiosensor and (4) surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS)-based TN nanobiosensor.

scholarly journals Correlation between knowledge of HIV, attitudes and perceptions of HIV and a willingness to test for HIV at a regional hospital in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

2012 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Emeka E. Orisakwe ◽  
Andrew J. Ross ◽  
Peter O. Ocholla
Keyword(s):  
Health Belief ◽  
Immune Deficiency Syndrome ◽  
Deficiency Syndrome ◽  
World Health ◽  
Number Of Patients ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Hiv Counselling And Testing ◽  
Knowledge And Attitude ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
Belief Model

Background: With millions of South Africans infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and less than 10% of the population aware of their HIV status, HIV counselling and testing (HCT) is the first step in any attempt to reduce the number of new infections. For those who test negative, HCT personalises the risks and reinforces preventative messages whilst for those who are positive, it is the gateway to accessing counselling and care. The Health Belief Model postulates that knowledge and attitude influence behaviour. The aim of this study was to determine whether knowledge of HIV and the attitude of patients referred for HCT correlated with a willingness to test for HIV.Methods: One hundred and seventy two patients referred for HCT were randomly selected over a three month period. Data were collected by a research assistant using the modified standardised World Health Organization (WHO)–Global AIDS Project (GAP) questionnaire.Results: Ninety per cent of the participants demonstrated sound knowledge of HIV, acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and HCT. Despite the 90% of the participants with sound knowledge only 71.5% of the participants tested for HIV. There was no statistically significant difference in knowledge between those who tested and those who did not test for HIV. Twenty five per cent of those who refused to test stated that they had already made up their mind not to test for HIV before the counselling session.Conclusions: Despite excellent knowledge of HIV, a significant number of patients referred for HCT do not test for HIV.

scholarly journals Review Sistematik Temuan Oftalmologi pada Pasien dengan COVID -19: Apa yang Harus Kita Ketahui?

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (1A) ◽  
pp. 271-287
Author(s):  
Amalia Dwi Ariska ◽  
Trining Poernomo
Keyword(s):  
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome ◽  
World Health Organization ◽  
Clinical Manifestations ◽  
World Health ◽  
Ocular Manifestations ◽  
Corona Virus ◽  
Number Of Patients ◽  
Conjunctival Swab ◽  
Systemic Manifestations ◽  
Health Organization

Latar belakang: SARS COV-2 (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2) merupakan virus penyebab COVID-19 (Corona Virus Disesease-2019) yang pertama kali muncul di Kota Wuhan, Provinsi Hubei, Cina pada akhir Desember 2019. Sejak kemunculannya, SARS COV-2 menunjukkan penambahan jumlah pasien dan kematian yang pesat hingga lintas negara sehingga pada tanggal 11 Maret 2020, WHO (World Health Organization) mengumumkan bahwa COVID-19 dinyatakan sebagai global pandemi. Manifestasi COVID-19 dilaporkan sangat bervariasi, mulai dari gangguan sistem pernafasan, pencernaan, bahkan okular. Namun karena kelangkaan kasus dan situasi pandemi sehingga literatur mengenai manifestasinya pada mata sangat terbatas. Tujuan: Artikel ini akan menelaah manifestasi klinis SARS-COV-2 pada mata, hubungannya dengan manifestasi sistemik, peran pemeriksaan PCR swab konjungtiva, dan terapi yang diberikan melalui review kualitatif sesuai dengan rekomendasi PRISMA. Diskusi dan pembahasan masalah: Terdapat 12 dokumen yang ditelaah dalam review ini. Selain gejala pernafasan, COVID-19 juga dilaporkan dapat menyebabkan konjungtivitis dengan ciri umum seperti mata merah, kemosis konjungtiva, mata berair maupun manifestasi okular lain yang lebih jarang. Manifestasi okular dapat sebagai gejala tunggal, prodromal, maupun bersamaan dengan manifestasi sistemik, dan bisa menyebabkan gejala sisa berupa floaters. Terapinya pun bervariasi berdasarkan gejala. Pada kasus COVID-19 dengan konjungtivitis hasil pemeriksaan PCR swab konjungtiva bisa positif maupun negatif. Kesimpulan: Dapat disimpulkan bahwa manifestasi okular pada pasien COVID-19 mungkin saja terjadi, dan hubungannya dengan manifestasi sistemik sangat bervariasi. Untuk terapi perlu dilakukan penelitian lebih lanjut, dan banyak faktor yang menyebabkan hasil PCR swab konjungtiva tidak sesuai dengan klinis pasien. Sehingga diharapkan agar setiap tenaga kesehatan untuk selalu waspada dan mengambil tindakan pencegahan yang memadai terlepas dari ada atau tidaknya manifestasi okular. Kata kunci : SARS CoV-2; COVID-19; manifestasi okular; konjungtivitis; PCR; swab konungtiva.     Background: SARS COV-2 (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2) is a virus that causes COVID-19 (Corona Virus Disesease-2019) which first appeared in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China at the end of December 2019. Since its emergence, SARS COV-2 showed a rapid enhancement in the number of patients and death cases across countries, because of that, on March 11th, 2020, WHO (World Health Organization) announced that COVID-19 was declared as a global pandemic. The manifestations of COVID-19 were reported to be very varied, ranging from disorders of the respiratory, digestive, and even ocular system. However, due to the scarcity of cases and pandemic situations, the literature of its manifestations in the eyes is very limited. Objective: This article will review the clinical manifestations of SARS-COV-2 in the eye, their relationship to systemic manifestations, the PCR examination of conjunctival swab’s roles, and therapy provided through qualitative reviews according to PRISMA recommendations. Discussion: There were 12 documents reviewed in this study. In addition to respiratory symptoms, COVID-19 was also reported to cause conjunctivitis with common features such as red eye, conjunctival chemosis, watery discharge or other ocular manifestations that were less common. Ocular manifestations could be a single symptom, prodromal, or concurrent with systemic manifestations, and could cause sequelae in the form of floaters. Its treatment also varied based on symptoms. In the case of COVID-19 with conjunctivitis the results of conjunctival swab PCR examination could be positive or negative. Conclusion: It can be concluded that ocular manifestations in COVID-19 patients may occur, and their relationship with systemic manifestations is varies. For therapy, further research is needed, and many factors cause the conjunctival swab PCR results to be incompatible with the patient's clinical course. We hope that every health worker must be aware and take precautions regardless of the presence or absence of ocular manifestations. Keywords: SARS CoV-2; COVID-19; ocular manifestations; conjunctivitis; PCR; conjunctival swab.

scholarly journals Clinical Application of Interferon-γ Release Assays for the Prevention of Tuberculosis in Countries with Low Incidence

2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 308 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christoph Lange ◽  
Anna M. Mandalakas ◽  
Barbara Kalsdorf ◽  
Claudia M. Denkinger ◽  
Martina Sester
Keyword(s):  
Predictive Ability ◽  
Interferon Γ ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Screening Tools ◽  
World Health ◽  
Preventive Chemotherapy ◽  
Infection Control Measures ◽  
Number Of Patients ◽  
Low Incidence ◽  
Health Organization

Despite global efforts to control tuberculosis (TB) the estimated number of people who developed TB worldwide increased to an all-time record of more than 10 million in 2015. The goal of the World Health Organization (WHO) to reduce the global incidence of TB to less than 100 cases per million by 2035, cannot be reached unless TB prevention is markedly improved. There is a need for an improved vaccine that better protects individuals who are exposed to Mycobacterium tuberculosis from infection and active disease compared to the current M. bovis Bacille Calmette Guérin (BCG) vaccine. In the absence of such a vaccine, prevention relies on infection control measures and preventive chemotherapy for people with latent infection with M. tuberculosis (LTBI), who have the highest risk of progression to active TB. During the past decade, interferon-γ release assays (IGRAs) have increasingly replaced the tuberculin skin test as screening tools for the diagnosis of LTBI in countries with a low incidence of TB. Despite recent WHO guidelines on the management of LTBI, the definition of groups at risk for TB remains controversial, and the role of IGRAs for TB prevention in low-incidence countries remains uncertain. We reviewed the scientific literature and provide recommendations for the use of IGRAs for LTBI diagnosis in low-incidence countries. These recommendations are based on the number of patients needing treatment in order to prevent one case of TB. As the positive predictive value of IGRAs for the development of TB is sub-optimal, research must focus on the identification of alternative biomarkers that offer better predictive ability in order to substantially reduce the number needing treatment while improving the prevention of TB and improving the effectiveness of targeted preventive chemotherapy.

scholarly journals COVID-19 lock-down significantly reduced the number of surgical presentations in an emergency department

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
René Fahrner ◽  
Stefan Bähler ◽  
Gregor Lindner
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Department ◽  
Time Course ◽  
Control Period ◽  
Final Analysis ◽  
Patient Characteristics ◽  
Medical Specialty ◽  
World Health ◽  
Number Of Patients ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
The Impact

Abstract IntroductionCoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an acute virus infection that was declared by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a pandemic. As a consequence, the Swiss government decreed a public lock-down to reduce and restrict further infections. The aim of this investigation was to provide the impact of the COVID-19 lock-down on the presentations of patients in an interdisciplinary emergency department (ED).Patients, Materials and MethodsA retrospective study was performed at an interdisciplinary Swiss ED during the lock-down period. All patients who presented to the ED were enrolled in this investigation and compared to a control cohort during the same time period in 2019. Data regarding patient characteristics, medical specialty, time course of presentations during the observation period, and outpatient or hospital admission were analyzed.ResultsIn total, 7,072 patients were included in the final analysis. During the lock-down period, the number of ED presentations significantly decreased by 29% in comparison to the control period in the previous year (p<0.0001). The analysis of the time course revealed that in each week, the number of patients was lower, with a 13% to 43% reduction. Irrespective of the medical specialty, the number of presentations decreased during the COVID-19 situation, whereas this decrease was higher in surgical diseases (31%, p<0.0001) than in non-surgical presentations (3.6%, p=0.4).DiscussionThe socio-economic lock-down impacted the number of presentations in an ED. Mainly, surgical diseases and injuries were affected in terms of a reduction of presentations during the COVID-19 lock-down period.

scholarly journals Ketamine for Adults with Severe Asthma Exacerbation: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

2022 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-97
Author(s):  
Fatimah AlShehri ◽  
Heetaf Aloqaily ◽  
Joud Enabi ◽  
Sharafaldeen Bin Nafisah
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Severe Asthma ◽  
Asthma Exacerbation ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
World Health ◽  
Severe Asthma Exacerbation ◽  
Number Of Patients ◽  
Acute Asthma Exacerbation ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
Meta Analyses

BACKGROUND: Severe asthma mandates careful attention and timely management, and the benefit of ketamine in severe asthma exacerbations in adult patients require further exploration. METHODS: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of the use of ketamine in cases of acute asthma exacerbation in adults. We searched PubMed, Google Scholar, Cochrane databases, and gray literature (ClinicalTrials.gov and World Health Organization International Clinical Trials Registry Platform); we also searched the reference lists of included articles and any systematic reviews and meta-analyses identified therein. Our search covered the period from 1963 to August 20, 2021. Search terms were “ketamine” AND “asthma”. RESULTS: Of 25 540 articles, two studies were included in the analysis. The total number of patients included in the studies was 136 (68 in the ketamine groups and 68 in the placebo group). The pooled effect size was 0.30 (95% CI: -0.04, 0.63) favouring ketamine over placebo, p=0.08, (I2=0%, p=0.39). A paired t-test revealed that ketamine improved the mean peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) from 242.4 (SD=146.23) to 286.95 (SD=182.22), p=0.33, representing an 18.38% improvement. CONCLUSION: Ketamine can induce a 30% improvement in PEFR, representing a small positive effect in the treatment of acute severe asthma exacerbation in the emergency department (ED). The improvement was not statistically significant; nonetheless, since the improvement could be as great as 63% versus only a 4% possibility of no benefit/harm, the benefit appears to considerably outweigh any harm.

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