Use of Unconventional Therapies in Super-refractory Status Epilepticus: A Case Report and Literature Review

Super-refractory status epilepticus (SRSE) is a life-threatening condition characterized by the persistence or recurrence of seizures despite the use of first- and second-line antiepileptic drugs and the continuous infusion of anesthetics for more than 24 hours. This has always been a challenge for the physician, given the high mortality and morbidity related to this condition. Unfortunately, there are currently no definitive data to guide the therapy, since most of the therapeutic approaches regarding SRSE come from anecdotal evidence. Here, we present a case report of long-persisting new-onset SRSE treated with unconventional therapies recently reported to be successful such as ketamine, ketogenic diet, and tocilizumab, that could have played an important role in the management of this patient. A review of the literature regarding those is also included. SRSE has been reported to have long hospital length of stay, with a small percentage of patients returning to baseline functional status. Moreover, recent evidence showed that functional and cognitive outcome could depend on seizure duration, so prolonged duration of epileptic activity with abnormalities on the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) could be seen as a reason to discontinue treatment. However, despite many weeks of seizures and a noncomforting MRI, our patient was discharged with a good functional status.

The therapeutic effectiveness of Convalescent plasma therapy on treating COVID-19 patients residing in respiratory care units in Baghdad, Iraq

ObjectivesThe current COVID-19 pandemic needs unconventional therapies to tackle the resulted high morbidity and mortality. Convalescent plasma is one of the therapeutic approaches that might be of benefit.MethodsForty nine early-stage critically-ill COVID-19 patients residing in RCU of three hospitals in Baghdad, Iraq were included, 21 received convalescent plasma while 28 did not receive, namely control group. Recovery or death, length of stay in hospital, and improvement in the clinical course of the disease were monitored clinically along with laboratory monitoring through SARS-CoV-2 RNA detection via PCR, and SARS-CoV-2 IgG and IgM serological monitoring.ResultsPatients received convalescent plasma showed reduced duration of infection in about 4 days, and showed less death rate, 1/21 versus 8/28 in control group. In, addition, all of the patients received convalescent plasma showed high levels of SARS-CoV-2 IgG and IgM 3 days after plasma transfusion. Plasma from donors with high levels of SARS-CoV-2 IgG and donors with positive SRAS-CoV-2 IgM showed better therapeutic results than other donors.ConclusionsConvalescent plasma therapy is an effective mode of therapy if donors with high level of SARS-Cov2 antibodies are selected and if recipients were at their early stage of critical illness, being no more than 3 days in RCU.

Miodownik melisowaty (Melittis melissophyllum L.) – mało znana roślina lecznicza

Melittis melissophyllum L. from the family Lamiaceae is a wild perennial living in Europe. As a medicinal plant, it occurs only in folk medicine, with indications for digestive problems, insomnia and as an anti-inflammatory and antispasmodic agent. Modern phytochemical studies of extracts obtained from the aerial parts of Melittis melissophyllum have shown the presence of many biologically active substances that have long been known for their pharmacological medicinal properties. Their strong impact on the human body may justify the use of Melittis melissophyllum in unconventional therapies, and at the same time signals the possibility of extending the indications for medical applications. The use of Melittis melissophyllum extracts in the recipes of medicinal ointments accelerating the healing of wounds, pressure sores, burns and other skin damage, and showing antimicrobial effects comparable to traditionally used antiseptics, raises great hopes. Such studies are currently being conducted at the University of Medical Sciences in Bialystok. The presented article is a review of current literature on the potential use of Melittis melissophyllum L. for medicinal purposes. It is a pilot material for our further publications appearing as work progresses on discovering new therapeutic properties of this plant.

Positioning Regarding Type 2 Diabetes Reversibility under Unconventional Treatment. What about Genetic and Vitamin Status of Patients?

A great controversy has emerged recently regarding the effectiveness of unconventional therapies such as: bariatric surgery, intermittent fasting and their ability to cure type 2 diabetes versus the conventional approaches that accompany diabetic patient throughout his life with the need for a therapeutic escalation. Nevertheless, three facts are missing in this approach, the first is the little step back with it especially on the cardiovascular prognosis and the second is the application on pathology such as type2 diabetes so heterogeneous that the therapeutic response can’t be extrapolates. Finally, what is the frequency and severity of subsequent recurrences of diabetes? And will this approach still be as effective? Hence the interest of taking into account two essential aspects before starting this process, the genetic status that modulates the therapeutic response whether for the classical or contemporary approach and which will be necessary to establish a score in order to select the responders to this approach. And vitamin status especially since this new therapeutic method is based primarily on weight loss and all that goes with vitamin losses that may trigger a cascade of subclinical atherosclerosis maintained despite the reversibility of diabetes.

Nanotechnology in the Treatment of Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Nanotechnology is an emerging field where nanometer particles can be used to deliver medications directly to the area of inflammation thus avoiding drug-associated systemic side effects. Here we review conventional and unconventional therapies applied in the treatment of IBD underlying how the use of nanoparticles can improve their safety and efficacy.

A Twitter campaign against pseudoscience: The sceptical discourse on complementary therapies in Spain

The main objective of this article is to analyse the sceptical movement’s discourse on complementary therapies in Spain, as well as comprehend its mobilisation against these therapies. Over the past 2 years, the Spanish sceptical movement, constituted by citizen’s associations against unconventional therapies and in favour of evidence-based medicine, has increased its activism which, as a result, is now more familiar to the public. To perform this study, three sources of information were selected: (a) the #StopPseudociencias campaign, with a corpus of 6252 tweets; (b) 153 news articles published during the study timeline and (c) 7 interviews with members of the sceptical movement, journalists and politicians. The results of the content and discourse analyses have shown that the sceptical movement occupies a dominant discursive position on Twitter, while the perspective is more balanced in digital dailies.

Cell-based Therapy for Hypertension: Challenges and Perspectives

Hypertension is a non-transmissible chronic disease with a high prevalence, morbidity, and mortality. Different strategies for the treatment of hypertension are employed worldwide, but the control of hypertension remains a major challenge for global health. Many unsuccessful unconventional therapies have been proposed in recent years, including herbal medicines and the development of small molecules or antibodies that seek to disrupt the disease’s pathogenesis. Cell-based therapies may be used as replacement or complementary treatment strategies. The results of recent preclinical studies of cell-based therapies are promising. However, human clinical trials are scarce, the data are insipid, and many issues have been raised about the safety and efficacy of cell-based therapies. The present review summarizes research on cell-based therapy for hypertension. We also briefly summarize relevant clinical trials and discuss future perspectives and possible clinical applications.