Therapy, Diagnosis, Life Sciences, and Medical Research Discoveries and News - Discovery Medicine

Time 2020-11-16 12:03:50

Web Name: Therapy, Diagnosis, Life Sciences, and Medical Research Discoveries and News - Discovery Medicine

WebSite: http://www.discoverymedicine.com

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Targeted therapy including targeted cancer therapy Latest research findings and treatment strategies on rheumatoid arthritis Targeted radiation therapy and targeted radioimmunotherapy Influenza research, treatment, and prevention -- H5N1 and H1N1 Abstract: Dyslipidemia refers to the abnormality of lipid metabolism. The aberrant lipid profiles are usually characterized by elevated plasma levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c), total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TGs), apoprotein B (ApoB), and decreased level of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c). Dyslipidemia occurs frequently in autoimmune diseases (ADs), such as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), type-1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM), psoriasis, and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), and many other diseases. An imbalance in lipid metabolism contributes to accelerated inflammatory responses in addition to promoting the formation of atherosclerosis. Although there have been many studies and reports on the relationship between abnormal lipid metabolism and ADs, it remains uncertain as to whether dyslipidemia has a unique role in promoting the occurrence and development of ADs. Here, we discuss the mechanisms of how dyslipidemia accelerates inflammatory response, autoimmunity, and atherosclerosis at epidemiological, molecular, and cellular levels, and the discussion is mainly conducted with SLE as an example. ... Read more Abstract: Newcastle disease virus (NDV) replicates in the cytoplasm and disintegrates the host genome or participates in recombination, and has a strong affinity for tumor cells. These characteristics make it safer and more attractive than retroviruses or certain other DNA viruses, and one of the most potential oncolytic viruses used in oncolytic therapy. The construction of recombinant NDV (rNDV) using reverse genetics technology with NDV as a gene delivery vector has also enabled NDV in gene therapy approaches for treating cancer and other diseases. rNDV can not only stably express exogenous therapeutic genes, but also enhance the ability of the virus to kill tumor cells and induce host anti-tumor immune response. This article reviews the molecular characteristics, anti-tumor mechanisms, and the applications of NDV in cancer therapy. ... Read more Abstract: Arrhythmia is a dangerous disease in which the heart rhythm varies and it may be very fast or very slow. Rapid heartbeats can lead to shortness of breath, chest pain, and sudden weakness, whereas slow heartbeats can lead to dizziness, problems with concentration, and constant stress. Finding an effective treatment for arrhythmia has become a very important endeavor for researchers and clinicians. In this article, we review the latest methodologies used in arrhythmia diagnosis and treatment. They include the application of five different types of artificial neural networks trained by machine learning and powered by artificial intelligence: convolutional, recurrent, feedforward, radial basis function, and modular neural network. Some of these methodologies are merged to enhance accuracy and efficacy. This review suggests that more research needs to be carried out in merging neural network types for their application in electrocardiogram (ECG). ... Read more Abstract: Background: Crescent formation is a serious pathological change in the IgA nephropathy (IgAN) which is believed to be primarily mediated by a mixture of parietal epithelial cells, macrophages, and myofibroblasts. It was recommended that IgAN patients with rapid renal hypofunction with a crescent body 50% should begin treatment with corticosteroids combined with cyclophosphamide. However, for patients with partial crescent formation, whether immunosuppressive therapy is necessary is a contested topic. Materials and Methods: Data from IgAN patients with partial crescent formation who underwent repeat renal biopsy were retrospectively analyzed. Results: From the first to the second renal biopsy, the mean hemoglobin level and albumin level increased significantly (P 0.05), and uric acid and triglyceride levels decreased significantly (P 0.05). Also, the 24-hour urinary protein excretion decreased significantly (P 0.001), but no differences in blood pressure, creatinine level, or estimated glomerular filtration rate. For pathological indices, there were no differences in fluorescence intensity of IgA or C3 deposition (P 0.05), but the mesangial cell proliferation decreased significantly (P 0.05), and the proportions of global glomerulosclerosis and tubulointerstitial fibrosis increased significantly (P 0.05, respectively). In addition, a decreased tendency in the proportion of crescent formation was observed in the second renal biopsy. Conclusions: Immunosuppressive therapy for IgAN patients with partial crescent formation can reduce proteinuria, stabilize renal function, improve anemia, and mitigate acute kidney injury in the short term. ... Read more Abstract: Objective: This study aims to investigate the influences of renal anemia on the pathogenesis of IgA nephropathy using propensity score matching (PSM).Methods: Renal biopsies from 462 patients with IgA nephropathy were enrolled in this study. PSM was used to balance intergroup covariates, and matching results were verified using a dot-plot of standardized mean differences and histograms of the propensity score distribution and distance distribution. The matched data were used to analyze the impact of renal anemia on the pathological indicators of IgA nephropathy by logistic regression.Results: A total of 132 pairs of patients from the renal anemia group and the non-renal anemia group were matched by PSM; after matching, the standard deviations of 13 covariates were within 0.25. Multivariate logistic regression results suggested that the CKD4-5 stage of IgA nephropathy and tubular atrophy/interstitial fibrosis 50% were independent risk factors for renal anemia.Conclusions: Via PSM, we demonstrated that decreased eGFR and severe tubular atrophy/interstitial fibrosis are correlated with renal anemia in IgA nephropathy. In clinical practice, renal anemia in patients with IgA nephropathy of CKD3 stage or above should be closely monitored and managed. ... Read more Abstract: Sepsis is an important disorder in intensive care medicine, and the emphasis is not on infections but the imbalance in body reactions and life-threatening organ dysfunction. The infection, the imbalance in the body's reaction, and the deadly organ dysfunction are three aspects of sepsis. Currently, there is still a debate on suitable criteria for the diagnosis of patients with sepsis with continuing changes in the guidelines on sepsis management. Here we summarize recent advances on the definitions, diagnosis, and treatment in the clinical practice of sepsis management in the emergency department. We also highlight future research directions on sepsis. In particular, given the global outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), we briefly describe the relationship between COVID-19 and sepsis. How to manage sepsis caused by emerging pathogens such as COVID-19 is a new challenge for care professionals in the emergency department. ... Read more Abstract: Sepsis is a life-threatening clinical condition demanding accurate and rapid diagnosis of the culprit pathogen, thereby to improve prognosis. Pathogen determination through blood culture is the gold standard for diagnosis but has limitations due to low sensitivity. Recently, circulating DNAs derived from pathogenic organisms were found in the plasma of patients with sepsis and were further proved to be more sensitive biomarkers for the diagnosis of the pathogen origin in sepsis. However, the fundamental molecular characteristics of circulating DNA in patients with sepsis remain unclear. Here, we used specific PCR and Sanger sequencing to verify the microbiology culture results via the corresponding plasma circulating DNA. We analyzed the composition and molecular characteristics of circulating DNA in septic patients using next-generation sequencing technology. We showed the presence of pathogen-derived circulating DNA in the plasma of patients with sepsis. The sizes of circulating DNA fragments derived from pathogenic bacteria showed a skewed unimodal distribution, while those derived from host cells showed a normal unimodal distribution. Lengths of fragments at peak concentration for both origins ranged from 150 bp to 200 bp, and reads mapping to pathogenic bacteria genome distributed uniformly on the reference. Our findings have improved our understanding of microbial circulating DNA in patients with sepsis as a potential methodology for the accurate diagnosis of sepsis, especially in light of an urgent need for such a diagnosis associated with the COVID-19 infection. ... Read more Abstract: Treatment options for metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC) continue to expand. Three recent phase III trials, Checkmate 214, Keynote-426, and Javelin Renal 101, have led to FDA approval of three new regimens for patients with clear cell RCC: nivolumab plus ipilimumab, pembrolizumab plus axitinib, and avelumab plus axitinib, respectively. At the same time, the dearth of treatment options for non-clear cell RCC has changed very little. The role of cytoreductive nephrectomy has also come into question after the publication of the CARMENA and SURTIME trials. This review will examine recent changes in therapeutic options in clear cell RCC and non-clear RCC, and the role of surgery in the treatment of metastatic RCC. ... Read more Abstract: The objective of this study was to validate the results from our published work and to test the robustness of our unique malignancy index as a (non-invasive) predictor of prostate cancer in fresh blood samples obtained from patients diagnosed with prostate cancer (PCa), benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), and healthy volunteers (Controls). The malignancy index was obtained by dividing the product of three biomarker values, [urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA), plasminogen activator inhibitor type-1 (PAI-1), and prostate-specific antigen (PSA)], by the age of the patient/healthy volunteer, using enzyme-linked immunosorbent (ELISA) assay methodology.The results confirmed earlier findings that the malignancy index discriminates prostate cancer from non-prostate cancer. The index significantly separated the PCa group from the Control group with values of 0.0701 (n=54) and 0.0007 (n=47), respectively, by a factor of 100. The malignancy index of the small BPH cohort was found to be 0.0016 (n=20), differing by a factor of 44 from the Control group. When data from the earlier study and the current study data were collectively analyzed, the index again significantly separated the PCa group from the Control group by a factor of 15, with values of 0.0624 (n=125) and 0.0042 (n=110), respectively. However, the same could not be said of the BPH data since the sample size (n=20) was well below par, for comparison. In the initial blood study, the PCa group was significantly separated from the Control group by a factor of 8.5. The data presented here concur with findings in needle biopsies and transurethral resection tissue, reported elsewhere (Bohm et al., 2013; Akudugu et al., 2015). At this preliminary stage, the malignancy index has potential and merit as a prostate cancer biomarker. ... Read more Abstract: Aptamers are short single-stranded oligonucleotides that have attracted considerable attention due to their favorable biological characteristics. Aptamers can specifically target and bind to proteins or tumor cells, achieving tumor diagnosis and therapy in vitro and in vivo. Following an introduction of methodologies of producing aptamers and the recent advances of aptamers being applied to clinical samples or xenograft tumors, tumor diagnosis using aptamers will be reviewed, including fluorescence imaging, radionuclide-based imaging, MRI, histochemical imaging, and multimodality imaging. Preclinical applications in tumor therapy in vivo will also be discussed, covering different kinds of treatment mechanisms, including aptamer therapeutics, chemotherapy, gene therapy, immunotherapy, and combination therapy. Safety and efficacy of tumor-targeting therapeutics via aptamers, as well as the current challenges and future perspectives about aptamers' clinical applications, will be summarized. ... Read more

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