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Evaluation regarding Thalamus and Basal Ganglia Indications Involving Multiple Sclerosis and first Angiitis from the Neurological system: A great Exploratory Review.
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive motor neuron (MN) disease. Its primary cause remains elusive, although a combination of different causal factors cannot be ruled out. There is no cure, and prognosis is poor. Most patients with ALS die due to disease-related complications, such as respiratory failure, within three years of diagnosis. While the underlying mechanisms are unclear, different cell types (microglia, astrocytes, macrophages and T cell subsets) appear to play key roles in the pathophysiology of the disease. Neuroinflammation and oxidative stress pave the way leading to neurodegeneration and MN death. ALS-associated mitochondrial dysfunction occurs at different levels, and these organelles are involved in the mechanism of MN death. Molecular and cellular interactions are presented here as a sequential cascade of events. Based on our present knowledge, the discussion leads to the idea that feasible therapeutic strategies should focus in interfering with the pathophysiology of the disease at different steps.Bearberry (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi) is a medicinal plant traditionally employed for the treatment of urinary tract infections due to high contents of arbutin (hydroquinone β-D-glucoside), which is now mainly used as a natural skin-whitening agent in cosmetics. Bearberry has also been proposed as a natural antioxidant additive due to the high contents of phenolic compounds in leaves. We studied the variation on phenolic compounds in 42 wild populations of bearberry, aiming to elucidate if intrinsic biological, climatic, and/or geographic factors affect phenolic contents across its natural distribution in the Iberian Peninsula. Bearberry leaves were collected during autumn over a three-year period (2014-2016) in populations across a latitude and altitude gradient. Methanolic extracts showed a wide range of variation in total phenols content, and different phenolic profiles regarding arbutin (levels of this major constituent varied from 87 to 232 mg/g dr wt), but also catechin and myricetin contents, which were affected by geographic and climatic factors. Moderate levels of variation on genome size-assessed by flow cytometry-and on two plastid DNA regions were also detected among populations. Genetic and cytogenetic differentiation of populations was weakly but significantly associated to phytochemical diversity. Elite bearberry genotypes with higher antioxidant capacity were subsequently identified.Brain tumors are considered as one of the most aggressive and incurable forms of cancer. The majority of the patients with brain tumors have a median survival rate of 12%. Brain tumors are lethal despite the availability of advanced treatment options such as surgical removal, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy. In this study, we have evaluated the anti-cancer effects of pimozide, which is a neuroleptic drug used for the treatment of schizophrenia and chronic psychosis. Pimozide significantly reduced the proliferation of U-87MG, Daoy, GBM 28, and U-251MG brain cancer cell lines by inducing apoptosis with IC50 (Inhibitory concentration 50) ranging from 12 to 16 μM after 48 h of treatment. Our Western blotting analysis indicated that pimozide suppressed the phosphorylation of STAT3 at Tyr705 and Src at Tyr416, and it inhibited the expression of anti-apoptotic markers c-Myc, Mcl-1, and Bcl-2. Significant autophagy induction was observed with pimozide treatment. LC3B, Beclin-1, and ATG5 up-regulation along with autolysosome formation confirmed the induction of autophagy with pimozide treatment. Inhibiting autophagy using 3-methyladenine or LC3B siRNA significantly blocked the apoptosis-inducing effects of pimozide, suggesting that pimozide mediated its apoptotic effects by inducing autophagy. Oral administration of 25 mg/kg pimozide suppressed the intracranially implanted U-87MG tumor growth by 45% in athymic nude mice. The chronic administration of pimozide showed no general signs of toxicity, and the behavioral activity of the mice remained unchanged. Taken together, these results indicate that pimozide inhibits the growth of brain cancer by autophagy-mediated apoptosis.In December 2019, physicians reported numerous patients showing pneumonia of unknown origin in the Chinese region of Wuhan. selleck Following the spreading of the infection over the world, The World Health Organization (WHO) on 11 March 2020 declared the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) outbreak a global pandemic. The scientific community is exerting an extraordinary effort to elucidate all aspects related to SARS-CoV-2, such as the structure, ultrastructure, invasion mechanisms, replication mechanisms, or drugs for treatment, mainly through in vitro studies. Thus, the clinical in vivo data can provide a test bench for new discoveries in the field of SARS-CoV-2, finding new solutions to fight the current pandemic. During this dramatic situation, the normal scientific protocols for the development of new diagnostic procedures or drugs are frequently not completely applied in order to speed up these processes. In this context, interdisciplinarity is fundamental. Specifically, a great contribution can be provided by the association and interpretation of data derived from medical disciplines based on the study of images, such as radiology, nuclear medicine, and pathology. Therefore, here, we highlighted the most recent histopathological and imaging data concerning the SARS-CoV-2 infection in lung and other human organs such as the kidney, heart, and vascular system. In addition, we evaluated the possible matches among data of radiology, nuclear medicine, and pathology departments in order to support the intense scientific work to address the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. In this regard, the development of artificial intelligence algorithms that are capable of correlating these clinical data with the new scientific discoveries concerning SARS-CoV-2 might be the keystone to get out of the pandemic.Albeit effective, methionine/protein restriction in the management of classical homocystinuria (HCU) is suboptimal and hard to follow. To address unmet need, we developed an enzyme therapy (OT-58), which effectively corrected disease symptoms in various mouse models of HCU in the absence of methionine restriction. Here we evaluated short- and long-term efficacy of OT-58 on the background of current dietary management of HCU. Methionine restriction resulted in the lowering of total homocysteine (tHcy) by 38-63% directly proportional to a decreased methionine intake (50-12.5% of normal). Supplemental betaine resulted in additional lowering of tHcy. OT-58 successfully competed with betaine and normalized tHcy on the background of reduced methionine intake, while substantially lowering tHcy in mice on normal methionine intake. Betaine was less effective in lowering tHcy on the background of normal or increased methionine intake, while exacerbating hypermethioninemia. OT-58 markedly reduced both hyperhomocysteinemia and hypermethioninemia caused by the diets and betaine in HCU mice.
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