Current pharmaceutical design
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Review Meta Analysis
Role of Melatonin in Body Weight: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Some trials on animals and human claim that melatonin can influence body weight. So we conducted a systematic review of controlled trials of melatonin effects on weight of human subjects. ⋯ We concluded that once the standard treatment had increasing effect on body weight, melatonin could be able to slightly diminish this effect and vice versa. Subgroup analysis showed that melatonin was more effective in child and adolescents. According to the results hypothesis of the buffering role of melatonin on body weight fluctuations can be proposed.
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Review Historical Article
Theories About Blood Coagulation in the Writings of Ancient Greek Medico-philosophers.
Anaxagoras and Empedocles both established during the Presocratic era a pioneering theory for the creation of everything in the universe. Macrocosmos' impact through the "Four Elements Theory" explained the conglomeration of the blood inside the vessels. ⋯ Plato, Aristotle and Galen, all engaged with the clotting phenomenon trying to interpret it. After eons of inquiry, it was the innovative thinking of the ancient Greek medico philosophers that set the scientific bases towards the understanding of a process that had been analyzing until our era.
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Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is an important public health concern plagued by high rates of mortality and significant long-term disability in many survivors. Post-traumatic seizures (PTS) are not uncommon following TBI, both in the early (within 7 days post-injury) and late (after 7 days post-injury) period. ⋯ Prophylactic antiepileptic drug (AED) administration has been proposed as a measure to reduce the incidence of PTS and the ultimate development of PTE in TBI patients. In this topical review, we discuss the pathophysiologic mechanisms of early and late PTS and the development of PTE following TBI, the pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic properties of AEDs commonly used to prevent post-traumatic seizures, and summarize the available clinical evidence for employing AEDs for seizure prophylaxis after TBI.
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The tumor suppressor PTEN serves as a negative regulator of PI3K/PTEN/Akt signaling pathway that regulates cellular functions such as cell growth, differentiation, proliferation and migration. The PI3K/PTEN/Akt signaling cascades might also have effect on glucose uptake via translocation of GLUT-4. Insulin controls energy storage and the whole body glucose homeostasis. Its binding to insulin receptor on the surface of diverse cells allows glucose entry into cells, and activates a variety of cellular actions. Insulin resistance is a common metabolic feature and established risk factor of many diseases. Its fundamental principle is inability of insulin to exert its normal metabolic effects, and nutrient imbalance and abnormal lipid accumulation in skeletal muscle, liver and adipose tissues. ⋯ Considering PTEN's important role in insulin resistance and tumor regulation, targeting the PTEN gene and/or protein will likely provide an efficient strategy for therapeutic intervention in cancer and metabolic diseases like type 2 diabetes mellitus, obesity, and cardiovascular dysfunction.
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Review
Anti-EGFRvIII Chimeric Antigen Receptor-Modified T Cells for Adoptive Cell Therapy of Glioblastoma.
Glioblastoma (GBM) is one of the most devastating brain tumors with poor prognosis and high mortality. Although radical surgical treatment with subsequent radiation and chemotherapy can improve the survival, the efficacy of such regimens is insufficient because the GBM cells can spread and destroy normal brain structures. Moreover, these non-specific treatments may damage adjacent healthy brain tissue. ⋯ Immunotherapy is a promising approach due to its capability to suppress the growth of various tumors in preclinical model and clinical trials. Adoptive cell therapy (ACT) using T cells engineered with chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) targeting an ideal molecular marker in GBM, e.g. epidermal growth factor receptor type III (EGFRvIII) has demonstrated a satisfactory efficacy in treating malignant brain tumors. Here we summarize the recent progresses in immunotherapeutic strategy using CAR-modified T cells oriented to EGFRvIII against GBM.