Current pharmaceutical design
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Review
Novel Findings and Therapeutic Targets on Cardioprotection of Ischemia/ Reperfusion Injury in STEMI.
Acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) remains a leading cause of morbidity and mortality around the world. A large number of STEMI patients after the infarction gradually develop heart failure due to the infarcted myocardium. Timely reperfusion is essential to salvage ischemic myocardium from the infarction, but the restoration of coronary blood flow in the infarct-related artery itself induces myocardial injury and cardiomyocyte death, known as ischemia/reperfusion injury (IRI). ⋯ Therefore, additional cardioprotection is required to prevent the heart from IRI. Although many mechanical conditioning procedures and pharmacological agents have been identified as effective cardioprotective approaches in animal studies, their translation into the clinical practice has been relatively disappointing due to a variety of reasons. With new emerging data on cardioprotection in STEMI over the past few years, it is mandatory to reevaluate the effectiveness of "old" cardioprotective interventions and highlight the novel therapeutic targets and new treatment strategies of cardioprotection.
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Despite the long history of paediatric anaesthesia, there is still much to be discovered regarding how exposure to anaesthesia affects the developing brain. Given that commonly used anaesthetic agents are thought to exert their effect via N-Methyl-D-Aspartate (NMDA) and gamma-aminobutyric acid A (GABAA) receptors, it is biologically plausible that exposure during periods of vulnerable brain development may affect long term outcome. ⋯ Human studies are emerging and ongoing and their results are producing conflicting data. The purpose of this review is to summarize the currently available evidence and consider how this may be used to minimize harm to the paediatric population undergoing anaesthesia.
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Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) is a severe genetic hyperlipidemia characterized by increased levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), leading to premature atherosclerosis. Angiopoietin-like protein (ANGPTL3) is a hepatocyte-specific protein that can be used to lower LDL in FH. However, it was unknown whether ANGPTL3 variants are present in FH patients. This study was performed to identify ANGPTL3 variants in unrelated Chinese Han patients with FH. ⋯ Chinese Clinical Trial Registration (ChiCTR-ROC-17011027) http://www.chictr.org.cn/listbycreater.aspx.
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High global incidence of acute kidney injury (AKI) is an observable complication in critically ill patients. Long-term disease and medication complexity contribute to devastating chronic kidney disease (CKD), diminishing quality of life. ⋯ Our data demonstrated creatinine elevation by a factor > 2 in 48 h in AKI group but not CKD group, which returned close to normal levels by the EF-Up, an indication of abrupt renal injury in AKI, compared with a persistent effect in the CKD group. Both serum and urine NGAL sensitivity and specificity provided powerful discriminative tool between AKI and CKD by reduction in the AKI group and an increase in the CKD group by the EF-UP, thus, contributing in establishing the basis for AKI and CKD classification. CysC, however, displayed less sensitivity than NGAL, indicating effects by enigmatic non-specific factors.
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Evaluation of Local Injection of Bevacizumab against Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Xenograft Tumors.
Bevacizumab (BVZ) is a recombinant humanized antibody that inhibits the vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA) and is used for the treatment of various types of cancer. BVZ is primarily given by the intravenous drip (I.V.), which often leads to low efficacy and various side effects. Therefore, the present study was to evaluate the effect of local delivery of BVZ against triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) xenograft tumors. ⋯ This study provided evidence associated with local delivery of BVZ against TNBC tumors supporting the use of BVZ local injections to overcome some of the disadvantages associated with I.V. therapy with BVZ.