Adv Exp Med Biol
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Cerebral venous thrombosis is an important cause of stroke in the young. Unlike venous thromboembolism (VTE), women are affected three times more often than men by CVT. The most common symptoms are headache, seizures and focal neurological deficits. ⋯ Small studies have shown promising results of endovascular treatment in severe patients, but these data require confirmation in a randomized trial. In patients who develop clinical and radiological signs of impending herniation decompressive surgery can be both life-saving and result in a good functional outcome. The prognosis is nowadays favorable in most cases, especially compared to arterial stroke, although a significant proportion of patients do suffer from chronic symptoms.
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Mitochondria are essential double-membraned cytoplasmic organelles to support aerobic respiration and produce cellular energy by oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS). Mitochondrial functions are controlled by mitochondrial (mtDNA) and nuclear genomes (nDNA). Mutations of mtDNA result in mitochondrial dysfunction and multisystem diseases through compromising OXPHOS function directly by a point mutation or a large-scale mtDNA rearrangement. ⋯ Unlike diploid nDNA, mtDNA is a multi-copy genome transmitted and maternally inherited through oocyte. The multi-copy nature of mtDNA easily causes the heteroplasmy as a unique aspect of mtDNA, making mitochondrial diseases more complex and heterogeneous. mtDNA-associated mitochondrial dysfunction plays the important role in the development of multisystemic primary mitochondrial disease, neurodegeneration, and cancer. The present article overviews the occurrence of mtDNA mutation, interactions with other factors, and molecular mechanisms of mtDNA-associated diseases.
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Stimulator of interferon (IFN) genes (STING) is a key mediator in the immune response to cytoplasmic DNA sensed by cyclic GMP-AMP (cGAMP) synthase (cGAS). After synthesis by cGAS, cGAMP acts as a second messenger activating STING in the cell harboring cytoplasmic DNA but also in adjacent cells through gap junction transfer. ⋯ Nonetheless, STING appears to be an essential component in the recruitment of immune cells to the tumor microenvironment, which is paramount to immune clearance of the tumor. This review presents an overview of the growing literature around the role of the cGAS-STING pathway in the tumor microenvironment, with a specific focus on the role that cancer cells may play in the direct activation of this pathway, and its amplification through cell-cell transfer of cGAMP.
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Substance addiction (or drug addiction) is a neuropsychiatric disorder characterized by a recurring desire to continue taking the drug despite harmful consequences. Non-substance addiction (or behavioral addiction) covers pathological gambling, food addiction, internet addiction, and mobile phone addiction. Their definition is similar to drug addiction but they differ from each other in specific domains. This review aims to provide a brief overview of past and current definitions of substance and non-substance addiction, and also touches on the topic of diagnosing drug addiction and non-drug addiction, ultimately aiming to further the understanding of the key concepts needed for a foundation to study the biological and psychological underpinnings of addiction disorders.
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Basic knowledge of pulmonary embolism is relevant to most practicing physicians. Many medical specialties care for patients with increased risk of pulmonary embolism, why recognition of relevant symptoms, a thorough medical history, assessment of the clinical condition of the patient and possibly referral to a relevant facility should be a part of the skills of all clinicians. ⋯ The information available from the medical history, clinical assessment and basic investigation form the basis on which the decision about further diagnostic imaging and intensity of treatment and monitoring can be made. These decisions can be guided by clinical scoring systems like the Wells score, revised Geneva score and the PESI.