Plos One
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S-(+)-dicentrine is an aporphinic alkaloid found in several plant species, mainly from Lauraceae family, which showed significant antinociceptive activity in an acute model of visceral pain in mice. In this work, we extended the knowledge on the antinociceptive properties of S-(+)-dicentrine and showed that this alkaloid also attenuates mechanical and cold hypersensitivity associated with cutaneous inflammation induced by Complete Freund's Adjuvant in mice. Given orally, S-(+)-dicentrine (100 mg/kg) reversed CFA-induced mechanical hypersensitivity, evaluated as the paw withdrawal threshold to von Frey hairs, and this effect lasted up to 2 hours. ⋯ When administered either by oral or intraplantar routes, S-(+)-dicentrine reduced the licking time (spontaneous nociception) and increased the latency time to paw withdrawal in the cold plate (cold hypersensitivity), both induced by the intraplantar injection of cinnamaldehyde. Taken together, our data adds information about antinociceptive properties of S-(+)-dicentrine in inflammatory conditions, reducing spontaneous nociception and attenuating mechanical and cold hypersensitivity, probably via a TRPA1-dependent mechanism. It also indicates that S-(+)-dicentrine might be potentially interesting in the development of new clinically relevant drugs for the management of persistent pain, especially under inflammatory conditions.
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We examined the effects of gamma knife (GK) irradiation on injured nerves using a rat partial sciatic nerve ligation (PSL) model. GK irradiation was performed at one week after ligation and nerve preparations were made three weeks after ligation. GK irradiation is known to induce immune responses such as glial cell activation in the central nervous system. ⋯ When GK-induced alleviation of allodynia was initially detected, the expression of glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), a potent analgesic factor, was significantly increased by GK irradiation. These results suggested that GK irradiation alleviates allodynia via increased GDNF. This study provides novel evidence that GK irradiation of injured peripheral nerves may have beneficial effects.
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We investigated the effect of a nationwide educational program following surviving sepsis campaign (SSC) guidelines. Physicians' clinical practice in sepsis care and patient mortality rate for severe sepsis were analyzed using a nationally representative cohort. ⋯ The nationwide education program through a national professional society has a significant impact on physicians' clinical practice and resulted in a slight but significant reduction of severe sepsis mortality rate.
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We aimed to develop and test a literature-based model for symptoms that associate with cardiac causes of syncope. ⋯ A simple literature-based Bayesian model of historical criteria can distinguish patients with cardiac syncope from other patients with syncope with moderate accuracy.
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In recent years, heterologous prime-boost vaccines have been demonstrated to be an effective strategy for generating protective immunity, consisting of both humoral and cell-mediated immune responses against a variety of pathogens including HIV-1. Previous reports of preclinical and clinical studies have shown the enhanced immunogenicity of viral vector or DNA vaccination followed by heterologous protein boost, compared to using either prime or boost components alone. With such approaches, the selection of an adjuvant for inclusion in the protein boost component is expected to impact the immunogenicity and safety of a vaccine. ⋯ Our data revealed that the candidate adjuvants in the context of the DP6-001 formulation are characterized by unique serum cytokine and chemokine profiles. Such information will provide valuable guidance in the selection of an adjuvant for future AIDS vaccine development, with the ultimate goal of enhancing immunogenicity while minimizing reactogenicity associated with the use of an adjuvant. More significantly, results reported here will add to the knowledge on how to include an adjuvant in the context of a heterologous prime-protein boost vaccination strategy in general.