Bratisl Med J
-
Cancer ranks first among the causes of morbidity and mortality all over the world, and it is expected to continue to be the main cause of death in the coming years. Therefore, new molecular targets and therapeutic strategies are urgently needed. In many cases, some reports show increased levels of endocannabinoids and their receptors in cancer, a condition often associated with tumour aggressiveness. Recent studies have suggested that cannabinoid-1/2 receptors contribute to tumour growth in a variety of cancers, including pancreatic, colon, prostate, and breast cancer. Understanding how cannabinoids can regulate key cellular processes involved in tumorigenesis, such as: cell proliferation and cell death, is crucial to improving existing and new therapeutic approaches for the cancer patients. The present study was aimed to characterize the in-vitro effect of L-759633 (a selective CB2 receptor agonist), ACPA (a selective CB1 receptor agonist) and ACEA (a selective CB1 receptor agonist) on the cell proliferation, clonogenicity, and apoptosis in pancreatic (PANC1) and breast (MDA-MB-231) cancer cells. ⋯ Our data suggests that CB1/2 agonists have the therapeutic potential through the inhibition of survival of human PANC1 pancreatic and MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells and also might be linked with further cellular mechanisms for the prevention (Fig. 5, Ref. 49).
-
In addition to the highly variable clinical presentation of acute COVID-19 infection, it can also cause various post-acute signs and symptoms. In our study, we aimed to examine the efficacy of anti-fibrotic therapy in patients who developed pulmonary fibrosis after COVID-19. ⋯ Patients who still had dyspnea and low saturation 12 weeks after the diagnosis, defined as chronic COVID-19, should be evaluated for anti-fibrotic therapy after the necessary radiological and PFT evaluation. Early treatment commencement brings about, besides radiological improvement, a better response obtained in PFT and 6MWT (Tab. 2, Fig. 2, Ref. 21).
-
We aimed to assist in the diagnosis of cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) with the neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR). ⋯ Significantly higher NLR levels were found in CVST patients compared to the patients, who were not diagnosed with CVST and the patients without any diagnosis (Tab. 5, Fig. 2, Ref. 22).
-
Risk for developing papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC), the most common endocrine malignancy, is thought to be mediated by lifestyle, environmental exposures and genetic factors. Recent progress in the genome-wide association studies of thyroid cancer leads to the identification of several genetic variants conferring risk to this malignancy across different ethnicities. ⋯ These results indicate that germline variants not only predispose to PTC, but may also be related to other risk factors, including associated diseases. However, these associations were only moderate, and further multi-ethnic studies are required to evaluate the usefulness of these germline variants in the clinical stratification of PTC patients (Tab. 8, Ref. 37).
-
Acute biliary pancreatitis is the most common form of acute pancreatitis worldwide. Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) may be helpful in detecting common bile duct stones and in indicating more invasive endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) examinations or determining rarer aetiologies of acute pancreatitis. ⋯ The use of EUS in patients with acute pancreatitis is very helpful in determining the treatment strategy (ERCP indication) and may reduce hospital mortality (Tab. 2, Ref. 14).