Presse Med
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NEED FOR NEW CHEMOTHERAPEUTIC AGENTS: The use of 5-FU in combination with leucoverin (LV) in the treatment of advanced colorectal cancer has consistently provided antitumoral response. The antitumoral activity of the 5-FU/LV combination is associated with inhibition of thymidylate synthetase, an essential enzyme in pyrimidine de novo biosynthesis of thymidilates as precursors of DNA synthesis. However, dose-limiting toxicities and the limited impact on survival point to the need to develop new drugs and approaches to improve therapeutic efficacy and survival.
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PARASITE IDENTIFICATION: Leishmaniases are a group of parasitic diseases affecting 88 countries in four continents. Isoenzymatic electrophoresis, presently the gold standard technique for Leishmania identification, has led to the development of the phenetic and phylogenetic classifications commonly in use. Study of the genome of these parasites is particularly important because of the features it presents.
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The first attempts at ovarian tissue cryopreservation (OTCP) were performed in the 1950s. Recent research efforts have demonstrated the possibility of obtaining pregnancy with this technique in three animal species and have shown good primordial human follicle survival up through the freezing process. ⋯ OTCP is a procedure designed to protect ovarian tissue from threats to its follicular reserves. The first threat is the time-related massive physiological destruction of the follicular reserve ending with menopause. OTCP would enable this wastage to be arrested, thereby prolonging ovarian cycling beyond limits. Conditions producing premature menopause, when known in advance, may also potentially benefit from OTCP. The iatrogenic destruction of the follicular reserve by radiation therapy or alkylating agents is another situation where OTCP would enable the patient's fertility to be preserved. Among these clinical settings, iatrogenic destruction of follicular stocks appears to us, with the current state of research, to be an acceptable indication for OTCP.