Search results for "Research"
showing 10 items of 25967 documents
Disease severity in patients with visceral leishmaniasis is not altered by co-infection with intestinal parasites
2017
Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a neglected tropical disease that affects the poorest communities and can cause substantial morbidity and mortality. Visceral leishmaniasis is characterized by the presence of Leishmania parasites in the spleen, liver and bone marrow, hepatosplenomegaly, pancytopenia, prolonged fever, systemic inflammation and low body mass index (BMI). The factors impacting on the severity of VL are poorly characterized. Here we performed a cross-sectional study to assess whether co-infection of VL patients with intestinal parasites influences disease severity, assessed with clinical and haematological data, inflammation, cytokine profiles and BMI. Data from VL patients was s…
Chronic skin inflammation leads to bone loss by IL-17-mediated inhibition of Wnt signaling in osteoblasts
2016
Item does not contain fulltext Inflammation has important roles in tissue regeneration, autoimmunity, and cancer. Different inflammatory stimuli can lead to bone loss by mechanisms that are not well understood. We show that skin inflammation induces bone loss in mice and humans. In psoriasis, one of the prototypic IL-17A-mediated inflammatory human skin diseases, low bone formation and bone loss correlated with increased serum IL-17A levels. Similarly, in two mouse models with chronic IL-17A-mediated skin inflammation,K14-IL17A(ind)andJunB(Deltaep), strong inhibition of bone formation was observed, different from classical inflammatory bone loss where osteoclast activation leads to bone deg…
No pre-zygotic isolation mechanisms between Schistosoma haematobium and Schistosoma bovis parasites: From mating interactions to differential gene ex…
2021
Species usually develop reproductive isolation mechanisms allowing them to avoid interbreeding. These preventive barriers can act before reproduction, “pre-zygotic barriers”, or after reproduction, “post-zygotic barriers”. Pre-zygotic barriers prevent unfavourable mating, while post-zygotic barriers determine the viability and selective success of the hybrid offspring. Hybridization in parasites and the underlying reproductive isolation mechanisms maintaining their genetic integrity have been overlooked. Using an integrated approach this work aims to quantify the relative importance of pre-zygotic barriers in Schistosoma haematobium x S. bovis crosses. These two co-endemic species cause sch…
Repurposing of the Antiepileptic Drug Levetiracetam to Restrain Neuroendocrine Prostate Cancer and Inhibit Mast Cell Support to Adenocarcinoma
2021
A relevant fraction of castration-resistant prostate cancers (CRPC) evolve into fatal neuroendocrine (NEPC) tumors in resistance to androgen deprivation and/or inhibitors of androgen receptor pathway. Therefore, effective drugs against both CRPC and NEPC are needed. We have previously described a dual role of mast cells (MCs) in prostate cancer, being capable to promote adenocarcinoma but also to restrain NEPC. This finding suggests that a molecule targeting both MCs and NEPC cells could be effective against prostate cancer. Using an in silico drug repurposing approach, here we identify the antiepileptic drug levetiracetam as a potential candidate for this purpose. We found that the protein…
Gut Microbiome Developmental Patterns in Early Life of Preterm Infants: Impacts of Feeding and Gender.
2015
Gut microbiota plays a key role in multiple aspects of human health and disease, particularly in early life. Distortions of the gut microbiota have been found to correlate with fatal diseases in preterm infants, however, developmental patterns of gut microbiome and factors affecting the colonization progress in preterm infants remain unclear. The purpose of this prospective longitudinal study was to explore day-to-day gut microbiome patterns in preterm infants during their first 30 days of life in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and investigate potential factors related to the development of the infant gut microbiome. A total of 378 stool samples were collected daily from 29 stable/…
Clinical response to non-surgical periodontal treatment in patients with interleukin-6 and interleukin-10 polymorphisms
2017
Background Genetic polymorphisms are commonly associated with altered transcriptional activity and possibly make individuals more susceptible to periodontal disease development, increased disease severity and poor treatment outcome. The study aimed to determine the effect of Interleukin-6 (IL-6) -572 G/C (rs1800796) and IL-10 -592 C/A (rs1800872) polymorphisms on the outcomes of non-surgical periodontal therapy in a Caucasian population. Material and Methods Sixty-eight patients with chronic periodontal disease were grouped according to their genotype: IL-6, IL-10, IL-6 and IL-10 susceptible (SCP) and non-susceptible (NSCP). All individuals were clinically evaluated at the first visit, and …
The significance of epidermal growth factor receptor uncommon mutations in non-small cell lung cancer: A systematic review and critical appraisal
2020
Uncommon epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations collectively account for 10% of EGFR mutations, harboring heterogeneous molecular alterations within exons 18-21 with clinically variable responses to EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) in advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) patients. In addition, with the introduction of different NGS gene approach an improvement of EGFR mutations detection was reported. Today, no specific studies have prospectively evaluated uncommon sensitizing mutations in detail and no firm standard of care has been established in the first-line setting. The aim of this comprehensive review is to critically consider the clinical role of uncommon EGF…
Increased PD-1 Expression and Altered T Cell Repertoire Diversity Predict Mortality in Patients with Septic Shock: A Preliminary Study
2017
Sepsis causes impairment of innate and adaptive immunity by multiple mechanisms, including depletion of immune effector cells and T cell exhaustion. Although lymphocyte dysfunction is associated with increased mortality and potential reactivation of latent viral infection in patients with septic shock, the relation between viral reactivation and lymphocyte dysfunction is obscure. The objectives of this study were 1) to determine the relation of lymphocyte dysfunction to viral reactivation and mortality, and 2) to evaluate recovery of lymphocyte function during septic shock, including T cell receptor (TCR) diversity and the expression of programmed death 1 (PD-1). In 18 patients with septic …
Social stress during adolescence activates long-term microglia inflammation insult in reward processing nuclei
2018
The experience of social stress during adolescence is associated with higher vulnerability to drug use. Increases in the acquisition of cocaine self-administration, in the escalation of cocaine-seeking behavior, and in the conditioned rewarding effects of cocaine have been observed in rodents exposed to repeated social defeat (RSD). In addition, prolonged or severe stress induces a proinflammatory state with microglial activation and increased cytokine production. The aim of the present work was to describe the long-term effects induced by RSD during adolescence on the neuroinflammatory response and synaptic structure by evaluating different glial and neuronal markers. In addition to an inc…
Effectiveness of the physical activity intervention program in the PREDIMED-Plus study: a randomized controlled trial
2018
[Background] The development and implementation of effective physical activity (PA) intervention programs is challenging, particularly in older adults. After the first year of the intervention program used in the ongoing PREvención con DIeta MEDiterránea (PREDIMED)-Plus trial, we assessed the initial effectiveness of the PA component.