Search results for "informatics"

Detection ofEPOgene doping in blood

2012

Gene doping--or the abuse of gene therapy--will continue to threaten the sports world. History has shown that progress in medical research is likely to be abused in order to enhance human performance. In this review, we critically discuss the progress and the risks associated with the field of erythropoietin (EPO) gene therapy and its applicability to EPO gene doping. We present typical vector systems that are employed in ex vivo and in vivo gene therapy trials. Due to associated risks, gene doping is not a feasible alternative to conventional EPO or blood doping at this time. Nevertheless, it is well described that about half of the elite athlete population is in principle willing to risk …

A novel rationale for targeting FXI: Insights from the hemostatic miRNA targetome for emerging anticoagulant strategies

2018

Abstract The treatment and prevention of thrombosis is currently under a period of rapid change with the replacement of traditional anticoagulant vitamin K antagonists, which impair the biosynthesis of a wide range of blood coagulation factors, with direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs), which specifically target factors FXa or FIIa. Nevertheless therapeutic targeting of blood coagulation is an inherently difficult task as it interferes with the delicate balance of pro- and anticoagulant activities. Although anticoagulants are employed in millions of thrombophilic patients worldwide each year, for a growing population with comorbidities who exhibit an increased risk of bleeding with DOAC treat…

Management of liver failure: from transplantation to cell-based therapy

2011

The severe shortage of deceased donor organs has driven a search for alternative methods of treating liver failure. In this context, cell-based regenerative medicine is emerging as a promising interdisciplinary field of tissue repair and restoration, able to contribute to improving health in a minimally invasive fashion. Several cell types have allowed long-term survival in experimental models of liver injury, but their therapeutic potential in humans should be regarded with deep caution, because few clinical trials are currently available and the number of patients enrolled so far is too small to assess benefits versus risks. This review summarizes the current literature on the physiologi…

Enhancing social and health care educators’ competence in digital pedagogy: A pilot study of educational intervention

2021

The purpose of this pilot study was to explore connection of an educational intervention on the competence of health care educators and educator candidates (n=11) in digital pedagogy as a part of national TerOpe project. An educational intervention, Basics of Digital Pedagogy was developed by the TerOpe project’s experts. The participating educators and educator candidates of the educational intervention were recruited from the universities and university of applied sciences, which were involved in TerOpe project. All the participants of the educational interventions were invited to take part in this study. The educational intervention was conducted during spring 2019. Pre- and post-tests w…

Algorithms and software for biological multiscale image analysis

2013

Developmental Abnormalities of the Thyroid

2016

Developmental anomalies of the thyroid gland (thyroid dysgenesis) underlie the majority of cases of congenital hypothyroidism. Only a small number of monogenic defects have been shown to result in athyreosis or orthotopic thyroid hyperplasia, whereas the commonest developmental anomaly, thyroid ectopy, remains unexplained. Ectopy may result from multiple genetic or epigenetic hits in the germline and/or at the somatic level. This chapter gives a brief overview of the monogenic defects in candidate genes that have been identified so far and of the syndromes that are known to be associated with thyroid dysgenesis. In addition, we discuss gain-of-function mutations of the thyroid hormone stimu…

New antihyperglycaemic agents and cardiovascular disease: let's be optimistic.

2018

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) substantially increases mortality in diabetes mellitus. This narrative review highlights recent research on the putative associations between dipeptyl peptidase 4 inhibitors, glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs) and sodium glucose co-transporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT-2is) and several cardiovascular risk factors.New antihyperglycaemic agents favourably modulate several CVD risk factors, including fasting and postprandial plasma glucose levels, body weight, blood pressure, lipids, microalbuminuria, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, serum uric acid, and arterial stiffness. Liraglutide (in LEADER), semaglutide (in SUSTAIN-6), empagliflozin (in EMPA-REG …

Thyroid Stimulating Hormone Receptor Antibodies in Thyroid Eye Disease-Methodology and Clinical Applications.

2018

Background Thyroid stimulating hormone receptor antibodies (TSHR-Ab) cause autoimmune hyperthyroidism and are prevalent in patients with related thyroid eye disease (TED). Purpose To provide a historical perspective on TSHR-Ab and to present evidence-based recommendations for clinical contemporary use. Methods The authors review the recent literature pertaining to TSHR-Ab in patients with TED and describe the various immunoassays currently used for detecting TSHR-Ab and their clinical applications. Results We provide a historical summary and description of the various methods used to detect TSHR-Ab, foremost, the functional TSHR-Ab. Increasing experimental and clinical data demonstrate the …

Standardization of islet isolation outcome- A new automatic system to determine pancreatic islet viability

2011

Pancreatic islet transplantation is emerging as a therapeutic approach for patients affected by diabetes. This approach consists of a minimally invasive procedure replacing insulin-producing cells (pancreatic islets). The technique has been proven successful, but limitations have been identified. One of the major challenges of the procedure is the counting of the isolated pancreatic islets, which is currently jeopardized by subjectivity and inaccuracy. Determination of the accurate islet number is a crucial factor in determining the correlation between the isolation product and clinical outcome. In the proposed study, we have developed software capable of objectively evaluating islet number…

Guidelines for biomarker discovery in endometrium: correcting for menstrual cycle bias reveals new genes associated with uterine disorders

2021

Abstract Transcriptomic approaches are increasingly used in reproductive medicine to identify candidate endometrial biomarkers. However, it is known that endometrial progression in the molecular biology of the menstrual cycle is a main factor that could affect the discovery of disorder-related genes. Therefore, the aim of this study was to systematically review current practices for considering the menstrual cycle effect and to demonstrate its bias in the identification of potential biomarkers. From the 35 studies meeting the criteria, 31.43% did not register the menstrual cycle phase. We analysed the menstrual cycle effect in 11 papers (including 12 studies) from Gene Expression Omnibus: t…