Clinics
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A significant benefit from physical activity has recently been described in some patients who suffer from neurodegenerative diseases. ⋯ The regular practice of physical activity seems to contribute to a reduction in neuropsychiatric symptoms in dementia patients and to attenuate the burden of the caregivers of those patients.
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To describe nutritional status, body composition and lipid profile in children and adolescents receiving protease inhibitors. ⋯ The use of protease inhibitors, per se, does not seem to significantly interfere with anthropometric measures, body composition and food intake of HIV-infected children and adolescents. However, this antiretroviral therapy was associated with a significant increase in triglyceride and LDL-cholesterol in our subjects.
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Peripheral nerves are often damaged by direct mechanical injury, diseases, and tumors. The peripheral nerve injuries that result from these conditions can lead to a partial or complete loss of motor, sensory, and autonomic functions, which in turn are related to changes in skin temperature, in the involved segments of the body. The aim of this study was to evaluate the changes in hind paw skin temperature after sciatic nerve crush in rats in an attempt to determine whether changes in skin temperature correlate with the functional recovery of locomotion. ⋯ This study is the first demonstration that sciatic nerve crush in rats induces an increase in hind paw skin temperature and that skin temperature changes do not correlate closely with functional recovery.
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PXR polymorphisms have been implicated in modulating CYP3A4 and PXR expression, potentially accounting for interindividual differences in drug metabolism. The prevalence of PXR polymorphisms varies among ethnic groups and data on the allelic distribution in the highly mixed Brazilian population is lacking. The aim of this study was to analyze genetic variations in the PXR gene in Brazilians and to compare the results to other ethnic groups. ⋯ We observed that functional variants of the PXR were frequent in our sample of the Brazilian population. Our results suggest that PXR gene variants may be of interest in pharmacogenetic studies involving Brazilians.
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Honey is a common household product with many medicinal uses described in traditional medicine. Only recently has its antioxidant properties and preventive effects against disease been highlighted. Chrysin is a natural flavone commonly found in honey that has been shown to be an antioxidant agent. In this study, we investigated the antiproliferative and apoptotic effects of honey and chrysin on cultured human prostate cancer cells. ⋯ Our results suggest that honey has anti-proliferative effects on prostate cancer cells and the effects are mainly due to chrysin. Therefore, chrysin may be a potential compound for both cancer prevention and treatment. Further in vivo investigation is needed to support the use of chrysin in cancer therapy.