Medical principles and practice : international journal of the Kuwait University, Health Science Centre
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Observational Study
Association of socioeconomic status and oral cancer mortality in Brazil: temporal trends and spatial distribution.
The objective of this observational study was to evaluate the relationship between the oral cancer mortality rate and socioeconomic indicators throughout the Brazilian territory, between 2010 and 2019. ⋯ Despite the higher number of oral cancer deaths in regions with higher social indices, increasing temporal trends are more accentuated in regions with lower socioeconomic levels.
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A healthy diet is a modifiable risk factor that may impact cognition. A unique type of diet may include intermittent fasting (IF), an eating pattern in which individuals go extended periods with little or no meal intake, intervening with periods of normal food intake. IF has multiple health benefits including maintenance of blood glucose levels, reduction of insulin levels, depletion or reduction of glycogen stores, mobilization of fatty acids, and generation of ketones. IF has shown neuroprotective effects as it may lead to increased neurogenesis in the hippocampus, which may contribute to cognitive resilience. Diets including IF were examined as lifestyle modifications in the prevention and management of cognitive decline. ⋯ IF is considered a safe intervention, and no adverse effects were found in the reviewed studies; however, evidence is limited as there were only 9 low-quality RCTs that assessed the impact of IF on cognition. DASH, low-glycemic diets, and exercise may have effective roles in the management and prevention of cognitive decline, although further research is needed.
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Angiotensin converting enzyme 2 is the functional receptor that the SARS-Cov-2 virus requires to enter cells and cause dysregulated inflammatory conditions that contribute towards acute lung injuries. The renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system with its physiological surveillance and regulation system can be implicated in both harm and therapeutic benefit. ⋯ Understanding the biological plausibility of this pathway alongside the emerging therapeutic evidence may yield new modes of treatment. Such developments appear fundamentally important in the battle against the inevitable emergence of new variants and their potential to drive future waves of COVID-19 pandemics.
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Hypertension is a major cause of cardiovascular diseases. Many studies have pointed out that the atherogenic index of plasma (AIP), which demonstrates plasma atherogenicity, is correlated with all-cause mortality, cardiovascular morbidity, atherosclerosis, and severity of coronary artery disease. Within this context, we tried to evaluate the correlation between nondipping circadian pattern and AIP. ⋯ AIP levels are higher in patients with nondipping pattern compared to dipper patients. Additionally, higher levels of AIP are independently associated with the presence of the nondipping pattern in hypertensive patients.
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In 2020, more than 9 million patients suffering from Parkinson's disease (PD) were reported worldwide, and studies predict that the burden of this disease will grow substantially in industrial countries. In the last decade, there has been a better understanding of this neurodegenerative disorder, clinically characterized by motor disturbances, impaired balance, coordination, memory difficulties, and behavioral changes. Various preclinical investigations and studies on human postmortem brains suggest that local oxidative stress and inflammation promote misfolding and aggregation of alpha-synuclein within Lewy bodies and cause nerve cell damage. ⋯ Their results provide a solid base for clinical trials and further developments. In this review, we discuss the pathogenesis, the prospects, and challenges of synolytic therapy, CRISPR, gene editing, and gene- and cell-based therapy. We also throw light on the recent observation that targeted physiotherapy may help improve the gait and other motor impairments.