Medicina
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Background and Objectives: Preoperative planning utilizing computed tomographies (CT) is of utmost importance in functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS). Frequently, no uniform documentation and planning structures are available to residents in training. Consequently, overall completeness and quality of operation planning may vary greatly. ⋯ User convenience data delineated a significant preference for SOPs (VAS 7.9 vs. 6.9, p = 0.0185). Conclusions: CT-based planning of FESS procedures by residents in training using a structured approach is more time-consuming while producing a superior report quality in terms of detailedness and readability. Consequently, SOP can be considered as a valuable tool in the process of preoperative evaluations, especially within residency.
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Background and Objectives: Uncertainty about the clinical efficacy of transcutaneous electric nerve stimulation (TENS) to alleviate pain spans half a century. There has been no attempt to synthesise the entire body of systematic review evidence. The aim of this comprehensive review was to critically appraise the characteristics and outcomes of systematic reviews evaluating the clinical efficacy of TENS for any type of acute and chronic pain in adults. ⋯ Therefore, we recommend that TENS should be considered as a treatment option. The considerable quantity of reviews with 'insufficient data' and meaningless findings have clouded the issue of efficacy. We offer solutions to these issues going forward.
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The pemphigoid family of dermatoses is characterized by autoimmune subepidermal blistering. The classic paradigm for pemphigoid, and the most common member, is bullous pemphigoid. ⋯ Epidermolysis bullosa acquisita is a chronic blistering disorder characterized by skin fragility, sensitivity to trauma, and its treatment-refractory nature. Clinicians that encounter these pemphigoid disorders may benefit from an overview of their clinical presentation, diagnostic work-up, and therapeutic management, with an emphasis on the most frequently encountered pemphigoid disease, bullous pemphigoid.
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Urogenital schistosomiasis is caused by Schistosoma haematobium (S. haematobium) infection, which has been linked to the development of bladder cancer. In this study, three repurposing drugs, ivermectin, arteether and praziquantel, were screened to find the potent drug-repurposing candidate against the Schistosoma-associated bladder cancer (SABC) in humans by using computational methods. The biology of most glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) proteins and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is complex and multifaceted, according to recent evidence, and these proteins actively participate in many tumorigenic processes such as cell proliferation, cell survival and drug resistance. ⋯ Moreover, molecular docking and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation analysis revealed that ivermectin efficiently targeted the binding pockets of VEGF receptor proteins and possessed stable dynamics behavior at binding sites. Therefore, we proposed here that these compounds must be tested experimentally against VEGF and GST signaling in order to control SABC. Our study lies within the idea of discovering repurposing drugs as inhibitors against the different types of human cancers by targeting essential pathways in order to accelerate the drug development cycle.
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Background and Objectives: Saffron treatment and photobiomodulation (PBM) are non-invasive therapeutic approaches able to mitigate and stabilize retinal degenerative diseases such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Although different, these therapies partially match their modulated pattern of genes. Recent attempts to find an additive effect by coadministration of saffron and PBM have failed. ⋯ Results: Results confirm that PBM and saffron alone cope with retinal neurodegenerative processes, preserving retinal thickness and gliosis and microglia invasion in a differential way. However, the synergistic effect of the combined treatment was restricted to the early neuroinflammation, even when provided sequentially. Conclusion: The broad spectra of action of both neuroprotectants require further investigation to identify other key pathways helpful in enhancing the effects of these two approaches in combination.