Journal of investigative medicine : the official publication of the American Federation for Clinical Research
-
Isoflurane is a volatile anesthetic that is widely used clinically as an inhalational anesthetic. In recent years, several studies have indicated that isoflurane has neuroprotective properties. This has led to the beneficial effects of isoflurane being analyzed in both cell culture and animal models, including various models of brain injury. ⋯ Currently, there are no well-established effective therapies for neonatal hypoxia ischemia. In line with this, isoflurane, which displays neuroprotective properties in several paradigms and has been shown to improve neurological deficits caused by brain injuries, has the capability to be an extremely relevant clinical therapy for the resolution of deficits concomitant with neonatal hypoxic ischemic brain injuries. This review therefore seeks to explore and analyze the current information on isoflurane, looking at general isoflurane anesthetic properties, and the protection it confers in different animal models, focusing particularly on neuroprotection as shown in studies with neonatal hypoxic ischemic brain injury.
-
Review Meta Analysis
Mind-body practices for posttraumatic stress disorder.
Mind-body practices are increasingly used to provide stress reduction for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Mind-body practice encompasses activities with the intent to use the mind to impact physical functioning and improve health. ⋯ Mind-body practices are increasingly used in the treatment of PTSD and are associated with positive impacts on stress-induced illnesses such as depression and PTSD in most existing studies. Knowledge about the diverse modalities of mind-body practices may provide clinicians and patients with the opportunity to explore an individualized and effective treatment plan enhanced by mind-body interventions as part of ongoing self-care.
-
Translation of scientific discoveries into meaningful human applications, particularly novel therapies of human diseases, requires development of suitable animal models. Experimental approaches to test new drugs in preclinical phases often necessitated animal models that not only replicate human disease in etiopathogenesis and pathobiology but also biomarkers development and toxicity prediction. ⋯ The challenges in using the currently available animal models for translational research, particularly for developing potentially new drugs for human disease, coupled with the difficulties in toxicity prediction have led some researchers to develop a scoring system for translatability. These aspects and the challenges in selecting an animal model among those that are available to study human disease pathobiology and drug development are the topics covered in this detailed review.
-
The blood-brain barrier (BBB) is a physical and metabolic barrier that separates the central nervous system from the peripheral circulation. Central nervous system drug delivery across the BBB is challenging, primarily because of the physical restriction of paracellular diffusion between the endothelial cells that comprise the microvessels of the BBB and the activity of efflux transporters that quickly expel back into the capillary lumen a wide variety of xenobiotics. Therapeutic manipulation of protein trafficking is emerging as a novel means of modulating protein function, and in this minireview, the targeting of the trafficking of 2 key BBB proteins, P-glycoprotein and occludin, is presented as a novel, reversible means of optimizing central nervous system drug delivery.
-
This article addresses current challenges facing pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical developers, including the expiration of patents on many high-revenue-generating products, increasing competition in the marketplace, low public support, high regulatory hurdles, and the increasing time, cost, and risk of new product development. To meet these challenges, drug developers are looking to new models of innovation to improve efficiency, lower risk, and increase output. ⋯ In the United States and the European Union, the government is supporting these efforts by creating incentives for academic centers to foster translational research and become more "commercially minded". The goal for all stakeholders is to reduce the barriers to product development and bring new medicines to market in a timely and cost-efficient manner.