Int J Med Sci
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Pirfenidone (PFD) is a non-peptide synthetic molecule issued as a broad-spectrum anti-fibrotic drug with the ability to decrease TGF-β1, TNF-α, PDGF and COL1A1 expression, which is highly related to prevent or remove excessive deposition of scar tissue in several organs. Basic and clinical evidence suggests that PFD may safely slow or inhibit the progressive fibrosis swelling after tissue injuries. ⋯ This review contains current research in which PFD has been used as the treatment of several diseases, and focus mainly in the outcomes related to improve inflammation and fibrogenesis. Therefore, the main goal of this review is to focus on the novel findings of PFD efficacy rather than deepen in the chemical aspects of the molecule.
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Ischemia-reperfusion of bone occurs in a variety of clinical conditions, such as orthopedic arthroplasty, plastic gnathoplasty, spinal surgery, and amputation. Usually, cellular models of hypoxia-reoxygenation reflect in vivo models of ischemia-reperfusion. With respect to hypoxia-reoxygenation conditions, the effects of remifentanil on osteogenesis have received little attention. Therefore, we investigated the effects of remifentanil on the proliferation and differentiation of osteoblasts during hypoxic-reoxygenation. ⋯ Under hypoxia-reoxygenation conditions, remifentanil preconditioning enhanced the cell viability and maturation of osteoblasts, and stimulated the expression of proteins associated with osteoblast proliferation and differentiation of the osteoblast. Our results suggest that remifentanil may help in the treatment of bone stress injuries.
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Host immune pressure and associated immune evasion of pathogenic bacteria are key features of host-pathogen co-evolution. Human T-cell epitopes of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis) were evolutionarily hyperconserved and thus it was deduced that M. tuberculosis lacks antigenic variation and immune evasion. However, in our previous studies, proteins MPT64, PstS1, Rv0309 and Rv2945c all harbored higher numbers of amino acid substitutions in their T cell epitopes, which suggests their roles in ongoing immune evasion. ⋯ The divergence of host immune selection on different proteins may result from different function of the proteins. In addition, A312G of Ag85A and T418C of Ag85B may represent special mutations in BCG strains, which may be used to differentiate M.bovis and BCG strains from MTB strains. Also, C714A in Ag85B seems to be a valuable phylogenetic marker for Beijing strains.
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Early assessment and aggressive hemodynamic treatment have been shown to increase the survival of patients in septic shock. Current and past sepsis guidelines recommend a resuscitation protocol including central venous pressure (CVP), mean arterial blood pressure (MAP), urine output and central venous oxygen saturation (ScvO2) for resuscitation within the first six hours. Currently, the established severity score systems like APACHE II score, SOFA score or SAPS II score predict the outcome of critically ill patients on the bases of variables obtained only after the first 24 hours. The present study aims to evaluate the risk of short-term mortality for patients with septic shock by the earliest possible assessment of hemodynamic parameters and cardiac biomarkers as well as their role for the prediction of the adverse outcome. ⋯ In our study, we identified a risk group with an exceedingly high mortality rate: the patients with an age ≥72 years and presenting with hypotension (MAP <65 mmHg). These data can be easily obtained at the time of the very first patient contact. As a result, an aggressive and a more effective treatment can be initiated within the first minutes of the primary care, possibly reducing organ failure and short-term mortality in this risk group.
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Lignosus rhinocerotis (Cooke) Ryvarden (Polyporales, Basidiomycota), also known as the tiger milk mushroom, has received much interest in recent years owing to its wide-range ethnobotanical uses and the recent success in its domestication. The sclerotium is the part with medicinal value. ⋯ Some of these proteins, such as the putative lectins, immunomodulatory proteins, superoxide dismutase, and aegerolysin may have pharmaceutical potential; while others are involved in nutrient mobilization and the protective antioxidant mechanism in the sclerotium. The findings from this study provide a molecular basis for future research on potential pharmacologically active proteins of L. rhinocerotis.