Panminerva medica
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With the advance of assisted reproduction techniques, and the trend towards blastocyst culture and single embryo transfer, gamete and embryo assessment have gained greater importance in ART treatment. Embryo quality depends mainly on gamete quality and culture conditions. Oocyte maturity identification is necessary in order to plan fertilization timing. ⋯ Apart from the conventional morphology assessment, there are several invasive or non-invasive methods for embryo selection such as preimplantation genetic testing, morphokinetics, proteomics, metabolomics, oxygen consumption, and measurement of oxidative stress in culture medium. Morphokinetics is a method based on time-lapse technology and continuous monitoring of embryos. In this review, we aimed to describe and compare the most effective and widely used methods for gamete and embryo assessment as well as embryo selection.
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The continuous progress in cardiovascular risk prevention strategies has led to an impressive reduction in mortality and recurrent ischemic events in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). However, the control of several cardiovascular risk factors remains suboptimal in many CAD patients, with a high rate of recurrent events, underlying the need for more new prevention strategies. ⋯ The current review summarizes the evidence to date on each of its components, with respect to clinical outcomes and economic feasibility. The current evidence points to an efficacy of GAPS-I in reducing major adverse cardiovascular events and mortality, without a compromise on safety, albeit with the need for longer follow-up data.
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The aim of this systematic review was to evaluate the data currently available regarding the repurposing of different drugs for COVID-19 treatment. Participants with suspected or diagnosed COVID-19 were included in this study. The interventions that have been considered were repurposed drugs and comparators that included standard of care treatment or placebo. ⋯ Due to the paucity in evidence, it is difficult to establish the efficacy of these drugs in the treatment of COVID-19 as currently there is no significant clinical effectiveness of the repurposed drugs. Further large clinical trials are required to achieve more reliable findings. A risk-benefit analysis is required on an individual basis to weigh out the potential improvement in clinical outcome and viral load reduction compared to the risks of the adverse events.
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Gastrointestinal (GI) cancers are one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Although various approaches are implemented to improve the health condition of GI patients, none of the treatment protocols promise for eradicating cancer. However, a treatment mechanism against any kind of disease condition is already existing executing inside the human body. ⋯ Thus, cancer immunotherapy might play a decisive role to train the immune system against cancer. In this review, we have discussed the immunotherapy permitted for the treatment of GI cancers. We have discussed various methods and mechanisms, periodic development of cancer immunotherapies, approved biologicals, completed and ongoing clinical trials, role of various biopharmaceuticals, and epigenetic factors involved in GI cancer immunotherapies.
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Since December 2019, there has been an outbreak of a novel beta-Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) in Wuhan, China. On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 as a pandemic, with over 118,000 cases in more than 110 countries around the world. In response to the global Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) emergency, clinical trial research assessing the efficacy and safety of experimental vaccines to prevent COVID-19 are emerging at an unprecedented rate. The aim of this systematic review was to summarize the preliminary experiences and ongoing clinical trials of the major candidates and challenges of the vaccine strategies in humans. ⋯ This new disease is pushing the scientific community to develop swiftly a safe and effective vaccine. Notwithstanding the limitations of our analysis, given by the absence of available results, we try to provide a comprehensive view of the ongoing clinical trials in humans. Our analysis reveals a worldwide effort of both scientists and enterprises to achieve one of the most challenging goals of our century.