Latent Microsporidia Infection Prevalence as a Risk Factor in Colon Cancer Patients.

Microsporidia are opportunistic intracellular parasites, generating serious pathology in individuals with a compromised immune system. Infection by microsporidia inhibits p53 and Caspase 3, proteins involved in apoptosis and the cell cycle, which are vital in the malignant process of epithelial cells. The presence of microsporidia in the intestinal tissues of 87 colon cancer (CC) patients and 25 healthy controls was analyzed by real-time PCR and an immunofluorescence antibody test.

Safety and diagnostic performance of parathyroid hormone assay in fine-needle aspirate in suspicious parathyroid adenomas.

Objective: To evaluate the safety and diagnostic performance of parathyroid hormone assay in fine-needle aspirate (PTH-FNA) in patients with primary hyperparathyroidism and suspicious parathyroid adenomas.

Methodology: A retrospective observational study was performed in 47 patients (57.7 ± 11.

The presence of microvascular complications is associated with a poor evolution of metabolic control in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus.

Objective: To report the evolution of metabolic control and to assess the clinical and metabolic factors associated with the presence of microvascular complications in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM).

Material And Methods: This was a retrospective, observational study analysing clinical, laboratory, and therapeutic data from a registry of patients with T1DM created in 2010.

Results: Data recorded from 586 patients (males: 50.

siRNA Therapeutics in Ocular Diseases.

The field of RNAi therapeutics has quickly adapted to the treatment of ocular diseases. Although the eye provides a unique system for the delivery of siRNAs, its complex structure and composition fostered the development of novel strategies for efficient gene silencing in the target compartment. Moreover, anterior and posterior segments differ in their multiple drug barriers and clearance mechanisms.

Differences in circulating γδ T cells in patients with primary colon cancer and relation with prognostic factors.

Downregulation of the T cell system has been proposed as a mechanism to block immunity in colonic cancer (CC). However, little has been studied about circulating αβ and γδ T cells and their immunological status in newly diagnosed patients. The aim of this study was to characterize the αβ and γδ T cell subsets in peripheral blood of patients with CC matched with healthy volunteers.

High capacity of ultrasound for locating parathyroid adenomas in endocrinology (the ETIEN 4 study).

Objective: To assess the diagnostic performance of neck ultrasound examination performed by endocrinologists to locate parathyroid adenomas in patients with primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT).

Methodology: A retrospective observational study in 135 patients (mean age, 60.0±12.

Diagnostic performance of the American Thyroid Association ultrasound risk assessment of thyroid nodules in endocrinology (the ETIEN 3 study).

Introduction: No study has been published to date in Spain about the value of the American Thyroid Association (ATA) ultrasound risk assessment of thyroid nodules applied by endocrinologists.

Objectives: To assess the diagnostic performance of ATA thyroid nodule risk classification applied by endocrinologists with respect to histological results.

Methods: A retrospective, observational study of 317 patients (mean age, 51.

Tivanisiran, a novel siRNA for the treatment of dry eye disease.

Dry eye disease (DED) is characterized by an alteration of the tear film with ocular inflammation and neurosensory abnormalities. The main clinical signs of this condition are tear instability and ocular damage. Although DED has gained significant attention in the past few years, limited prescription treatment options are available for patients.

Safety and Efficacy Clinical Trials for SYL1001, a Novel Short Interfering RNA for the Treatment of Dry Eye Disease.

Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of SYL1001, a short interfering (si) RNA targeting the transient receptor potential cation channel subfamily V member 1 (TRPV1), for the treatment of dry eye disease (DED).

Methods: This study combines a phase I and two phase II clinical trials to test different doses of SYL1001 in a total of 156 healthy subjects and patients with DED. After 10 days of treatment, the primary efficacy endpoints were the effect on (1) the scoring in the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI) questionnaires, and (2) ocular tolerance evaluated by corneal fluorescein staining and conjunctival hyperemia.

Care and economic impact of thyroid ultrasound examination at single visits to endocrinology clinics (the ETIEN 1 study).

Objective: Routine thyroid ultrasound examination in a single medical appointment is rarely performed in Spain. The objective of this study was to evaluate the care and economic impact of thyroid US examination in a single endocrine appointment.

Methods: A prospective, observational, descriptive study was conducted to analyze data from 2274 patients (mean age, 59±16 years; 83% females) performed at least one thyroid US in a single visit to an endocrinology clinic during 2013 and 2014.

Short-interference RNAs: becoming medicines.

RNA interference is a cellular mechanism by which small molecules of double stranded RNA modulate gene expression acting on the concentration and/or availability of a given messenger RNA. Almost 10 years after Fire and Mello received the Nobel Prize for the discovery of this mechanism in flat worms, RNA interference is on the edge of becoming a new class of therapeutics. With various phase III studies underway, the following years will determine whether RNAi-therapeutics can rise up to the challenge and become mainstream medicines.

Web-based telemedicine system is useful for monitoring glucose control in pregnant women with diabetes.

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the impact of a Web-based telemedicine system for monitoring glucose control in pregnant women with diabetes on healthcare visits, metabolic control, and pregnancy outcomes.

Subjects And Methods: A prospective, single-center, interventional study with two parallel groups was performed in Puerto Real University Hospital (Cadiz, Spain). Women were assigned to two different glucose monitoring groups: the control group (CG), which was managed only by follow-ups with the Gestational Diabetes Unit (GDU), and the telemedicine group (TMG), which was monitored by both more spaced GDU visits and a Web-based telemedicine system.

Phase I clinical trial of SYL040012, a small interfering RNA targeting β-adrenergic receptor 2, for lowering intraocular pressure.

The objective of this study was to evaluate ocular tolerance, safety, and effect on intraocular pressure (IOP) of a topically administered small interfering RNA; SYL040012, on healthy volunteers. The study was an open-label, controlled, single-center study comprised of two intervals that enrolled 30 healthy subjects having IOP below 21 mmHg. SYL040012 was administered to one eye as a single dose to six subjects during interval 1.

In vitro and in vivo efficacy of SYL040012, a novel siRNA compound for treatment of glaucoma.

Glaucoma is a progressive ocular syndrome characterized by degeneration of the optic nerve and irreversible visual field loss. Elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) is the main risk factor for glaucoma. Increased IOP is the result of an imbalance between synthesis and outflow of aqueous humor (AH).

Silencing human genetic diseases with oligonucleotide-based therapies.

RNA interference is an endogenous mechanism present in most eukaryotic cells that enables degradation of specific mRNAs. Pharmacological exploitation of this mechanism for therapeutic purposes attracted a whole amount of attention in its initial years, but was later hampered due to difficulties in delivery of the pharmacological agents to the appropriate organ or tissue. Advances in recent years have to a certain level started to address this specific issue.

Is the atmospheric pressure chemical ionisation and collisionally induced methanol loss from protonated dehydroamino acids a retrosynthetic process?

Unsaturated 5(4H)-oxazolones lead, by methanolysis, to the corresponding dehydroamino acid derivatives. Interestingly, under atmospheric pressure chemical ionisation (APCI) conditions, the latter give rise, aside from abundant [M+H](+) ions, to [MHbondCH(3)OH](+) species, formally corresponding to the protonated oxazolones employed for their synthesis. Retrosynthetic processes have often been described as energetically favoured decompositions of odd-electron molecular ions but never invoked in APCI-activated fragmentations.