Publications by authors named "Ana Vera Cruz"

Study Question: Is 17BIPHE2, an engineered cathelicidin antimicrobial peptide with low susceptibility to proteases, a better spermicide in cervicovaginal fluid (CVF) than its parental peptides, LL-37 and GF-17?

Summary Answer: At the same mass concentration, 17BIPHE2 exhibited the highest spermicidal activity on human sperm resuspended in CVF-containing medium.

What Is Known Already: LL-37 and its truncated peptide GF-17 exert both spermicidal and microbicidal activities, although they are prone to proteolytic degradation in body fluids.

Study Design, Size, Duration: Spermicidal activities of 17BIPHE2 were evaluated in vitro in mouse and human sperm, both resuspended in medium, and then on human sperm incubated in CVF-containing medium; in the latter condition, the spermicidal activity and peptide stability in CVF of 17BIPHE2 were compared with that of LL-37 and GF-17.

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Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) continues to have a profound global health impact. New infections continue at a high rate despite the development of prophylactic therapies, prompting the need for development of novel preventative approaches. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), such as LL-37, display broad microbicidal properties and have potential as anti-HIV agents.

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Unlabelled: Intravenous thrombolysis with recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rtPA) is the established treatment for acute ischemic stroke and has been highly effective in reducing the neurological deficit. Serious adverse events are not uncommon, with hemorrhage being the major complication. We describe the case of a patient with acute ischemic stroke that also presented with vague cardiac symptoms and was treated with rtPA, which was complicated by a hemopericardium causing cardiac tamponade.

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Unlabelled: Kikuchi-Fujimoto disease (KFD) is a rare, benign and usually self-limiting disorder that more often affects young women, which is characterized by cervical lymphadenopathy and fever. Clinical presentation may be indistinguishable from other diseases, and its inclusion in the differential diagnosis of lymphoproliferative, infective and autoimmune diseases is essential. An association with systemic lupus erythematosus is acknowledged.

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Sodium polystyrene sulfonate (PSP) or Kayexalate is a cation-exchange resin, widely used in the management of hyperkalaemia due to renal disease. A rare, yet potentially dangerous, adverse event related to sodium polystyrene sulfonate use is intestinal mucosal injury, especially in the colon. The injury to the gastrointestinal mucosa can range from mild and superficial to wall necrosis and bowel perforation.

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