"The mystery of the Cell Kingdom": An online game to improve the learning of thyroid physiology.

Games and analogies can significantly enrich the learning experience when integrated with traditional expository teaching methods. With this aim, we developed The Mystery of the Cell Kingdom, an online game designed to enhance understanding of the physiology of thyroid hormones through a medieval analogy. In the game, students are challenged to apply their knowledge of endocrine physiology to solve a series of relevant questions on the topic.

Exploring the Therapeutic Potential of Benfotiamine in a Sporadic Alzheimer's-Like Disease Rat Model: Insights into Insulin Signaling and Cognitive function.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a complex neurodegenerative process, also considered a metabolic condition due to alterations in glucose metabolism and insulin signaling pathways in the brain, which share similarities with diabetes. This study aimed to investigate the therapeutic effects of benfotiamine (BFT), a vitamin B1 analog, in the early stages of the neurodegenerative process in a sporadic model of Alzheimer's-like disease induced by intracerebroventricular injection of streptozotocin (STZ). Supplementation with 150 mg/kg of BFT for 7 days reversed the cognitive impairment in short- and long-term memories caused by STZ in rodents.

The bank robbery analogy as a first approach for understanding basic concepts of synthesis, transport, and mechanism of action of hormones.

Learning endocrine physiology can be challenging. Some physiological concepts are abstract, making the process of learning more difficult for students. The comprehension of basic concepts, such as chemical hormone classification, is essential to understand the differences in synthesis, secretion, transport, and mechanism of action of hormones.

Benfotiamine protects against hypothalamic dysfunction in a STZ-induced model of neurodegeneration in rats.

The neurodegeneration of Alzheimer's disease (AD) affects not only brain structures associate with cognition early in the progression of the disease, but other areas such as the hypothalamus, a region involved in the control of metabolism and appetite. In this context, we evaluated the effects of benfotiamine (BFT), a vitamin B1 analog that is being proposed as a therapeutical approach for AD-related cognitive alterations, which were induced by intracerebroventricular injection of streptozotocin (STZ). In addition to the already described effect of STZ on cognition, we show that this drug also causes metabolic changes which are linked to changes in hypothalamic insulin signaling and orexigenic and anorexigenic circuitries, as well as a decreased cellular integrated stress response.

Efficacy and safety of N-acetyl-GED-0507-34-LEVO gel in patients with moderate-to severe facial acne vulgaris: a phase IIb randomized double-blind, vehicle-controlled trial.

Background: Preliminary in vitro and in vivo studies have supported the efficacy of the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPARγ) modulator N-acetyl-GED-0507-34-LEVO (NAC-GED) for the treatment of acne-inducing sebocyte differentiation, improving sebum composition and controlling the inflammatory process.

Objectives: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of NAC-GED (5% and 2%) in patients with moderate-to-severe facial acne vulgaris.

Methods: This double-blind phase II randomized controlled clinical trial was conducted at 36 sites in Germany, Italy and Poland.