The impact of paraspinal muscle morphology on functional outcome in patients with degenerative lumbar spine disease undergoing surgery - A prospective observational study.

Introduction: Paraspinal muscle atrophy has been implicated in low back pain (LBP) as well as degenerative disc disease, lumbar spinal stenosis, and disc herniation. The objective of the study was to determine the association of paraspinal muscle morphology with functional outcomes in patients undergoing spine surgery in degenerative spine diseases.

Research Question: Can the degree of paraspinal muscle atrophy be a reliable prognostic indicator of post-operative functional outcome in patients undergoing surgery for degenerative lumbar spine disease?

Materials And Methods: Forty-one patients with degenerative lumbar spine disease planned for surgery were included.

Quality by design-based development and in vitro evaluation of dual release tablet of etoricoxib and thiocolchicoside: A novel chronotherapeutic approach for arthritis pain management.

Objective: The traditional drug delivery system is not much effective when treating chronopathological diseases like arthritis. Consequently, there is a gap in the market for a delivery system that can provide an explicit treatment following the chronopharmacology of this disorder. The present study is based on the objective to develop Eudragit coated dual release bilayer tablet designed by the quality by design (QbD) and based on the chronotherapeutic approach.

Small interfering RNA (siRNA) as a potential gene silencing strategy for diabetes and associated complications: challenges and future perspectives.

Objective: This article critically reviews the recent search on the use of Small Interfering RNA (siRNA) in the process of gene regulation that has been harnessed to silence specific genes in various cell types, including those involved in diabetes complications.

Significance: Diabetes, a prevalent and severe condition, poses life-threatening risks due to elevated blood glucose levels. It results from inadequate insulin production by the pancreas or ineffective insulin utilization by the body.

Gene therapy: an alternative to treat Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer's disease (AD), a neuro-degenerative disease that primarily affects the elderly, is a worldwide phenomenon. Loss of memory, cognitive decline, behavioural changes, and many other signs are used to classify it. Various hypotheses that may contribute to Alzheimer's disease have been found during decades of survey, including tau theory, the amyloid theory, the cholinergic hypothesis, and the oxidative stress hypothesis.

Flap versus Flapless Immediate Implants with Bone Augmentation: A Novel Study.

Background: This study aimed to equate implants placed using a traditional flap elevation technique with implants placed using a flapless process regarding bone healing and success in clinical conditions.

Materials And Methods: Sixty subjects were included in this research work. The participants were randomly divided into two groups.

siRNA-Based Novel Therapeutic Strategies to Improve Effectiveness of Antivirals: An Insight.

Since the ground-breaking discovery of RNA interference (RNAi), scientists have made significant progress in the field of small interfering RNA (siRNA) treatments. Due to severe barriers to the therapeutic application of siRNA, nanoparticle technologies for siRNA delivery have been designed. For pathological circumstances such as viral infection, toxic RNA abnormalities, malignancies, and hereditary diseases, siRNAs are potential therapeutic agents.

An archaeal Cas3 protein facilitates rapid recovery from DNA damage.

CRISPR-Cas systems provide heritable acquired immunity against viruses to archaea and bacteria. Cas3 is a CRISPR-associated protein that is common to all Type I systems, possesses both nuclease and helicase activities, and is responsible for degradation of invading DNA. Involvement of Cas3 in DNA repair had been suggested in the past, but then set aside when the role of CRISPR-Cas as an adaptive immune system was realized.

Nano-strategies as Oral Drug Delivery Platforms for Treatment of Cancer: Challenges and Future Perspectives.

Oral drug administration is the oldest and widely used method for drug administration. The objectives behind developing an oral drug delivery for the treatment of cancer are to achieve low cost treatment by utilizing novel techniques to target cancer through gut-associated lymphoid tissue (GALT) and to enhance patient comfort and compliance through a hospital-free treatment leading to "Chemotherapy at Home." Unfortunately, due to the physiological environment of the GIT and physicochemical properties of drug candidate, the efficacy of oral drug delivery methods is limited in the treatment of cancer.

Belly Fat Forces on the Spine: Finite Element Analysis of Belly Fat Forces by Waist Circumference.

Object: It has been well-established that obesity, or the fat content of the belly, is associated with diabetes, heart conditions, metabolic syndrome and back pain. With regard to back pain, this study aimed to assess the forces that incremental amounts of belly fat exert on the spine.

Methods: A finite element analysis (FEA) was performed with a 3D CAD model of the spine using data for various populations from the Dallas Heart Study.

Formulation and Characterization of Febuxostat Loaded Nanostructured Lipid Carriers (NLCs) - Gel for Topical Treatment of Gout.

Background: The aim of the present study was to formulate and characterize Nano- Structured Lipid Carriers (NLCs) of Febuxostat (FB) incorporated in the gel for the treatment of Gout. FB is a Xanthine Oxidase (XO) inhibitor drug used for chronic Gout and hyperuricemia. FB is a BCS class II drug, therefore, water solubility is very poor, and due to its poor solubility and wettability, it leads to poor dissolution.

National Survey to Describe the Current Patterns of Procedural Sedation Practices Among Pediatric Emergency Medicine Practitioners in the United States.

Objective: Pediatric procedural sedation (PPS) is used to maintain children's safety, comfort, and cooperation during emergency department procedures. Our objective was to gather data describing PPS practice across the United States to highlight the variations in practice and adherence to National Guidelines.

Methods: We performed a nationwide survey of PPS practitioners using a secure web-based software program.

Implementation of Electronic Medical Record Template Improves Screening for Complications in Children with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus.

Objective: Health professionals and patients should follow comprehensive screening guidelines to recognize early signs of long-term complications for insulin-dependent type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM). The aim of this study is to demonstrate that utilization of electronic medical record (EMR) templates for diabetes management improves adherence to International Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Diabetes (ISPAD) screening guidelines.

Methods: All patients with T1DM who were seen in the outpatient pediatric endocrine clinic (age 0-22 years old) at an urban community-based community hospital during the 2014 calendar year were enrolled in the study (n=49).

Withdrawal Notice: Mucoadhesive Microspheres: An Emerging Trends in Therapy of Diabetes Mellitus.

Unlabelled: The article has been withdrawn at the request of the editor of the journal Current Diabetes Reviews, due to incoherent content. Bentham Science apologizes to the readers of the journal for any inconvenience this may have caused. The Bentham Editorial Policy on Article Withdrawal can be found at https://benthamscience.

The association between vitamin D deficiency and hospitalization outcomes in pediatric patients with sickle cell disease.

Background: While there is a known association between low vitamin D levels and increased chronic pain in patients with Sickle Cell Disease (SCD), there are no reported studies evaluating the relationship of vitamin D levels and hospitalization outcomes in this population. The aim of this study was to assess this relationship with hospitalization outcomes defined as the number of emergency room (ER) visits, hospital admissions for pain crisis, and length of hospital stay.

Design: A retrospective chart review of all pediatric patients with SCD (1-21 years old) was performed from January 2015 to January 2016 in an urban-based hospital setting (n = 134).

Essential Role for the Phosphatidylinositol 3,5-Bisphosphate Synthesis Complex in Caspofungin Tolerance and Virulence in .

Increasing resistance of the human opportunistic fungal pathogen toward the echinocandin antifungals, which target the cell wall, is a matter of grave clinical concern. Echinocandin resistance in has primarily been associated with mutations in the β-glucan synthase-encoding genes () and This notwithstanding, the role of the phosphoinositide signaling in antifungal resistance is just beginning to be deciphered. The phosphatidylinositol 3,5-bisphosphate [PI(3,5)P2] is a low-abundance lipid molecule that is pivotal to the intracellular membrane traffic.

Anesthetic management of separation of conjoint twins: Challenges and limitations.

A conjoint twin is a rare congenital anomaly. The separation of conjoint twins presents a unique challenge to anesthesiologists. We report the anesthetic management of successful separation of thoraco-omphalopagus conjoint twins, along with challenges and limitations that we faced in perioperative period.

Cytotoxic and Genotoxic effect on the Buccal Mucosa Cells of Patients Undergoing Fixed Orthodontic Treatment.

Aim: To evaluate the presence of metal ions and deoxyribonucleic acid damage on the cells of buccal mucosa in subjects scheduled to undergo fixed orthodontic treatment.

Materials And Methods: Eighty patients scheduled to undergo orthodontic treatment were included in the present study. Samples were collected from buccal mucosa of the subjects at five different intervals: before the starting of the fixed appliance therapy, 5 months after the insertion of the appliance, 10 months after insertion of the appliance, 15 months after insertion of the appliance and 20 months after insertion of the appliance.

Fluconazole-induced actin cytoskeleton remodeling requires phosphatidylinositol 3-phosphate 5-kinase in the pathogenic yeast Candida glabrata.

Known azole antifungal resistance mechanisms include mitochondrial dysfunction and overexpression of the sterol biosynthetic target enzyme and multidrug efflux pumps. Here, we identify, through a genetic screen, the vacuolar membrane-resident phosphatidylinositol 3-phosphate 5-kinase (CgFab1) to be a novel determinant of azole tolerance. We demonstrate for the first time that fluconazole promotes actin cytoskeleton reorganization in the emerging, inherently less azole-susceptible fungal pathogen Candida glabrata, and genetic or chemical perturbation of actin structures results in intracellular sterol accumulation and azole susceptibility.

Formulation of Herbal Fast Disintegrating Tablets and its ex-vivo Study for Anti-histaminic Activity in Guinea Pig Ileum.

Objective: The aim of present research work was to develop a herbal fast disintegrating tablet containing Fagonia schweinfurthii Hadidi dried extract and determining its antihistaminic activity using guinea pig ileum.

Method: The tablets were formulated by wet granulation technique using three different superdisintegrants (croscarmillose, crospovidone and sodium starch glycolate) at three different levels. The tablets were evaluated for various physical properties like hardness, friability weight variation etc.