Preclinical Models of Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Current Utility, Limitations, and Challenges.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the predominant primary liver tumor, remains one of the most lethal cancers worldwide, despite the advances in therapy in recent years. In addition to the traditional chemically and dietary-induced HCC models, a broad spectrum of novel preclinical tools have been generated following the advent of transgenic, transposon, organoid, and in silico technologies to overcome this gloomy scenario. These models have become rapidly robust preclinical instruments to unravel the molecular pathogenesis of liver cancer and establish new therapeutic approaches against this deadly disease.

Purification of an Acidic Polysaccharide with Anticoagulant Activity from the Marine Sponge .

Thromboembolic conditions are the most common cause of death in developed countries. Anticoagulant therapy is the treatment of choice, and heparinoids and warfarin are the most adopted drugs. Sulphated polysaccharides extracted from marine organisms have been demonstrated to be effective alternatives, blocking thrombus formation by inhibiting some factors involved in the coagulation cascade.

Antibody Response to HERV-K and HERV-W Envelope Epitopes in Patients with Myasthenia Gravis.

Myasthenia gravis is an antibody-mediated autoimmune neurological disorder characterized by impaired neuromuscular junction transmission, resulting in muscle weakness. Recently, the involvement of Human Endogenous Retroviruses (HERVs) in the pathophysiology of different immune-mediated and neurodegenerative diseases, such as multiple sclerosis, has been demonstrated. We aimed to investigate potential immune system involvement related to humoral responses targeting specific epitopes of HERV-K and HERV-W envelope proteins in myasthenia gravis.

HERV-K Modulates the Immune Response in ALS Patients.

Human endogenous retrovirus (HERV)-K env-su glycoprotein has been documented in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), where HERV-K env-su antibody levels significantly correlated with clinical measures of disease severity. Herein, we investigated further the humoral and cell-mediated immune response against specific antigenic peptides derived from HERV-K in ALS. HERV-K env glycoprotein expression on peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) membrane and cytokines and chemokines after stimulation with HERV-K env and HERV-K env were quantified in patients and healthy controls (HCs).

Antibody response against HERV-W in patients with MOG-IgG associated disorders, multiple sclerosis and NMOSD.

Increased expression of the retroviruses of HERV-W family has been linked to multiple sclerosis (MS) pathophysiology; nothing is known at the moment about MOG-IgG associated disorders. We compared antibody response against HERV-W peptides among patients with MOG-IgG associated disorders, multiple sclerosis (MS) and aquaporin-4 (AQP4)-IgG positive neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD). A total of 102 serum samples were retrospectively analyzed.

Plasma vitronectin is reduced in patients with myasthenia gravis: Diagnostic and pathophysiological potential.

Myasthenia gravis (MG) is an autoimmune disease leading to varying degrees of skeletal muscle weakness. It is caused by specific antibodies directed against definite components in the postsynaptic membrane at the neuromuscular junction (NMJ), such as the acetylcholine receptor (AChR) and the muscle-specific kinase (MUSK) receptor. In clinical practice, MG patients may be classified into three main subgroups based on the occurrence of serum autoantibodies directed against AChR or MUSK receptor or antibody-negative.

Tache Noire in a Patient with Acute Q Fever.

Objective: To describe a rare case of acute Q fever with tache noire.

Clinical Presentation And Intervention: A 51-year-old man experienced acute Q fever showing tache noire, generally considered a pathognomonic sign of Mediterranean spotted fever (MSF) and MSF-like illness, but not a clinical feature of Q fever. The patient was treated with doxycycline 100 mg every 12 h.

Antibody response against HERV-W env surface peptides differentiates multiple sclerosis and neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder.

Background: A specific humoral immune response against HERV-W envelope surface (env-su) glycoprotein antigens has been reported in serum of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). However, it has not been evaluated to date in patients with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD).

Objective: The objective of this paper is to investigate whether antibody (Ab) response against HERV-W env-su antigenic peptides differs between NMOSD and MS.

Urine bikunin as a marker of renal impairment in Fabry's disease.

Fabry's disease is a rare lysosomal storage disorder caused by the deficiency of α -galactosidase A that leads to the accumulation of neutral glycosphingolipids in many organs including kidney, heart, and brain. Since end-stage renal disease represents a major complication of this pathology, the aim of the present work was to evaluate if urinary proteoglycan/glycosaminoglycan excretion could represent a useful marker for monitoring kidney function in these patients at high risk. Quali-quantitative and structural analyses were conducted on plasma and urine from 24 Fabry's patients and 43 control subjects.

Ceftriaxone for Alexander's Disease: A Four-Year Follow-Up.

In 2010, we reported the successful clinical outcome related to a 20-month course of intravenous, cyclical ceftriaxone, in a patient with adult-onset Alexander's disease. We now provide evidence that the progression of the patient's signs/symptoms was halted and reversed with a 4-year-long extension of the trial.The patient's clinical signs/symptoms were evaluated before the start and every 6 months for 6 years.

In vitro treatments with ceftriaxone promote elimination of mutant glial fibrillary acidic protein and transcription down-regulation.

Alexander disease is a rare, untreatable and usually fatal neurodegenerative disorder caused by heterozygous mutations of the glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) gene which ultimately lead to formation of aggregates, containing also alphaB-Crystallin, HSP27, ubiquitin and proteasome components. Recent findings indicate that up-regulation of alphaB-Crystallin in mice carrying GFAP mutations may temper the pathogenesis of the disease. Neuroprotective effects of ceftriaxone have been reported in various animal models and, noteworthy, we have recently shown that the chronic use of ceftriaxone in a patient affected by an adult form of Alexander disease could halt its progression and ameliorate some of the symptoms.

Levetiracetam in stiff-person syndrome.

We studied the effects of oral levetiracetam (LEV) (500 mg twice daily) in three women with stiff-person syndrome in a single-blind, placebo-controlled study. The severity of muscle rigidity and of paroxysmal symptoms was assessed by EMG and clinically by a rating scale of 0-4 and by the Patients Global Impressions Scale. LEV was well tolerated.

"Erratic" complex partial status epilepticus as a presenting feature of MELAS.

Patients with the syndrome of mitochondrial encephalopathy, lactic acidosis, and strokelike episodes (MELAS) may rarely present with complex partial status epilepticus (CPSE) at clinical onset. We report on a 38-year-old woman with MELAS presenting with multifocal CPSE and periodic lateralized epileptiform discharges (PLEDs) on EEG during her first strokelike episode. CT scan documented a right temporo-parieto-occipital strokelike lesion.

Carbamazepine, clonazepam and focal reflex proprioceptive seizures.

We studied a 34-year-old man with focal tonic-clonic seizures sometimes elicited by some active postures of the right hand and evolving at times to secondary generalization. Treatment with carbamazepine (CBZ) in combination with parenteral diazepam induced both a dramatic increase of focal reflex proprioceptive seizures and choreoathetoid dyskinesias in the affected hand. CBZ was withdrawn and clonazepam (CZP) given 2 mg daily, with complete relief of seizures and choreoathetoid dyskinesias.

Focal and secondarily generalised convulsive status epilepticus induced by thiocolchicoside in the rat.

The objective of this study was to document the convulsant properties of thiocolchicoside in rats, and to characterise the electroclinical pattern of epileptic seizures. Experiments were carried out in three groups of male Wistar rats: in group A, thiocolchicoside was applied topically to the pia, or given by microinjection to the cerebral cortex (2 microg/microl); in group B, the drug was administered parenterally (6 mg/kg) to rats with minimal lesions of the dura and arachnoid membranes; in group C, thiocolchicoside was administered parenterally (up to 12 mg/kg) to intact rats. In all animals, electroclinical activity was continuously monitored for at least 3 hours after thiocolchicoside injection or application.