Amantadine in unvaccinated patients with early, mild to moderate COVID-19: A randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial.

Background And Purpose: Adamantanes were listed as an interesting option as an early intervention against COVID-19. We aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of amantadine in preventing the progression of COVID-19 and its neurological sequelae.

Methods: Unvaccinated patients with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection within 5 days were enrolled.

CDP-choline to promote remyelination in multiple sclerosis: the need for a clinical trial.

Multiple sclerosis is a multifactorial chronic inflammatory disease of the central nervous system that leads to demyelination and neuronal cell death, resulting in functional disability. Remyelination is the natural repair process of demyelination, but it is often incomplete or fails in multiple sclerosis. Available therapies reduce the inflammatory state and prevent clinical relapses.

Increased brain H-MRS glutamate and lactate signals following maximal aerobic capacity exercise in young healthy males: an exploratory study.

Physical exercise involves increased neuronal activity of many brain structures, but 1H-MRS investigations on the effects of human brain glutamate (Glu) concentrations on acute exercise have been sparse. Previous studies consistently found increases in brain lactate (Lac) concentrations following graded exercise up to 85% of the predicted maximal heart rate. However, the reported effects on brain concentrations of glutamine and glutamate were not consistent.

Citicoline for Supporting Memory in Aging Humans.

Citicoline is the generic name of CDP-choline, a natural metabolite presents in all living cells. Used in medicine as a drug since the 1980-s, citicoline was recently pronounced a food ingredient. When ingested, citicoline breaks down to cytidine and choline, which become incorporated into their respective normal metabolic pathways.

Elucidating the Role of Noncovalent Interactions in Favipiravir, a Drug Active against Various Human RNA Viruses; a H-N NQDR/Periodic DFT/QTAIM/RDS/3D Hirshfeld Surfaces Combined Study.

Favipiravir (6-fluoro-3-hydroxypyrazine-2-carboxamide, FPV), an active pharmaceutical component of the drug discovered and registered in March 2014 in Japan under the name Avigan, with an indication for pandemic influenza, has been studied. The study of this compound was prompted by the idea that effective processes of recognition and binding of FPV to the nucleic acid are affected predominantly by the propensity to form intra- and intermolecular interactions. Three nuclear quadrupole resonance experimental techniques, namely H-N cross-relaxation, multiple frequency sweeps, and two-frequency irradiation, followed by solid-state computational modelling (density functional theory supplemented by the quantum theory of atoms in molecules, 3D Hirshfeld Surfaces, and reduced density gradient) approaches were applied.

A PDE10A inhibitor CPL500036 is a novel agent modulating striatal function devoid of most neuroleptic side-effects.

Phosphodiesterase 10A (PDE10A) is expressed almost exclusively in the striatum and its inhibition is suggested to offer potential treatment in disorders associated with basal ganglia. We evaluated the selectivity, cytotoxicity, genotoxicity, pharmacokinetics and potential adverse effects of a novel PDE10A inhibitor, CPL500036, . The potency of CPL500036 was demonstrated by microfluidic technology, and selectivity was investigated in a radioligand binding assay against 44 targets.

The use of amantadine in the prevention of progression and treatment of COVID-19 symptoms in patients infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus (COV-PREVENT): Study rationale and design.

Background: COVID-19, a disease caused by infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus, is asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic in most cases. Some patients, usually burdened with risk factors develop acute respiratory failure and other organ dysfunction. In such cases, the mortality rate is very high despite the use of intensive therapy.

Hypoxia may be a determinative factor in COVID-19 progression.

The disease which develops following SARS-CoV-2 virus infection, known as COVID-19, in most affected countries displays mortality from 1.5% to 9.8%.

Molecular Imaging of Human Skeletal Myoblasts (huSKM) in Mouse Post-Infarction Myocardium.

Current treatment protocols for myocardial infarction improve the outcome of disease to some extent but do not provide the clue for full regeneration of the heart tissues. An increasing body of evidence has shown that transplantation of cells may lead to some organ recovery. However, the optimal stem cell population has not been yet identified.

TP53 in Biology and Treatment of Osteosarcoma.

The gene is mutated in 50% of human tumors. Oncogenic functions of mutant maintain tumor cell proliferation and tumor growth also in osteosarcomas. We collected data on mutations in patients to indicate which are more common and describe their role in in vitro and animal models.

Fluvoxamine and Amantadine: Central Nervous System Acting Drugs Repositioned for COVID-19 as Early Intervention.

Background: As the World faces unprecedented pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 virus, repositioning of existing drugs to treatment of COVID-19 disease is urgently awaited, provided that high quality scientific evidence supporting safety and efficacy in this new indication is gathered. Efforts concerning drugs repositioning to COVID-19 were mostly focused on antiviral drugs, or drugs targeting the late phase of the disease.

Methods: Based on published research, the pharmacological activities of fluvoxamine and amantadine, two well-known drugs widely used in clinical practice for psychiatric and neurological diseases, respectively, have been reviewed, with a focus on their potential therapeutic importance in the treatment of COVID-19.

Are central nervous system drugs displaying anti-inflammatory activity suitable for early treatment of COVID-19?

The majority of COVID-19 cases are only mildly or moderately symptomatic, but in some patients excessive inflammatory response becomes the dominant factor of disease progression to the advanced stage, with high mortality. Treatment with anti-inflammatory drugs either does not prevent disease progression (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs [NSAIDs], colchicine), or is recommended only at the advanced disease stage (dexamethasone). Fluvoxamine and amantadine are drugs used to treat neurological and psychiatric diseases.

Citicoline: A Candidate for Adjunct Treatment of Multiple Sclerosis.

In remitting-relapsing multiple sclerosis (RR-MS), relapses are driven by autoreactive immune cells that enter the brain and spinal cord and damage myelin sheaths of axons in white and grey matter, whereas during remissions myelin is repaired by activated oligodendroglial cells. Disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) may either retard/attenuate myelin damage or promote/enhance/speed up myelin repair. Almost all currently approved DMTs inhibit myelin damage and are considerably toxic.

[The role of citicoline in glaucoma].

Background: In recent years, many experimental and clinical studies have shown that in glaucoma, neuronal degeneration occurs not only at the level of the retina and optic nerve, but also along the entire visual pathway and the brain.

Objective: This article presents the neuroprotective effects of citicoline and their mechanisms in glaucoma disease.

Materials And Methods: The relevance of citicoline is explained against the background of neuroanatomy, neuroimaging, and the pathogenesis of glaucoma.

Tryptophan Pathway Abnormalities in a Murine Model of Hereditary Glaucoma.

Background: It has been shown that a possible pathogenetic mechanism of neurodegeneration in the mouse model of glaucoma (DBA/2J) may be an alteration of kynurenic acid (KYNA) in the retina. This study aimed to verify the hypothesis that alterations of tryptophan (TRP) metabolism in DBA/2J mice is not limited to the retina.

Methods: Samples of the retinal tissue and serum were collected from DBA/2J mice (6 and 10 months old) and control C57Bl/6 mice of the same age.

Changes of Ocular Dimensions as a Marker of Disease Progression in a Murine Model of Pigmentary Glaucoma.

Purpose: The elevation of intraocular pressure (IOP), a major risk factor in glaucoma, is an important parameter tracked in experimental models of this disease. However, IOP measurement in laboratory rodents is challenging and may not correlate with some key pathological events that occur in the development of glaucoma. The aims of this study were to quantify changes in ocular morphology in DBA/2J mice that develop spontaneous, age-dependent, pigmentary glaucoma and to check the possible correlation of these parameters with IOP.

Molecular Biology of Osteosarcoma.

Osteosarcoma (OS) is the most frequent primary bone cancer in children and adolescents and the third most frequent in adults. Many inherited germline mutations are responsible for syndromes that predispose to osteosarcomas including Li Fraumeni syndrome, retinoblastoma syndrome, Werner syndrome, Bloom syndrome or Diamond-Blackfan anemia. is the most frequently altered gene in osteosarcoma.

TP53-Deficient Angiosarcoma Expression Profiling in Rat Model.

Sarcomas are a heterogeneous group of malignant tumors, that develop from mesenchymal cells. Sarcomas are tumors associated with poor prognosis and expected short overall survival. Efforts to improve treatment efficacy and treatment outcomes of advanced and metastatic sarcoma patients have not led to significant improvements in the last decades.

Adamantanes might be protective from COVID-19 in patients with neurological diseases: multiple sclerosis, parkinsonism and cognitive impairment.

Facing the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, there is an urgent need to find protective or curable drugs to prevent or to stop the course of the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 infection. Recent evidence accumulates that adamantanes, widely used in different neurological diseases, could be repurposed for COVID-19. We hereby report on a questionnaire-based study performed to assess severity of COVID-19 in patients suffering from multiple sclerosis (n=10), Parkinson's disease (n=5) or cognitive impairment (n=7).

Peripheral Latanoprost Administration Lowers Intraocular Pressure in the Wistar Rat.

Purpose: Instillation of latanoprost eye drops into the conjunctival sac to lower intraocular pressure (IOP) is the most frequently used treatment for primary open-angle glaucoma. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of latanoprost on IOP in the rat when applied peripherally.

Methods: A rodent-dedicated tonometer was used to measure IOP in conscious adult male normotensive Wistar rats habituated to the measurement procedure.

Salivary interleukin 6, interleukin 8, interleukin 17A, and tumour necrosis factor α levels in patients with periodontitis and rheumatoid arthritis.

Introduction: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and periodontitis share risk factors and inflammatory pathways that could be related to cytokines, such as interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8, IL-17A, and tumour necrosis factor- (TNF-). The aim of this study was to compare periodontal status and salivary levels of selected cytokines between patients diagnosed with RA and periodontitis. RA patients were assessed for the potential influence of anti-rheumatic therapy.

Sonodynamic Therapy for Gliomas. Perspectives and Prospects of Selective Sonosensitization of Glioma Cells.

Malignant glial tumors (gliomas) are the second (after cerebral stroke) cause of death from diseases of the central nervous system. The current routine therapy, involving a combination of tumor resection, radio-, and chemo-therapy, only modestly improves survival. Sonodynamic therapy (SDT) has been broadly defined as a synergistic effect of sonication applied in combination with substances referred to as "sonosensitizers".

Tryptophan and Kynurenine Pathway Metabolites in Animal Models of Retinal and Optic Nerve Damage: Different Dynamics of Changes.

Kynurenines, products of tryptophan (TRP) metabolism, display neurotoxic (e.g., 3-hydroxykynurenine; 3-HK), or neuroprotective (e.