Importance: Sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD) is a rare, rapidly progressive and fatal neurodegenerative disease. Definite sCJD diagnosis can only be made post mortem, and little is known about the prodromal phase of the disease.
Objective: To compare drug prescription patterns before the clinical onset of sCJD between patients and matched controls for exploration of potential risk factors and to assess correlations between drug exposure and sCJD survival.
The epidermis of the skin and skin appendages, such as nails, hair and sebaceous glands, depend on a balance of cell proliferation and terminal differentiation in order to fulfill their functions at the interface of the body and the environment. The differentiation of epithelial cells of the skin, commonly referred to as keratinocytes, involves major remodeling processes that generate metabolically inactive cell remnants serving as building blocks of the epidermal stratum corneum, nail plates and hair shafts. Only sebaceous gland differentiation results in cell disintegration and holocrine secretion.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTwo-dimensional (2D) materials exhibit the potential to transform semiconductor technology. Their rich compositional and stacking varieties allow tailoring materials' properties toward device applications. Monolayer to multilayer gallium sulfide (GaS) with its ultraviolet band gap, which can be tuned by varying the layer number, holds promise for solar-blind photodiodes and light-emitting diodes as applications.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMale contraceptive options and infertility treatments are limited, and almost all innovation has been limited to updates to medically assisted reproduction protocols and methods. To accelerate the development of drugs that can either improve or inhibit fertility, we established a small molecule library as a toolbox for assay development and screening campaigns using human spermatozoa. We have profiled all compounds in the Sperm Toolbox in several automated high-throughput assays that measure stimulation or inhibition of sperm motility or the acrosome reaction.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAngew Chem Int Ed Engl
March 2024
DNA encoded library (DEL) synthesis represents a convenient means to produce, annotate and store large collections of compounds in a small volume. While DELs are well suited for drug discovery campaigns, the chemistry used in their production must be compatible with the DNA tag, which can limit compound class accessibility. As a result, most DELs are heavily populated with peptidomimetic and sp -rich molecules.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM) observations of the metal-organic vapor phase epitaxy (MOVPE) growth promise to enhance the understanding of this complex process. However, a new experimental approach is required, capable of live imaging at the atomic scale and simultaneously reflecting this method's elevated pressures. To this end, a closed gas cell in situ TEM setup is used as a micrometer-scaled MOVPE reactor to grow GaP using tertiary butyl phosphine (TBP) and trimethyl gallium (TMGa).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFActa Dermatovenerol Croat
November 2023
The book De Medicina by Aulus Cornelius Celsus was the first complete treatise about medicine written in Latin. We know little about his life. The monography consists of eight books describing all that was known within the whole sphere of medicine and surgery in the first century AD.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHuman skin equivalents (HSEs) are three-dimensional skin organ culture models raised in vitro. This review gives an overview of common techniques for setting up HSEs. The HSE consists of an artificial dermis and epidermis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLinoleic acid (LA) is an essential omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) derived from the diet. Sebocytes, whose primary role is to moisturise the skin, process free fatty acids (FFAs) to produce the lipid-rich sebum. Importantly, like other sebum components such as palmitic acid (PA), LA and its derivative arachidonic acid (AA) are known to modulate sebocyte functions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFComplement factor H (CFH) negatively regulates consumption of complement component 3 (C3), thereby restricting complement activation. Genetic variants in CFH predispose to chronic inflammatory disease. Here, we examined the impact of CFH on atherosclerosis development.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe spatial boundaries of tissue response to wounding are unknown. Here, we show that in mammals, the ribosomal protein S6 (rpS6) is phosphorylated in response to skin injury, forming a zone of activation surrounding the region of the initial insult. This p-rpS6-zone forms within minutes after wounding and is present until healing is complete.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAtopic dermatitis (AD) is a complex disease characterized by chronic recurring eczema and pruritus. In addition, patients with AD display increased cutaneous and systemic levels of oxidative damage markers, whose source remains elusive. In this study, we investigated oxidative and mitochondrial stress in AD epidermis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNRF2 is a master regulator of the cellular protection against oxidative damage in mammals and of multiple pathways relevant in the mammalian aging process. In the epidermis of the skin NRF2 contributes additionally to the formation of an antioxidant barrier to protect from environmental insults and is involved in the differentiation process of keratinocytes. In chronological aging of skin, the capacity for antioxidant responses and the ability to restore homeostasis after damage are impaired.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFActa Dermatovenerol Croat
July 2022
Skin diseases are easily diagnosable by observation. Authors in ancient times already wrote on these diseases, if only succinctly. In the sixteenth century, Mercuriale, a famous Italian physician who taught in Padua, Bologna, and Pisa, wrote "The morbis cutaneis", the first book on the subject.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe accumulation of senescent cells in tissues alters tissue homeostasis and affects wound healing. It is also considered to be the main contributing factor to aging. In addition to losing their ability to divide, senescent cells exert detrimental effects on surrounding tissues through their senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThere is a need for non-hormonal contraceptives. One area that needs further investigation is the development of male contraceptives. Comparatively little is understood about potential drug targets in men to achieve a reversible contraceptive effect.
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