Model-based evaluation of low-dose factor VIII prophylaxis in haemophilia A.

Introduction: The optimal treatment modality for haemophilia A is lifelong prophylaxis which is expensive and may not be implementable everywhere where factor VIII (FVIII) availability is limited. A less costly alternative to prophylaxis is low-dose prophylaxis (LDP) which was compared to conventional prophylaxis in this model-based simulation study.

Aim: To explore whether LDP is motivated where standard prophylaxis is not implementable, including evaluating LDP efficacy compared to high-dose prophylaxis and investigating the potential economic benefit of individualized dosing.

Prevention of chemotherapy-induced cachexia by ACVR2B ligand blocking has different effects on heart and skeletal muscle.

Background: Toxicity of chemotherapy on skeletal muscles and the heart may significantly contribute to cancer cachexia, mortality, and decreased quality of life. Doxorubicin (DOX) is an effective cytostatic agent, which unfortunately has toxic effects on many healthy tissues. Blocking of activin receptor type IIB (ACVR2B) ligands is an often used strategy to prevent skeletal muscle loss, but its effects on the heart are relatively unknown.

VEGF-B gene therapy inhibits doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity by endothelial protection.

Congestive heart failure is one of the leading causes of disability in long-term survivors of cancer. The anthracycline antibiotic doxorubicin (DOX) is used to treat a variety of cancers, but its utility is limited by its cumulative cardiotoxicity. As advances in cancer treatment have decreased cancer mortality, DOX-induced cardiomyopathy has become an increasing problem.

Systemic blockade of ACVR2B ligands prevents chemotherapy-induced muscle wasting by restoring muscle protein synthesis without affecting oxidative capacity or atrogenes.

Doxorubicin is a widely used and effective chemotherapy drug. However, cardiac and skeletal muscle toxicity of doxorubicin limits its use. Inhibiting myostatin/activin signalling can prevent muscle atrophy, but its effects in chemotherapy-induced muscle wasting are unknown.

An automatic system for in vitro cell migration studies.

This paper describes a system for in vitro cell migration analysis. Adult neural stem/progenitor cells are studied using time-lapse bright-field microscopy and thereafter stained immunohistochemically to find and distinguish undifferentiated glial progenitor cells and cells having differentiated into type-1 or type-2 astrocytes. The cells are automatically segmented and tracked through the time-lapse sequence.