Publications by authors named "Joana Moreira Marques"

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is characterized by insufficient insulin secretion due to β-cell loss. Despite exogenous insulin administration being a lifesaving treatment, many patients still experience severe glycemic lability. For these patients, a β-cell replacement strategy through pancreas or pancreatic islet transplantation is the most physiological approach.

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Article Synopsis
  • Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is a serious autoimmune condition that destroys insulin-producing cells in the pancreas, and cathelicidin-derived peptides may help improve their function and regeneration.* -
  • Researchers developed nanoparticles loaded with a cathelicidin peptide (LLKKK18) to effectively deliver it to β cells, showing favorable characteristics like stability and slow release.* -
  • In experiments with diabetic rats, these nanoparticles significantly lowered blood sugar levels, enhanced insulin production, and increased β cell mass, highlighting their potential for new T1D therapies.*
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A novel small enveloped RNA virus with the typical characteristic of the family to which it belongs, a crown, hence the name coronavirus, appeared in December 2019 in Wuhan, China, and subdued the world to its influence. The particular severity of the disease and higher mortality rates in patients with associated morbidities, including hypertension, obesity and diabetes, increases the concern over the consequences of this pandemic. In this review, the features of SARS-CoV-2 will be addressed, as well as the reasons why it poses a particular challenge to diabetic patients.

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Background: Visceral leishmaniasis is a severe and potentially fatal disease caused by protozoa of the genus Leishmania, transmitted by phlebotomine sandflies. In Europe and the Mediterranean region, L. infantum is the commonest agent of visceral leishmaniasis, causing a wide spectrum of clinical manifestations, including asymptomatic carriage, cutaneous lesions and severe visceral disease.

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