An Engineered Gene Nanovehicle Developed for Smart Gene Therapy to Selectively Inhibit Smooth Muscle Cells: An In Vitro Study.

In-stent restenosis is a serious concern for patients treated through the stenting procedure, although this can be solved using drug-eluting stents and/or drug-eluting balloon catheters. However, the chemical agents released from the drug-eluting layer for inhibiting smooth muscle cell (SMC) migration are inevitably associated with damage to vascular endothelial cell (ECs). The present in vitro study used a distinct strategy, in which a smart gene (phEGR1-PKCδ, an engineered plasmid consists of an SMC-specific promoter (human early growth response 1, promoter) ligated with a gene encoding apoptosis-inducing protein (protein kinase C-delta, PKCδ) was incorporated into a novel gene vehicle (Au cluster-incorporated polyethylenimine/carboxymethyl hexanoyl chitosan, PEI-Au/CHC) to form the PEI-Au/CHC/phEGR1-PKCδ complex, which was proposed for the selective inhibition of SMC proliferation.

Venlafaxine, paroxetine and milnacipran for major depressive disorder: a pragmatic 24-week study.

Major depressive disorder (MDD), one of the most common psychiatric disorders in the world, is a serious, recurrent and chronic mental disorder, which is associated with significant psychosocial disability and economic burden. Until recently, short-term effectiveness of antidepressants has been measured in terms of patients' response to the medications in significantly reduced depressive symptoms. Remission, a long-term elimination of symptoms and the restoration of normal functioning, has become the primary outcome of therapy.

Robertsonian translocations: an overview of a 30-year experience in a single tertiary medical center in Taiwan.

Background: Advanced maternal age (AMA) is the most frequent indication for amniocentesis in predicting balanced reciprocal translocations, and abnormal ultrasound findings are indications in predicting unbalanced reciprocal translocations; however, to date, no studies have focused on Robertsonian translocations.

Methods: A retrospective review was conducted on 16,749 pregnant women who underwent midtrimester amniocentesis between January 1981 and December 2010. Robertsonian translocations were identified in 39 cases.

Balanced and unbalanced reciprocal translocation: an overview of a 30-year experience in a single tertiary medical center in Taiwan.

Background: Reciprocal translocation is the most common type of translocation; however, there are only a few studies that address the indications for reciprocal translocation in amniocentesis. Here we share our data, based on 30 years' experience in a single tertiary center, to investigate the rates and indications for amniocentesis in cases of reciprocal translocations.

Methods: A retrospective review of 16,749 pregnant women, who underwent midtrimester amniocentesis between January 1981 and December 2010, was conducted.

The role of interferon-γ inducible protein-10 in a mouse model of acute liver injury post induced pluripotent stem cells transplantation.

Background: Liver injuries are important medical problems that require effective therapy. Stem cell or hepatocyte transplantation has the potential to restore function of the damaged liver and ameliorate injury. However, the regulatory factors crucial for the repair and regeneration after cell transplantation have not been fully characterized.

Neonatal isolation decreases cued fear conditioning and frontal cortical histone 3 lysine 9 methylation in adult female rats.

Early life stress is thought to enhance adult susceptibility to stress and stress-related mood disorders. In this study, fear-potentiated startle was used to model the acquisition of a traumatic event-related memory in female rats experiencing early life stress. Daily 1-hr maternal and sibling separation throughout day 2-9 postpartum (D2-9 PP) caused a decrease in the fear-potentiated startle, but not acoustic startle baseline, in adult female rats.

An overview of a 30-year experience with amniocentesis in a single tertiary medical center in Taiwan.

Objective: Amniocentesis is a popular and effective prenatal diagnostic tool for chromosomal disorders. It is well-established that the risk of chromosomal abnormalities increases with maternal age; however, other related indications are seldom reported. Herein, we report our 30-year experience with amniocentesis from a single medical center, focusing on the indications and rates of abnormality.

The protective role of natural phytoalexin resveratrol on inflammation, fibrosis and regeneration in cholestatic liver injury.

Liver injuries can trigger a cascade of inflammatory responses and as a result, initiate the process of hepatic regeneration and fibrogenesis. Resveratrol (RSV) has multiple health-promoting benefits. This study evaluated the potential protective effects and mechanism of RSV as related to cholestatic liver injury.

D-cycloserine, sarcosine and D-serine diminish the expression of cocaine-induced conditioned place preference.

Reactivation of cocaine-associated memories plays a critical role in reinstating the cocaine-seeking behavior and causing relapse. Cocaine-induced conditioned place preference (CPP) was used as a behavioral paradigm indicative of cocaine-associated memory and repeated cocaine-free preference tests served as a behavioral procedure to retrieve such a memory in this study. Since D-cycloserine was reported to eradicate drug-associated memories, two other N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor agonists were assessed for their efficacy on facilitating the extinction of cocaine-induced CPP.

Hemodynamic assessment of the development of portal-systemic collaterals in portal hypertensive rats.

Background: Portal hypertension induced the formation of portal-systemic collaterals. Revealing the developmental change of portal-systemic collaterals is important for future therapy.

Methods: We observed the evolution of an accessible shunting vessel, the spleno-renal shunt (SRS), in rats after induction of portal hypertension by partial portal vein ligation (PVL).

Systemic treatment with protein synthesis inhibitors attenuates the expression of cocaine memory.

It has been proposed that a memory trace enters a labile phase each time it is retrieved. A reactivated memory relies on de novo protein synthesis to be faithfully reconsolidated and restored. Thus, in theory, a long-lasting and pathological memory associated with drug use may be disrupted by inhibiting its reconsolidation through use of protein synthesis inhibitors administered immediately following the memory retrieval.

MMP-9 mRNA as a therapeutic marker in acute and chronic stages of arthritis induced by type II collagen antibody.

Background/purpose: Antibodies against type II collagen (anti-CII) are arthritogenic and central to the initiation of the disease. An animal model of collagen type II-specific monoclonal antibody-induced arthritis (CAIA) has been used for the evaluation of various therapeutic effects in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). We aimed to measure the expression of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9 (gelatinase B), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta) in the acute and chronic stages of the CAIA model for application as a therapeutic marker.