Therapeutic Effects of Amnion-Conjugated Chitosan-Alginate Membranes on Diabetic Wounds in an Induced Diabetic Swine Model: An In Vitro and In Vivo Study.

 Chitosan (CS) is a well-known antimicrobial dressing material. Moreover, widely used amniotic membranes contain growth factors beneficial for wound healing. Herein, we created a novel amnion-conjugated CS-alginate membrane dressing and tested its wound healing potency in a diabetic swine model.

Smart Microneedles with Porous Polymer Layer for Glucose-Responsive Insulin Delivery.

A closed-loop system imitating the function of pancreatic cells, connected to microneedles (MNs) that automatically "release" insulin in response to the blood glucose (BG) levels would be highly satisfactory for improving the quality of life and health for diabetes patients. This paper describes an easy, fast and simple technique of coating a porous polymer layer on stainless steel (SS) MNs that release insulin in a glucose-responsive fashion. It was fabricated by sealing insulin, sodium bicarbonate (a pH-sensitive element [NaHCOз]) and glucose oxidase (glucose-specific enzymes [GOx]) into the pores of a porous polymer coating.

Prediction of drug-induced immune-mediated hepatotoxicity using hepatocyte-like cells derived from human embryonic stem cells.

Drug-induced liver injury (DILI) is a leading cause of liver disease and a key safety factor during drug development. In addition to the initiation events of drug-specific hepatotoxicity, dysregulated immune responses have been proposed as major pathological events of DILI. Thus, there is a need for a reliable cell culture model with which to assess drug-induced immune reactions to predict hepatotoxicity for drug development.

Exosome-mediated activation of toll-like receptor 3 in stellate cells stimulates interleukin-17 production by γδ T cells in liver fibrosis.

Unlabelled: During liver injury, hepatocytes secrete exosomes that include diverse types of self-RNAs. Recently, self-noncoding RNA has been recognized as an activator of Toll-like receptor 3 (TLR3). However, the roles of hepatic exosomes and TLR3 in liver fibrosis are not yet fully understood.

Mitochondrial Respiratory Defect Causes Dysfunctional Lactate Turnover via AMP-activated Protein Kinase Activation in Human-induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-derived Hepatocytes.

A defective mitochondrial respiratory chain complex (DMRC) causes various metabolic disorders in humans. However, the pathophysiology of DMRC in the liver remains unclear. To understand DMRC pathophysiology in vitro, DMRC-induced pluripotent stem cells were generated from dermal fibroblasts of a DMRC patient who had a homoplasmic mutation (m.

Prevention of post-stroke generalized anxiety disorder, using escitalopram or problem-solving therapy.

This study examined the efficacy of antidepressant treatment for preventing the onset of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) among patients with recent stroke. Of 799 patients assessed, 176 were randomized, and 149 patients without evidence of GAD at the initial visit were included in this double-blind treatment with escitalopram (N=47) or placebo (N=49) or non-blinded problem-solving therapy (PST; 12 total sessions; N=53). Participants given placebo over 12 months were 4.

Prevention of poststroke apathy using escitalopram or problem-solving therapy.

Objective: Apathy occurs frequently following stroke and prior studies have demonstrated the negative effect of apathy on recovery from stroke. This study was a secondary analysis examining the efficacy of escitalopram, problem-solving therapy (PST), or placebo administered for 1 year to prevent the onset of apathy among patients with recent stroke.

Methods: Patients within 3 months of an index stroke who did not meet DSM-IV diagnostic criteria for major or minor depression and who did not have a serious comorbid physical illness were enrolled.

Incident apathy during the first year after stroke and its effect on physical and cognitive recovery.

Objective: This prospective study examined the course of cognitive, physical, and social impairment among patients who developed apathy during the first year after stroke.

Methods: Patients diagnosed with apathy (N = 23) were compared with patients who had no apathy (N = 33) at initial, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months after stroke for severity of global cognitive impairment as measured by Mini-Mental State Examination, severity of impairment in activities of daily living (ADLs) as measured by Functional Independence Measure, and severity of impairment in social functioning as measured by Social Functioning Exam.

Results: A total of 41.

Variations in the epigenetic regulation of lineage-specific genes among human pluripotent stem cell lines.

Pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) have unique transcriptional regulatory networks and epigenetic states that are involved in maintaining pluripotency. In this study, the transcriptional levels and histone modifications of lineage-specific genes were compared for human ESC (hESC) lines and human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC) lines. Expression of the pluripotency marker genes, OCT4, SOX2, and NANOG, was largely modulated in hESCs by permissive histone marks, whereas hiPSC lines showed differential histone modifications in the gene promoters.

Increased frequency of first-episode poststroke depression after discontinuation of escitalopram.

Background And Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare escitalopram, problem-solving therapy, and placebo to prevent poststroke depression during 6 months after discontinuation of treatment.

Methods: We examined for depression 33 patients assigned to placebo, 34 to escitalopram, and 41 to problem-solving therapy.

Results: After controlling for age, gender, prior mood disorder, and severity of stroke, new-onset major depression and Hamilton Depression scores were significantly higher 6 months after escitalopram was discontinued compared with the problem-solving therapy or placebo groups.

Effect of antidepressants on the course of disability following stroke.

Objective: Stroke often produces marked physical and cognitive impairments leading to functional dependence, caregiver burden, and poor quality of life. We examined the course of disability during a 1-year follow-up period after stroke among patients who were administered antidepressants for 3 months compared to patients given placebo for 3 months.

Methods: A total of 83 patients entered a double-blind randomized study of the efficacy of antidepressants to treat depressive disorders and reduce disability after stroke.

Epigenetic signatures and temporal expression of lineage-specific genes in hESCs during differentiation to hepatocytes in vitro.

Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) maintain unique epigenetic states to maintain their pluripotency. Differentiation of ESCs into specialized cell types requires changes in these epigenetic states. However, the dynamics of epigenetic marks found in hESCs during differentiation are poorly understood.

Efficient differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells into functional CD34+ progenitor cells by combined modulation of the MEK/ERK and BMP4 signaling pathways.

Differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) into functional cell types is a crucial step in cell therapy. In the present study, we demonstrate that functional CD34(+) progenitor cells can be efficiently produced from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) by combined modulation of 2 signaling pathways. A higher proportion of CD34(+) cells (∼ 20%) could be derived from hPSCs by inhibition of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase (MEK)/extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) signaling and activation of bone morphogenic protein-4 (BMP4) signaling.

Iowa Case Management for Rural Drug Abuse.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this research was to evaluate the effectiveness of a comprehensive, strengths-based model of case management for clients in drug abuse treatment. METHOD: 503 volunteers from residential or intensive outpatient treatment were randomly assigned to one of three conditions of Iowa Case Management (ICM) plus treatment as usual (TAU), or to a fourth condition of TAU only. All were assessed at intake and followed at 3, 6, and 12 months.

Therapist adherence to a motivational-interviewing intervention improves treatment entry for substance-misusing adolescents with low problem perception.

Objective: This study evaluated whether adherence to the Strengths-Oriented Referral for Teens (SORT) model, a motivational interviewing (MI)-consistent intervention addressing ambivalence about attending treatment, positively predicted adolescents' initial-session attendance.

Method: Therapist adherence was rated in 54 audiotaped SORT sessions by coders who were blind to treatment-entry status. Higher adherence scores reflected greater use of MI and solution focused language, discussion of client strengths, and dialogue with families on treatment need and options.

Substance abuse treatment with rural adolescents: issues and outcomes.

This study compared the characteristics and treatment outcomes of rural adolescents with urban adolescents in substance abuse treatment programs in CSAT's Strengthening Communities for Youth (SCY) initiative. Using data from ten SCY programs nationally, the authors classified adolescents as rural or urban using Rural-Urban Commuting Area (RUCA) codes. We then evaluated changes in substance use frequency and substance-related problems at three, six, and 12 months after baseline assessments for the two sites that treated rural (n = 59) and urban (n = 345) youth in outpatient settings.