Efficacy and safety of sofosbuvir and daclatasvir with or without ribavirin in elderly patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is considered as a major public health problem that, worldwide, chronically affects 170 million people. Elderly patients are more likely than younger patients to have increased duration of infection, increased rate of disease progression, and subsequently increased incidence of advanced liver disease. Natural history models predicted that the prevalence of HCV infection and its chronic sequelae as well as extrahepatic manifestations will eventually increase through the next decade and will mostly affect those who are greater than 60 years of age.

Not all drugs are created equal: impaired future thinking in opiate, but not alcohol, users.

Episodic future thinking refers to the ability to travel forward in time to pre-experience an event. Although future thinking has been intimately linked with self and identity, to our knowledge, no prior research has compared episodic future thinking in populations with different substance use disorders. This study investigates whether there are differences in episodic future thinking between these alcohol and opiate users.

Parcellating cognitive heterogeneity in early psychosis-spectrum illnesses: A cluster analysis.

Cognitive impairment is argued to represent a core feature of psychosis-spectrum illnesses. However, within-diagnosis heterogeneity is common, and risk factors for poor cognition remain to be examined after statistically accounting for heterogeneity. Accordingly, we used a data-driven technique (cluster analysis) to empirically-derive cognitive clusters across diagnoses and examined whether concurrent substance use or a history of a neurodevelopmental/behavioral disorder differed between clusters.

The many facets of dopamine: Toward an integrative theory of the role of dopamine in managing the body's energy resources.

In neuroscience literature, dopamine is often considered as a pleasure chemical of the brain. Dopaminergic neurons respond to rewarding stimuli which include primary rewards like opioids or food, or more abstract forms of reward like cash rewards or pictures of pretty faces. It is this reward-related aspect of dopamine, particularly its association with reward prediction error, that is highlighted by a large class of computational models of dopamine signaling.

Tell about yourself to improve your autobiographical memory: A study of Korsakoff's syndrome.

Korsakoff's syndrome (KS) has been associated with a difficulty to retrieve specific autobiographical memories. We investigated whether this difficulty can be alleviated after the retrieval of statements describing self-images. KS patients and control participants were recruited and asked to retrieve autobiographical memories after providing statements to the question "Who am I?" and after a control condition consisting of verbal fluency.

Isolated Polycystic Liver Disease: An Unusual Cause of Recurrent Variceal Bleed.

Isolated polycystic liver disease is a rare disorder. Majority of the patients with isolated polycystic liver disease are asymptomatic with incidental detection of liver cysts on imaging studies done for other purposes. Minority of patients develop symptoms which are mostly secondary to enlarging cysts size and hepatomegaly.

Social decision making in autism: On the impact of mirror neurons, motor control, and imitative behaviors.

The Mirror Neuron System (MNS) plays a crucial role in action perception and imitative behavior, which is suggested to be impaired in Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs). In this review, we discuss the plausibility and empirical evidence of a neural interaction between the MNS, action perception, empathy, imitative behavior, and their impact on social decision making in ASDs. To date, there is no consensus regarding a particular theory in ASDs and its underlying mechanisms.

MicroRNAs in prostate cancer: From function to biomarker discovery.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a small functional non-coding RNAs that post-transcriptionally regulate gene expression through mRNA degradation or translational repression. miRNAs are key regulatory components of various cellular networks. Current evidence support that multiple mammalian genome-encoded miRNAs impact the cellular biology, including proliferation, apoptosis, differentiation, and tumorigenesis, by targeting specific subsets of mRNAs.

Holistic Management of Schizophrenia Symptoms Using Pharmacological and Non-pharmacological Treatment.

Individuals with schizophrenia lead a poor quality of life, due to poor medical attention, homelessness, unemployment, financial constraints, lack of education, and poor social skills. Thus, a review of factors associated with the holistic management of schizophrenia is of paramount importance. The objective of this review is to improve the quality of life of individuals with schizophrenia, by addressing the factors related to the needs of the patients and present them in a unified manner.

Molecular Docking and Dynamic Simulation of AZD3293 and Solanezumab Effects Against BACE1 to Treat Alzheimer's Disease.

The design of novel inhibitors to target BACE1 with reduced cytotoxicity effects is a promising approach to treat Alzheimer's disease (AD). Multiple clinical drugs and antibodies such as AZD3293 and Solanezumab are being tested to investigate their therapeutical potential against AD. The current study explores the binding pattern of AZD3293 and Solanezumab against their target proteins such as β-secretase (BACE1) and mid-region amyloid-beta (Aβ) (PDBIDs: 2ZHV & 4XXD), respectively using molecular docking and dynamic simulation (MD) approaches.

Adenosine role in brain functions: Pathophysiological influence on Parkinson's disease and other brain disorders.

Although adenosine plays a key role in multiple motor, affective, and cognitive processes, it has received less attention in the neuroscience field compared to other neurotransmitters (e.g., dopamine).

A review on future episodic thinking in mood and anxiety disorders.

Future episodic thinking refers to the ability to imagine oneself in the future and project oneself into specific future events. This cognitive process is related to decision making and planning for the future. Although healthy populations commonly project themselves into the future (e.

Recurrent Levamisole-Induced Agranulocytosis Complicated by Bowel Ischemia in a Cocaine User.

BACKGROUND Levamisole is a common adulterant of cocaine and up to 69% of seized cocaine in United States contains levamisole. It is a synthetic imidazothiazole derivative which was previously used as an immunomodulating agent for treatment of various connective tissue disorders and colorectal carcinoma. However, it was withdrawn later from the market due to significant toxicity associated with it.

Computational modeling and biomarker studies of pharmacological treatment of Alzheimer's disease (Review).

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a complex and multifactorial disease. In order to understand the genetic influence in the progression of AD, and to identify novel pharmaceutical agents and their associated targets, the present study discusses computational modeling and biomarker evaluation approaches. Based on mechanistic signaling pathway approaches, various computational models, including biochemical and morphological models, are discussed to explore the strategies that may be used to target AD treatment.

Intolerance of uncertainty and conditioned place preference in opioid addiction.

Several personality factors have been implicated in vulnerability to addiction by impacting learning and decision making. One such factor is intolerance of uncertainty (IU), the tendency to perceive uncertain situations negatively and avoid them. Conditioned place preference (CPP), which compares preference for contexts paired with reward, has been used to examine the motivation for both drug and non-drug rewards.

Exploring the mechanistic insights of Cas scaffolding protein family member 4 with protein tyrosine kinase 2 in Alzheimer's disease by evaluating protein interactions through molecular docking and dynamic simulations.

Cas scaffolding protein family member 4 and protein tyrosine kinase 2 are signaling proteins, which are involved in neuritic plaques burden, neurofibrillary tangles, and disruption of synaptic connections in Alzheimer's disease. In the current study, a computational approach was employed to explore the active binding sites of Cas scaffolding protein family member 4 and protein tyrosine kinase 2 proteins and their significant role in the activation of downstream signaling pathways. Sequential and structural analyses were performed on Cas scaffolding protein family member 4 and protein tyrosine kinase 2 to identify their core active binding sites.

Synthesis of Nucleosides and Non-nucleosides Based 4,6-disubstituted-2-oxo-dihydropyridine-3-carbonitriles as Antiviral Agents.

Background: Viral diseases are considered main threats that face the humanity worldwide. The emergence of new viruses like influenza viruses emphasizes the significance of designing novel antiviral drugs.

Method: The aim of this work is to synthesize a new set of nucleoside and non-nucleoside cyanopyridine, characterized and evaluated for their in vitro antiviral properties against various strains.

Intact goal-directed control in treatment-seeking drug users indexed by outcome-devaluation and Pavlovian to instrumental transfer: critique of habit theory.

Animal studies have demonstrated that chronic exposure to drugs of abuse impairs goal-directed control over action selection indexed by the outcome-devaluation and specific Pavlovian to instrumental transfer procedures, suggesting this impairment might underpin addiction. However, there is currently only weak evidence for impaired goal-directed control in human drug users. Two experiments were undertaken in which treatment-seeking drug users and non-matched normative reference samples (controls) completed outcome-devaluation and specific Pavlovian to instrumental transfer procedures notionally translatable to animal procedures (Experiment 2 used a more challenging biconditional schedule).

Postthrombotic Syndrome: Long-Term Sequela of Deep Venous Thrombosis.

Postthrombotic syndrome is a common long-term complication of proximal lower extremity deep venous thrombosis, which not only significantly affects the quality of life of patients but also imposes a substantial financial burden on our healthcare system. Due to limited awareness and inability of physicians to recognize and treat this condition early, its prevalence is steadily increasing. In this article, we review the pathophysiology, the risk factors involved, diagnostic workup, and the various management options available to treat this condition.

Factors underlying risk taking in heroin-dependent individuals: Feedback processing and environmental contingencies.

Evidence suggests that factors influencing risk-taking include whether decisions are made based on emotions (affective systems) or cognitions (deliberative systems), the processing of feedback (e.g., deciding to attend a rehabilitation facility for opioid addiction treatment after an intervention held by a family member), and attention to environmental contingencies (e.

Ameliorative effect of ginseng extract on phthalate and bisphenol A reprotoxicity during pregnancy in rats.

Phthalates (such as DEHP) and bisphenol A (BPA) are widely used chemicals in plastics manufacturing and exert public health concerns as endocrine disrupters. This study was designed to investigate the deleterious effect of DEHP and BPA on endocrine profile of pregnant female rats and the combined treatment with ginseng extract (Panax ginseng). Seventy-two pregnant rats were divided into six groups (control, ginseng, DEHP, BPA, Gin + DEHP, and Gin + BPA), 12 females per each group.

Epstein-Barr Virus and Human Papillomaviruses Interactions and Their Roles in the Initiation of Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition and Cancer Progression.

Oncoviruses are implicated in around 20% of all human cancers including both solid and non-solid malignancies. Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and human papillomaviruses (HPVs) are the most common oncoviruses worldwide. Currently, it is well established that onco-proteins of EBV (LMP1, LMP2A, and EBNA1) and high-risk HPVs (E5 and E6/E7) play an important role in the initiation and/or progression of several human carcinomas, including cervical, oral, and breast.

Phenomenological Characteristics of Future Thinking in Alzheimer's Disease.

This study investigates phenomenological reliving of future thinking in Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients and matched controls. All participants were asked to imagine in detail a future event, and afterward, were asked to rate phenomenological characteristics of their future thinking. As compared to controls, AD participants showed poor rating for reliving, travel in time, visual imagery, auditory imagery, language, and spatiotemporal specificity.