Development of itaconate polymer microparticles for intracellular regulation of pro-inflammatory macrophage activation.

Itaconate (IA) is an endogenous metabolite and a potent regulator of the innate immune system. Its use in immunomodulatory therapies has faced limitations due to inherent challenges in achieving controlled delivery and requirements for high extracellular concentrations to achieve internalization of the highly polar small molecule to achieve its intracellular therapeutic activity. Microparticle (MP)-based delivery strategies are a promising approach for intracellular delivery of small molecule metabolites through macrophage phagocytosis and subsequent intracellular polymer degradation-based delivery.

Antifibrotic Function of Itaconate-Based Degradable Polyester Materials.

Pathological fibrosis is a chronic disease, characterized by excessive extracellular matrix deposition, that remains a significant global health challenge. Despite its prevalence, current antifibrotic therapies are limited due to the complex interplay and signaling of profibrotic macrophages and fibroblast cells that underlies fibrotic tissue microenvironments. This study investigates a novel approach to combat fibrosis, harnessing the antifibrotic properties of the endogenous metabolite itaconate (IA) to target the pathological activation of the macrophage-fibroblast axis in fibrotic disease.

Impact of extreme heat on health in Australia: a scoping review.

Climate change has been recognized as a driver of increased heatwave events in the Asia Pacific region, including Australia. This review systematically retrieved and summarized published evidence on heat-related health impacts in Australia, focusing on heat-associated deaths, morbidity, and vulnerability. We searched PubMed, Scopus, Embase, and Web of Science for heat-health studies published in Australia between 2007 and 2023.

Evaluating the management of intermittent claudication before and after publication of the Society of Vascular Surgery's Appropriate Use Criteria.

Objective: In April 2022, the Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) published the Appropriate Use Criteria (AUC) for the management of intermittent claudication (IC). Our goal was to compare practice patterns before and after publication of the AUC to identify changes.

Methods: The Vascular Quality Initiative (VQI) peripheral vascular intervention (PVI) and suprainguinal and infrainguinal bypass registries were analyzed for interventions for IC.

Alpha and Theta Oscillations Associated With Behavioral Phenotypes of Pain-Attention Interaction.

Purpose: Pain is inherently salient and so draws our attention in addition to impacting performance on attention-demanding tasks. Individual variability in pain-attention interactions can be assessed by two kinds of behavioral phenotypes that quantify how individuals prioritize pain versus attentional needs. The intrinsic attention to pain (IAP) measure quantifies the degree to which a person attends to pain (high-IAP) or mind-wanders away from pain (low-IAP).