Publications by authors named "N Garcia-Fernandez"

Article Synopsis
  • Visceral leishmaniasis, caused by the trypanosomatid parasite, is treated with outdated drugs that often lead to resistance and side effects.
  • Drug repurposing is being explored to find new treatments, with promising results from nitroaromatic compounds like fexinidazole and pretomanid, which have shown effectiveness against leishmaniasis in various studies.
  • Recent tests using a high-throughput screening platform demonstrated that these nitroimidazoles are effective against parasite cells while causing minimal harm to human cell cultures, suggesting they may disrupt thiol metabolism rather than inhibit key enzymes directly.
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Background: Albuminuria is considered an early and sensitive marker of kidney dysfunction, but also an independent cardiovascular risk factor. Considering the possible relationship among metabolic liver disease, cardiovascular disease and chronic kidney disease, we aimed to evaluate the risk of developing albuminuria regarding the presence of epicardial adipose tissue and the steatotic liver disease status.

Methods: A retrospective long-term longitudinal study including 181 patients was carried out.

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Background: Iodinated contrast-induced acute kidney injury (CI-AKI) is a common cause of renal failure, especially in patients with risk factors. This study analyses different renal biomarkers in patients undergoing computed tomography scans with iodinated contrast to identify the molecular and cellular mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of CI-AKI.

Methodology: Prospective study that included patients with high risk of renal disease who received iodinated contrast (iohexol) for the computed tomography scans.

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Infectious diseases caused by trypanosomatids, including African trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness), Chagas disease, and different forms of leishmaniasis, are Neglected Tropical Diseases affecting millions of people worldwide, mainly in vulnerable territories of tropical and subtropical areas. In general, current treatments against these diseases are old-fashioned, showing adverse effects and loss of efficacy due to misuse or overuse, thus leading to the emergence of resistance. For these reasons, searching for new antitrypanosomatid drugs has become an urgent necessity, and different metabolic pathways have been studied as potential drug targets against these parasites.

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One of the major drawbacks of current treatments for neglected tropical diseases is the low safety of the drugs used and the emergence of resistance. Leishmaniasis is a group of neglected diseases caused by protozoa of the trypanosomatidae family that lacks preventive vaccines and whose pharmacological treatments are scarce and unsafe. Combination therapy is a strategy that could solve the above-mentioned problems, due to the participation of several mechanisms of action and the reduction in the amount of drug necessary to obtain the therapeutic effect.

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