Biological activity and structure-activity relationship of dehydrodieugenol B analogues against visceral leishmaniasis.

Visceral leishmaniasis is a neglected protozoan disease with high mortality. Existing treatments exhibit a number of limitations, resulting in a significant challenge for public health, especially in developing countries in which the disease is endemic. With a limited pipeline of potential drugs in clinical trials, natural products could offer an attractive source of new pharmaceutical prototypes, not least due to their high chemodiversity.

Marine alkaloids as bioactive agents against protozoal neglected tropical diseases and malaria.

Covering: 2000 up to 2021Natural products are an important resource in drug discovery, directly or indirectly delivering numerous small molecules for potential development as human medicines. Among the many classes of natural products, alkaloids have a rich history of therapeutic applications. The extensive chemodiversity of alkaloids found in the marine environment has attracted considerable attention for such uses, while the scarcity of these natural materials has stimulated efforts towards their total synthesis.

Cardiovascular determinants of impaired placental function in women with cardiac dysfunction.

Female heart disease has for a long time been an underrecognized problem in the field of cardiology. With an ever-growing number of these patients getting pregnant, cardiac dysfunction during pregnancy is an increasingly large medical problem. Previous work has shown that maternal heart disease may have an adverse effect on pregnancy outcome in both mother and child.

Early N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide is associated with cardiac complications and function during pregnancy in congenital heart disease.

Background: Elevated N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) levels at 20 weeks' gestation predict adverse cardiovascular (CV) complications during pregnancy in women with congenital heart disease (CHD). To improve early risk assessment in these women, we investigated the predictive value of first-trimester NT-proBNP for CV complications and its association with ventricular function during pregnancy.

Methods: Pregnant women with CHD, previously enrolled in a prospective national study or evaluated by an identical protocol, were included.

Bleeding and thrombotic risk in pregnant women with Fontan physiology.

Background/objectives: Pregnancy may potentiate the inherent hypercoagulability of the Fontan circulation, thereby amplifying adverse events. This study sought to evaluate thrombosis and bleeding risk in pregnant women with a Fontan.

Methods: We performed a retrospective observational cohort study across 13 international centres and recorded data on thrombotic and bleeding events, antithrombotic therapies and pre-pregnancy thrombotic risk factors.