The clinical impact of EGFR alterations in elderly glioblastoma patients: results from a real-life cohort.

Background: The incidence of glioblastoma in the elderly population is increasing as the worldwide population ages. The differential and poorer survival in the elderly population compared to younger patients is partially explained. The present study aimed to investigate the clinical impact of epidermal growth factor receptor EGFR-altered glioblastoma in a real-life elderly glioblastoma population.

Comparison of Two Alternative Procedures to Obtain Packed Red Blood Cells for β-Thalassemia Major Transfusion Therapy.

β-thalassemia major (βTM) patients require frequent blood transfusions, with consequences that span from allogenic reactions to iron overload. To minimize these effects, βTM patients periodically receive leucodepleted packed red blood cells (P-RBCs) stored for maximum 14 days. The aim of this study was to compare two alternative routine procedures to prepare the optimal P-RBCs product, in order to identify differences in their content that may somehow affect patients' health and quality of life (QoL).

Apheresis Platelet Rich-Plasma for Regenerative Medicine: An In Vitro Study on Osteogenic Potential.

: Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) induces bone regeneration; however, there is low evidence supporting its efficacy in bone healing. The lack of a standardized protocol of administration represents the main obstacle to its use in the clinical routine for bone defects' treatment. The purpose of this study was to characterize PRP and elucidate its osteogenic potential.

Metabolomics comparison of cord and peripheral blood-derived serum eye drops for the treatment of dry eye disease.

Allogeneic peripheral blood-derived (PBS) serum eye drops have been largely used in the treatment of dry eye disease (DED). Recently, cord blood has emerged as an effective alternative serum source (cord blood serum, CBS), containing a higher amount of growth factors than PBS, it holds the promise of a better capability to stimulate corneal healing. However, the lack of a standardized method for preparation, dispensation, storage and a poor biochemical characterization still hamper the establishment of a clinical consensus.

What Do Adolescents Know About One-Health and Zoonotic Risks? A School-Based Survey in Italy, Austria, Germany, Slovenia, Mauritius, and Japan.

More than 60% of the 1,700 infectious diseases that affect human come from animals and zoonotic pandemics, after starting from sporadic phenomena limited to rural areas, have become a global emergency. The repeated and frequent zoonotic outbreaks such as the most recent COVID-19 pandemic can be attributed also to human activities. In particular, the creation of enormous intensive domestic animal farms, the indiscriminate use of antibiotics, the destruction of forests, the consumption of the meat of wild animals and the illegal animal trade are all factors causing the insurgence and the transmission of zoonotic diseases from animals to humans.

Photobiomodulation with a 645 nm Diode Laser of Saos-2 Cells and Platelet-Rich Plasma: The Potential for a New Mechanism of Action.

The main focus of this study was to highlight possible differences between outcomes of photobiomodulation performed in the presence or absence of growth factors derived from platelet-rich plasma. Photobiomodulation has garnered increasing attention, thanks to a large number of controlled clinical trials that have proven its efficacy in various oral pathologies. Nevertheless, the mechanism of action is still a matter of debate.

Mutations in the Plasmodium falciparum chloroquine resistance transporter, PfCRT, enlarge the parasite's food vacuole and alter drug sensitivities.

Mutations in the Plasmodium falciparum chloroquine resistance transporter, PfCRT, are the major determinant of chloroquine resistance in this lethal human malaria parasite. Here, we describe P. falciparum lines subjected to selection by amantadine or blasticidin that carry PfCRT mutations (C101F or L272F), causing the development of enlarged food vacuoles.

Pumped up: reflections on PfATP6 as the target for artemisinins.

Sarco/endoplasmic reticulum Ca(2+)-ATPases (SERCAs) are increasingly being studied for therapeutic interventions in the fields of cancer, heart disease, and infection. Our suggestion a decade ago that artemisinins (the most important antimalarial class) act by inhibiting parasite SERCAs (PfATP6 and orthologues) expressed in Xenopus oocytes stimulated new directions for research away from conventional site-of-action studies of the food vacuole of the parasite. There is, however, still no consensus on how artemisinins act.

Expression in yeast links field polymorphisms in PfATP6 to in vitro artemisinin resistance and identifies new inhibitor classes.

Background: The mechanism of action of artemisinins against malaria is unclear, despite their widespread use in combination therapies and the emergence of resistance.

Results: Here, we report expression of PfATP6 (a SERCA pump) in yeast and demonstrate its inhibition by artemisinins. Mutations in PfATP6 identified in field isolates (such as S769N) and in laboratory clones (such as L263E) decrease susceptibility to artemisinins, whereas they increase susceptibility to unrelated inhibitors such as cyclopiazonic acid.

Artemisinins and the biological basis for the PfATP6/SERCA hypothesis.

With the advent of artemisinin resistance, it is timely to revisit the biological basis for the controversial suggestion that this class of antimalarial exerts its activity by inhibiting a calcium ATPase (PfATP6) that is most similar to sarcoplasmic endoplasmic reticulum calcium ATPases (SERCAs). Herein, evidence is discussed that relates to this hypothesis as alternative suggestions for how artemisinins might act have been reviewed elsewhere.