Neuroprotective effects of magnesium: implications for neuroinflammation and cognitive decline.

Neurodegenerative diseases, which are characterized by progressive neuronal loss and cognitive decline, are a significant concern for the aging population. Neuroinflammation, a shared characteristic of these diseases, is implicated in their pathogenesis. This article briefly summarizes the role of magnesium, an essential mineral involved in numerous enzymatic reactions and critical for neuronal bioactivity, in the context of neuroinflammation and cognitive decline.

Zinc and Diabetes: A Connection between Micronutrient and Metabolism.

Diabetes mellitus is a global health problem and a major contributor to mortality and morbidity. The management of this condition typically involves using oral antidiabetic medication, insulin, and appropriate dietary modifications, with a focus on macronutrient intake. However, several human studies have indicated that a deficiency in micronutrients, such as zinc, can be associated with insulin resistance as well as greater glucose intolerance.

Potential Impact of COVID-19 on Medical Career Aspirations of Prospective Students.

This article describes the evolving landscape of medical education in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, emphasizing the renewed importance of public health, mental well-being, and career choices among medical students. The pandemic has prompted a significant shift in medical student's career aspirations, highlighting the need for mental health support mechanisms within the medical education framework. Medical students' career choices are influenced directly and indirectly by the challenges and experiences of the pandemic era, which are discussed in this article under four key themes: traditional values, global health interests and disparities, developing trends, and digital healthcare.

Health-promoting benefits of lentils: Anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial effects.

This paper describes how lentils ( species) can positively affect health by reducing inflammation, providing antioxidants, and displaying antimicrobial properties. Lentils are rich in proteins, essential amino acids, minerals, and fibers, making them a valuable source of nutrition, particularly in low and middle-income countries. Lentils have many health benefits, including positive effects on diabetes management, support for cardiovascular health, and antioxidative properties.

Can adverse cardiac events of the COVID-19 vaccine exacerbate preexisting diseases?

Introduction: SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 vaccination can both lead to serious cardiac conditions such as myocarditis, arrhythmia, acute myocardial infarction, and coagulopathy. Further studies are needed to better understand the risks and benefits of COVID-19 vaccination, and to determine the best course of action for individuals with preexisting heart conditions.

Areas Covered: The current knowledge and challenges in understanding vaccine-associated heart issues concerning the COVID-19 pandemic are briefly summarized, highlighting similar cardiac conditions caused by either SARS-CoV-2 infection or COVID-19 vaccination and the potential clinical impacts.

Activation of cerebral Ras-related C3 botulinum toxin substrate (Rac) 1 promotes post-ischemic stroke functional recovery in aged mice.

Brain functional impairment after stroke is common; however, the molecular mechanisms of post-stroke recovery remain unclear. It is well-recognized that age is the most important independent predictor of poor outcomes after stroke as older patients show poorer functional outcomes following stroke. Mounting evidence suggests that axonal regeneration and angiogenesis, the major forms of brain plasticity responsible for post-stroke recovery, diminished with advanced age.

Collapsing focal segmental glomerulosclerosis secondary to COVID-19: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Unlabelled: The renal system manifestations of coronavirus disease-2019 have been documented extensively; however, scientific literature remains scarce regarding collapsing glomerulopathy hence the need for this investigation.

Methods: A comprehensive review was conducted covering a timeline from 1 January 2020 to 5 February 2022 without any restrictions. The data extraction was conducted independently, and articles were assessed for the risk of bias.

Antagonism between Prdm16 and Smad4 specifies the trajectory and progression of pancreatic cancer.

The transcription factor Prdm16 functions as a potent suppressor of transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β) signaling, whose inactivation is deemed essential to the progression of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Using the KrasG12D-based mouse model of human PDAC, we surprisingly found that ablating Prdm16 did not block but instead accelerated PDAC formation and progression, suggesting that Prdm16 might function as a tumor suppressor in this malignancy. Subsequent genetic experiments showed that ablating Prdm16 along with Smad4 resulted in a shift from a well-differentiated and confined neoplasm to a highly aggressive and metastatic disease, which was associated with a striking deviation in the trajectory of the premalignant lesions.

25-Hydroxyvitamin-D deficiency in chronic kidney disease stages III, IV, and V in South Asian population: a retrospective cohort.

Objective: Vitamin D deficiency in Chronic Kidney Disease is a known fact, but the data regarding the prevalence and extent of vitamin D deficiency in different stages of Chronic Kidney Disease is scarce. This leads to a delay in addressing this issue. We conducted this study to assess vitamin-D deficiency in different stages of Chronic Kidney Disease to improve the evidence available to Physicians and Nephrologists which can help them better address this common finding in Chronic Kidney Disease.

Evaluation of Short-Term Side Effects Following the First Dose of COVID-19 Vaccines Among Physicians and Dentists: A Cross-Sectional Study from India.

Background: Efficacy and safety are fundamental for the development of successful COVID-19 vaccines. Vaccine-associated side effects influence vaccine hesitancy. This study investigated the prevalence, severity, and onset of side effects following the first dose of COVID-19 vaccines among physicians and dentists working in various healthcare settings across India.

Low back pain in the Bangladeshi adult population: a cross-sectional national survey.

Objective: Low back pain (LBP) is a common musculoskeletal disorder. This study aims to determine the residence-specific and sex-specific prevalence and the factors associated with LBP in Bangladesh.

Methods: The study subjects (aged ≥18 years) were identified from 20 primary sampling units of the national census following a cross-sectional multistage stratified sampling design.

Phosphate Dysregulation and Metabolic Syndrome.

Phosphorus is one of the most abundant minerals in the human body. It is essential for almost all biochemical activities through ATP formation, intracellular signal transduction, cell membrane formation, bone mineralization, DNA and RNA synthesis, and inflammation modulation through various inflammatory cytokines. Phosphorus levels must be optimally regulated, as any deviations may lead to substantial derangements in glucose homeostasis.

NF1 loss of function as an alternative initiating event in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.

A long-standing question in the pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) field has been whether alternative genetic alterations could substitute for oncogenic KRAS mutations in initiating malignancy. Here, we report that Neurofibromin1 (NF1) inactivation can bypass the requirement of mutant KRAS for PDAC pathogenesis. An in-depth analysis of PDAC databases reveals various genetic alterations in the NF1 locus, including nonsense mutations, which occur predominantly in tumors with wild-type KRAS.

Interactions between FGF23 and vitamin D.

Fibroblast growth factor-23 (FGF23) controls the homeostasis of both phosphate and vitamin D. Bone-derived FGF23 can suppress the transcription of 1α-hydroxylase (1α(OH)ase) to reduce renal activation of vitamin D (1,25(OH)2D3). FGF23 can also activate the transcription of 24-hydroxylase to enhance the renal degradation process of vitamin D.

Clinical Presentation, Histology, and Outcomes of Immunoglobulin A Nephropathy: A Single-Center Experience from Pakistan.

Clinical presentation, kidney biopsy findings, and clinical outcomes of immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN) are highly variable. The objective of this study is to study the clinical presentation, histologic patterns, and outcomes of IgAN in the Pakistani population, as no significant data are available in international literature from this part of the world. A retrospective chart review was conducted of all patients with biopsy-proven IgAN between January 2007 and December 2017.