Tetrahydroxy-1,4-benzoquinone (THQ) is a highly redox-active substance that generates reactive oxygen species (ROS), which can induce apoptosis in cell culture experiments. The underlying mechanism for ROS production has previously been postulated to be the autoxidation of THQ to rhodizonic acid (RhA). However, our results suggest that the cells detoxify THQ by reducing it to hexahydroxybenzene (HHB), catalyzed by the NADPH-quinone-oxidoreductase (NQO1).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: The aim of this study was to provide long-term clinical results-including "sweet spot" identification and connectomic imaging analysis-in a series of patients treated with deep brain stimulation for refractory chronic cluster headache.
Background: Deep brain stimulation is a relatively recent indication for the treatment of refractory chronic cluster headache. This indication has generated substantial debate in recent years due to uncertainty surrounding the mechanism of action and the lack of long-term efficacy data.
Background: Heterozygous variants in the glucocerebrosidase (GBA1) gene are the most common genetic risk factor for Parkinson's Disease (PD). GBA1-PD patients exhibit earlier disease onset, severe motor impairment, and heightened cognitive decline. Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) offers motor improvement for PD patients, but its cognitive effects, particularly in GBA1-PD, are debated.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNew approaches for elucidating mechanisms of diseases including environmental diseases, cancer, metabolic diseases, infectious diseases are challenging. After the presentation on elucidating the mechanism of cancer and infectious diseases, lectures by Dr. Tae-Young Kim (Korea) on metabolic deuterium oxide labeling in environmental diseases, Dr.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe repair of nervous tissue is a critical research field in tissue engineering because of the degenerative process in the injured nervous system. In this review, we summarize the progress of injectable hydrogels using in vitro and in vivo studies for the regeneration and repair of nervous tissue. Traditional treatments have not been favorable for patients, as they are invasive and inefficient; therefore, injectable hydrogels are promising for the treatment of damaged tissue.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Music therapy is an emerging and useful methodology for improving patient environments within healthcare fields. However, although it has been shown that music therapy interventions with hospitalised children and adolescents have been used for decades with positive effects, there are currently very few studies that specifically describe the perspectives of healthcare professionals regarding the value of music therapy when applied in these patients.
Objectives: To describe the insights of healthcare professionals regarding music therapy, both on a personal level and in terms of its usefulness in the care of hospitalised children and adolescents.
Three-dimensional (3D) hydrogels provide tissue-like complexities and allow for the spatial orientation of cells, leading to more realistic cellular responses in pathophysiological environments. There is a growing interest in developing multifunctional hydrogels using ternary mixtures for biomedical applications. This study examined the biocompatibility and suitability of human auricular chondrocytes from microtia cultured onto steam-sterilized 3D Chitosan/Gelatin/Poly(Vinyl Alcohol) (CS/Gel/PVA) hydrogels as scaffolds for tissue engineering applications.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: The use of intraoperative techniques to detect residual tumors has recently become increasingly important. Intraoperative MRI has long been considered the gold standard; however, it is not widely used because of high equipment costs and long acquisition times. Consequently, real-time intraoperative ultrasound (ioUS), which is much less expensive than MRI, has gained popularity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWith rapid industrialization, urbanization, and climate change, the impact of environmental factors on human health is becoming increasingly evident and understanding the complex mechanisms involved is vital from a healthcare perspective. Nevertheless, the relationship between physiological stress resulting from environmental stressors and environmental disease is complex and not well understood. Chronic exposure to environmental stressors, such as air and water contaminants, pesticides, and toxic metals, has been recognized as a potent elicitor of physiological responses ranging from systemic inflammation to immune system dysregulation causing or progressing environmental diseases.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground And Objectives: Cortical motor stimulation (CMS) is used to modulate neuropathic pain. The literature supports its use; however, short follow-up studies might overestimate its real effect. This study brings real-world evidence from two independent centers about CMS methodology and its long-term outcomes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTo replicate previous findings and to investigate related clinical factors of long-term benefits and safety of subcallosal cingulate gyrus deep brain stimulation (SCG-DBS) for treatment-resistant depression (TRD). Sixteen patients with TRD (with either major depressive disorder or bipolar disorder, and criteria) receiving chronic SCG-DBS were followed for up to 11 years (January 2008 to June 2019). Demographic, clinical, and functioning data were collected pre-surgery and during the follow-up.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPhytochemicals are natural compounds found in plants that have potential health benefits such as antioxidants, anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties, and immune reinforcement. Sieb. et Zucc.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFChitosan hydrogels are biomaterials with excellent potential for biomedical applications. In this study, chitosan hydrogels were prepared at different concentrations and molecular weights by freeze-drying. The chitosan sponges were physically crosslinked using sodium bicarbonate as a crosslinking agent.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSkin Appendage Disord
March 2023
Introduction: Although Hutchinson's sign can appear associated with benign conditions, dermoscopic findings of non-melanoma eponychium pigmentation have not yet been described in the literature. We report for the first time to our knowledge the dermoscopic findings of an acral nevus located in the proximal nail fold as well as its clinical-dermoscopic-histologic correlation.
Case Report: A twenty-year-old patient presented with a homogeneous longitudinal melanonychia on the left-hand thumb, with benign dermoscopic pattern, and an irregular, 6-mm, dark-brown hyperpigmented macule on the adjacent eponychium (Hutchinson's sign).
Targeting brain lipid metabolism is a promising strategy to regulate the energy balance and fight metabolic diseases such as obesity. The development of stable platforms for selective delivery of drugs, particularly to the hypothalamus, is a challenge but a possible solution for these metabolic diseases. Attenuating fatty acid oxidation in the hypothalamus CPT1A inhibition leads to satiety, but this target is difficult to reach with the current drugs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTackling the growing incidence and prevalence of obesity urgently requires uncovering new molecular pathways with therapeutic potential. The brain, and in particular the hypothalamus, is a major integrator of metabolic signals from peripheral tissues that regulate functions such as feeding behavior and energy expenditure. In obesity, hypothalamic capacity to sense nutritional status and regulate these functions is altered.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThere is an urgent need to identify reliable genetic biomarkers for accurate diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of different tumor types. Described as a prognostic marker for many tumors is the neuronal protein carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1 C (CPT1C). Several studies report that CPT1C is involved in cancer cell adaptation to nutrient depletion and hypoxia.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSensing of long-chain fatty acids (LCFA) in the hypothalamus modulates energy balance, and its disruption leads to obesity. To date, the effects of saturated or unsaturated LCFA on hypothalamic-brown adipose tissue (BAT) axis and the underlying mechanisms have remained largely unclear. Our aim was to characterize the main molecular pathways involved in the hypothalamic regulation of BAT thermogenesis in response to LCFA with different lengths and degrees of saturation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF