Heparin-coated iron oxide nanoparticles: application as a liver contrast agent, toxicity and pharmacokinetics.

The prepared heparin-coated iron oxide nanoparticles (Hep-IONPs) contrasted cholangioma tumors in the liver in MRI. The NPs were not toxic to rats and rabbits after 14 days of consecutive IV injections as observed from the monitoring of the body weight and biochemical and hematological parameters. No embryotoxic or immunotoxic side effects of the material were detected.

Pharmacological characterization of a novel putative nootropic beta-alanine derivative, MB-005, in adult zebrafish.

Background: Cognitive deficits represent an urgent biomedical problem, and are commonly reduced by nootropic drugs. Animal models, including both rodents and zebrafish, offer a valuable tool for studying cognitive phenotypes and screening novel nootropics. Beta-alanine and its derivatives have recently been proposed to exert nootropic activity.

Acute behavioral and Neurochemical Effects of Novel -Benzyl-2-Phenylethylamine Derivatives in Adult Zebrafish.

Hallucinogenic drugs potently affect brain and behavior and have also recently emerged as potentially promising agents in pharmacotherapy. Complementing laboratory rodents, the zebrafish () is a powerful animal model organism for screening neuroactive drugs, including hallucinogens. Here, we test a battery of ten novel -benzyl-2-phenylethylamine (NBPEA) derivatives with the 2,4- and 3,4-dimethoxy substitutions in the phenethylamine moiety and the -OCH, -OCF, -F, -Cl, and -Br substitutions in the position of the phenyl ring of the -benzyl moiety, assessing their acute behavioral and neurochemical effects in the adult zebrafish.

Calcium carbonate carriers for combined chemo- and radionuclide therapy of metastatic lung cancer.

Considering the clinical limitations of individual approaches against metastatic lung cancer, the use of combined therapy can potentially improve the therapeutic effect of treatment. However, determination of the appropriate strategy of combined treatment can be challenging. In this study, combined chemo- and radionuclide therapy has been realized using radionuclide carriers (Lu-labeled core-shell particles, Lu-MPs) and chemotherapeutic drug (cisplatin, CDDP) for treatment of lung metastatic cancer.

Towards Modeling Anhedonia and Its Treatment in Zebrafish.

Mood disorders, especially depression, are a major cause of human disability. The loss of pleasure (anhedonia) is a common, severely debilitating symptom of clinical depression. Experimental animal models are widely used to better understand depression pathogenesis and to develop novel antidepressant therapies.

Impact of metallic coating on the retention of Ac and its daugthers within core-shell nanocarriers.

Currently, alpha-emitting radionuclide Ac is one of the most promising isotopes in alpha therapy due to its high linear energy transfer during four sequential alpha decays. However, the main obstacle preventing the full introduction of Ac into clinical practice is the lack of stable retention of radionuclides, leading to free circulation of toxic isotopes in the body. In this work, the surface of silica nanoparticles (SiO NPs) has been modified with metallic shells composed of titanium dioxide (TiO) and gold (Au) nanostructures to improve the retention of Ac and its decay products within the developed nanocarriers.

[Simultaneous surgery for papillary thyroid cancer with lymph node metastases combined with common carotid artery stenosis].

The authors report simultaneous surgical treatment of papillary cancer of the left thyroid lobe with lymph nodes metastases and left common carotid artery stenosis over 70%. Carotid endarterectomy at the first stage made it possible to reduce the risk of perioperative stroke, restore adequate blood flow through the carotid arteries and simultaneously perform total resection for thyroid carcinoma.

Artificial intelligence-driven phenotyping of zebrafish psychoactive drug responses.

Zebrafish (Danio rerio) are rapidly emerging in biomedicine as promising tools for disease modelling and drug discovery. The use of zebrafish for neuroscience research is also growing rapidly, necessitating novel reliable and unbiased methods of neurophenotypic data collection and analyses. Here, we applied the artificial intelligence (AI) neural network-based algorithms to a large dataset of adult zebrafish locomotor tracks collected previously in a series of in vivo experiments with multiple established psychotropic drugs.

Modulation of behavioral and neurochemical responses of adult zebrafish by fluoxetine, eicosapentaenoic acid and lipopolysaccharide in the prolonged chronic unpredictable stress model.

Long-term recurrent stress is a common cause of neuropsychiatric disorders. Animal models are widely used to study the pathogenesis of stress-related psychiatric disorders. The zebrafish (Danio rerio) is emerging as a powerful tool to study chronic stress and its mechanisms.

Calcium Carbonate Core-Shell Particles for Incorporation of Ac and Their Application in Local α-Radionuclide Therapy.

Actinium-225 (Ac) radiolabeled submicrometric core-shell particles (SPs) made of calcium carbonate (CaCO) coated with biocompatible polymers [tannic acid-human serum albumin (TA/HSA)] have been developed to improve the efficiency of local α-radionuclide therapy in melanoma models (B16-F10 tumor-bearing mice). The developed Ac-SPs possess radiochemical stability and demonstrate effective retention of Ac and its daughter isotopes. The SPs have been additionally labeled with zirconium-89 (Zr) to perform the biodistribution studies using positron emission tomography-computerized tomography (PET/CT) imaging for 14 days after intratumoral injection.

The Use of Zebrafish as a Non-traditional Model Organism in Translational Pain Research: The Knowns and the Unknowns.

The ability of the nervous system to detect a wide range of noxious stimuli is crucial to avoid life-threatening injury and to trigger protective behavioral and physiological responses. Pain represents a complex phenomenon, including nociception associated with cognitive and emotional processing. Animal experimental models have been developed to understand the mechanisms involved in pain response, as well as to discover novel pharmacological and non-pharmacological anti-pain therapies.

Simultaneous bidirectional hindlimb locomotion in decerebrate cats.

We show that epidural spinal cord stimulation can elicit stable bidirectional locomotion of decerebrate cats on a split-belt treadmill. The stepping pattern of one limb was similar to unidirectional forward walking and, the other-was similar to unidirectional backward walking. This confirms that spinal and brainstem circuitry are sufficient to control such complex and extraordinary motor tasks driven by somatosensory input.

An investigation of calcium carbonate core-shell particles for incorporation of Ac and sequester of daughter radionuclides: in vitro and in vivo studies.

Alpha therapy provides an outstanding prospect in the treatment of recalcitrant and micrometastatic cancers. However, side effects on the normal tissues and organs (especially, kidneys) due to the release of daughter isotopes from α-emitters remain a bottleneck. In this work, calcium carbonate core-shell particles of different sizes were considered as isotope carriers for encapsulation of Ac (highly powerful alpha-emitter that generates 4 net alpha particle isotopes in a short decay chain) in order to achieve in vitro and in vivo retention of Ac and its daughter isotopes.

Color as an important biological variable in zebrafish models: Implications for translational neurobehavioral research.

Color is an important environmental factor that in multiple ways affects human and animal behavior and physiology. Widely used in neuroscience research, various experimental (animal) models may help improve our understanding of how different colors impact brain and behavioral processes. Complementing laboratory rodents, the zebrafish (Danio rerio) is rapidly emerging as an important novel model species to explore complex neurobehavioral processes.

Understanding complex dynamics of behavioral, neurochemical and transcriptomic changes induced by prolonged chronic unpredictable stress in zebrafish.

Stress-related neuropsychiatric disorders are widespread, debilitating and often treatment-resistant illnesses that represent an urgent unmet biomedical problem. Animal models of these disorders are widely used to study stress pathogenesis. A more recent and historically less utilized model organism, the zebrafish (Danio rerio), is a valuable tool in stress neuroscience research.

[Cellular regulation of the lower urinary tract as a cause of the bladder overactivity and reduced efficiency of pharmacotherapy].

Overactive bladder (OAB) is a polyetiological nosology. Its symptoms are often characterized not only with detrusor hyperactivity, but also with the increased sensitivity of afferent fibers, which is clinically manifested as urgency. In addition, the disorders at the level of receptors expression and the synthesis of mediators lead to the development of bladder pain syndrome (BPS), which also significantly reduces the quality of life of patients.

Mapping of the Spinal Sensorimotor Network by Transvertebral and Transcutaneous Spinal Cord Stimulation.

Transcutaneous stimulation is a neuromodulation method that is efficiently used for recovery after spinal cord injury and other disorders that are accompanied by motor and sensory deficits. Multiple aspects of transcutaneous stimulation optimization still require testing in animal experiments including the use of pharmacological agents, spinal lesions, cell recording, etc. This need initially motivated us to develop a new approach of transvertebral spinal cord stimulation (SCS) and to test its feasibility in acute and chronic experiments on rats.

Decoding the role of zebrafish neuroglia in CNS disease modeling.

Neuroglia, including microglia and astrocytes, is a critical component of the central nervous system (CNS) that interacts with neurons to modulate brain activity, development, metabolism and signaling pathways. Thus, a better understanding of the role of neuroglia in the brain is critical. Complementing clinical and rodent data, the zebrafish (Danio rerio) is rapidly becoming an important model organism to probe the role of neuroglia in brain disorders.

Rapid prototyping of soft bioelectronic implants for use as neuromuscular interfaces.

Neuromuscular interfaces are required to translate bioelectronic technologies for application in clinical medicine. Here, by leveraging the robotically controlled ink-jet deposition of low-viscosity conductive inks, extrusion of insulating silicone pastes and in situ activation of electrode surfaces via cold-air plasma, we show that soft biocompatible materials can be rapidly printed for the on-demand prototyping of customized electrode arrays well adjusted to specific anatomical environments, functions and experimental models. We also show, with the monitoring and activation of neuronal pathways in the brain, spinal cord and neuromuscular system of cats, rats and zebrafish, that the printed bioelectronic interfaces allow for long-term integration and functional stability.

[Characteristics of the neural regulation of the lower urinary tract as a cause of the development of an overactive bladder: current state of the problem].

An overactive bladder (OAB) is a constellation of lower urinary tract symptoms, including urgency, increased frequency of urination during the day and/or night (nocturia), and, in some cases, urge incontinence. This syndrome can be caused by different conditions, and currently no universal pathogenetic treatment has been developed. In addition, there are virtually no Russian-language publications providing information on the neurophysiology and neuroanatomy of the lower urinary tract.

Site-Specific Neuromodulation of Detrusor and External Urethral Sphincter by Epidural Spinal Cord Stimulation.

Impairments of the lower urinary tract function including urine storage and voiding are widely spread among patients with spinal cord injuries. The management of such patients includes bladder catheterization, surgical and pharmacological approaches, which reduce the morbidity from urinary tract-related complications. However, to date, there is no effective treatment of neurogenic bladder and restoration of urinary function.

[Russian consensus on current issues in the diagnosis and treatment of obstructive jaundice syndrome].

The Russian consensus document on topical issues of the diagnosis and treatment of obstructive jaundice syndrome was prepared by a group of experts in various fields of surgery, endoscopy, interventional radiology, radiological diagnosis and intensive care. The goal of this document is to clarify and consolidate the opinions of national experts on the following issues: timing of diagnosis of obstructive jaundice, features of diagnostic measures, the need and possibility of conservative measures for obstructive jaundice, and strategy of biliary decompression depending on the cause and level of biliary block.

Radiolabeling Strategies of Micron- and Submicron-Sized Core-Shell Carriers for Studies.

Core-shell particles made of calcium carbonate and coated with biocompatible polymers using the Layer-by-Layer technique can be considered as a unique drug-delivery platform that enables us to load different therapeutic compounds, exhibits a high biocompatibility, and can integrate several stimuli-responsive mechanisms for drug release. However, before implementation for diagnostic or therapeutic purposes, such core-shell particles require a comprehensive evaluation in terms of physicochemical and pharmacokinetic properties. Positron emission tomography (PET) is an advanced imaging technique for the evaluation of biodistribution of drug carriers; nevertheless, an incorporation of positron emitters in these carriers is needed.

Effects of acute and chronic arecoline in adult zebrafish: Anxiolytic-like activity, elevated brain monoamines and the potential role of microglia.

Arecoline is a naturally occurring psychoactive alkaloid with partial agonism at nicotinic and muscarinic acetylcholine receptors. Arecoline consumption is widespread, making it the fourth (after alcohol, nicotine and caffeine) most used substance by humans. However, the mechanisms of acute and chronic action of arecoline in-vivo remain poorly understood.