Diethylcarbamazine: A potential treatment drug for pulmonary hypertension?

The present study demonstrated the potential effects of diethylcarbamazine (DEC) on monocrotaline (MCT)-induced pulmonary hypertension. MCT solution (600mg/kg) was administered once per week, and 50mg/kg body weight of DEC for 28days. Three C57Bl/6 male mice groups (n=10) were studied: Control; MCT and MCT/DEC.

The Sea as a Rich Source of Structurally Unique Glycosaminoglycans and Mimetics.

Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) are sulfated glycans capable of regulating various biological and medical functions. Heparin, heparan sulfate, chondroitin sulfate, dermatan sulfate, keratan sulfate and hyaluronan are the principal classes of GAGs found in animals. Although GAGs are all composed of disaccharide repeating building blocks, the sulfation patterns and the composing alternating monosaccharides vary among classes.

Efficacy and Safety of Diacerein in Patients With Inadequately Controlled Type 2 Diabetes: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Objective: To assess, in a randomized, double-blind, and placebo-controlled trial, the efficacy and safety of diacerein, an immune modulator anti-inflammatory drug, in improving glycemic control of patients with type 2 diabetes.

Research Design And Methods: Eighty-four patients with HbA between 7.5 and 9.

Performance of rapid diagnostic tests for detection of Hepatitis B and C markers in HIV infected patients.

There is little information describing the influence of HIV infection upon the performance of rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) for hepatitis B and C virus diagnosis. This study aims to evaluate the performance of RDTs for HBsAg and anti-HCV detection among HIV-infected individuals. A total of 362 HIV infected individuals were recruited from clinics between January 2013 to November 2014 in the southeast and northeast of Brazil.

Lack of Association between Hepatitis C Virus core Gene Variation 70/91aa and Insulin Resistance.

The role of hepatitis C virus (HCV) in insulin resistance (IR) is not fully understood. The aim of this study was to determine the impact of amino acid (aa) substitutions in the region of HCV according to IR and to identify clinical and laboratory associations. Ninety-two treatment-naive HCV patients were recruited to determine laboratory data and blood cell count.

Predictors of Development and Progression of Retinopathy in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes: Importance of Blood Pressure Parameters.

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a chronic microvascular complication associated a worse prognosis. We aimed to evaluate the predictors of development/progression of DR in a cohort of 544 high-risk patients with type 2 diabetes who had annual ophthalmologic examinations over a median follow-up of 6 years. Ambulatory blood pressure (BP) monitoring and aortic stiffness by carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity were performed.

Safety of Allogeneic Canine Adipose Tissue-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cell Intraspinal Transplantation in Dogs with Chronic Spinal Cord Injury.

This is a pilot clinical study primarily designed to assess the feasibility and safety of X-ray-guided percutaneous intraspinal injection of allogeneic canine adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells in dogs with chronic spinal cord injury. Six dogs with chronic paraplegia (≥six months) were intraparenchymally injected with allogeneic cells in the site of lesion. Cells were obtained from subcutaneous adipose tissue of a healthy dog, cultured to passage 3, labeled with Technetium, and transplanted into the lesion by percutaneous X-ray-guided injection.

Anxiety can significantly explain bolus perception in the context of hypotensive esophageal motility: Results of a large multicenter study in asymptomatic individuals.

Background: Previous studies have not been able to correlate manometry findings with bolus perception. The aim of this study was to evaluate correlation of different variables, including traditional manometric variables (at diagnostic and extreme thresholds), esophageal shortening, bolus transit, automated impedance manometry (AIM) metrics and mood with bolus passage perception in a large cohort of asymptomatic individuals.

Methods: High resolution manometry (HRM) was performed in healthy individuals from nine centers.

Sulfated Glycans and Related Digestive Enzymes in the Zika Virus Infectivity: Potential Mechanisms of Virus-Host Interaction and Perspectives in Drug Discovery.

As broadly reported, there is an ongoing Zika virus (ZIKV) outbreak in countries of Latin America. Recent findings have demonstrated that ZIKV causes severe defects on the neural development in fetuses in utero and newborns. Very little is known about the molecular mechanisms involved in the ZIKV infectivity.

The Chicago Classification 3.0 Results in More Normal Findings and Fewer Hypotensive Findings With No Difference in Other Diagnoses.

Objectives: High-resolution manometry (HRM) is the preferred method for the evaluation of motility disorders. Recently, an update of the diagnostic criteria (Chicago 3.0) has been published.

Sulfated Glycans in HIV Infection and Therapy.

The Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is the infectious agent causative of the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). The number of HIV-infected people in the globe is incredibly large. Contrary to the big contamination rates, the incidence rate recently reported of AIDS-related deaths is fairly lower, less than 5% of the total infected population.

Normal values of esophageal pressure responses to a rapid drink challenge test in healthy subjects: results of a multicenter study.

Background: Multiple water swallow is increasingly used as a complementary challenge test in patients undergoing high-resolution manometry (HRM). Our aim was to establish the range of normal pressure responses during the rapid drink challenge test in a large population of healthy subjects.

Methods: Pressure responses to a rapid drink challenge test (100 or 200 mL of water) were prospectively analyzed in 105 healthy subjects studied in nine different hospitals from different countries.

Effects of continuous positive airway pressure treatment on aldosterone excretion in patients with obstructive sleep apnoea and resistant hypertension: a randomized controlled trial.

Objective: Aldosterone excess has been equally associated with resistant hypertension (RHT) and obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA). We conducted a randomized controlled study to assess the effect of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatment on 24-h urinary aldosterone excretion in patients with RHT and moderate/severe OSA.

Methods: A total of 117 patients were randomized (57 CPAP and 60 control groups).

Polymorphisms of Leptin (G2548A) and Leptin Receptor (Q223R and K109R) Genes and Blood Pressure During Pregnancy and the Postpartum Period: A Cohort.

Background: The genetic component related to blood pressure (BP) changes during pregnancy is still not elucidated. Thus, the aim of the study was to evaluate the association between leptin and leptin receptor polymorphisms and systolic (SBP) and diastolic BP (DBP) variation during pregnancy and the postpartum period.

Methods: Prospective cohort of 146 women followed at a Public Health Center in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, during pregnancy and the postpartum.

Anti-MUC1 nano-aptamers for triple-negative breast cancer imaging by single-photon emission computed tomography in inducted animals: initial considerations.

The early and specific detection of tumors remains a barrier in oncology, especially in cases such as the triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). To address this gap, aptamers have found an important application in the recognition of tumor biomarkers such as mucin 1 (MUC1). However, there are still some difficulties in the use of aptamer, as their rapid biological clearance makes their use as drugs limited.

Aortic Stiffness as a Surrogate Endpoint to Micro- and Macrovascular Complications in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes.

Increased aortic stiffness has been recognized as a predictor of adverse cardiovascular outcomes in some clinical conditions, such as in patients with arterial hypertension and end-stage renal disease, in population-based samples and, more recently, in type 2 diabetic patients. Patients with type 2 diabetes have higher aortic stiffness than non-diabetic individuals, and increased aortic stiffness has been correlated to the presence of micro- and macrovascular chronic diabetic complications. We aimed to review the current knowledge on the relationships between aortic stiffness and diabetic complications, their possible underlying physiopathological mechanisms, and their potential applications to clinical type 2 diabetes management.

Prognostic Importance of C-Reactive Protein in High Cardiovascular Risk Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: The Rio de Janeiro Type 2 Diabetes Cohort Study.

Background: The prognostic value of C-reactive protein (CRP) is controversial in type 2 diabetes mellitus. We aimed to assess it in a cohort of high cardiovascular risk diabetic patients.

Methods And Results: CRP was measured at baseline and during the second year of follow-up in 616 patients.

Prognostic Importance of Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring in Resistant Hypertension: Is It All that Matters?

Purpose Of Review: This article reviews the current knowledge on the prognostic importance of ambulatory blood pressure (BP) monitoring parameters in patients with apparent treatment-resistant hypertension.

Recent Findings: Although mean 24-h ambulatory BPs have been consistently established as better cardiovascular risk predictors than clinic (office) BPs in several clinical settings, and ambulatory BP monitoring is generally indicated in patients with resistant hypertension; there were only five previous longitudinal prospective studies that specifically evaluated the prognostic importance of ambulatory BP monitoring parameters in resistant hypertensive patients. These studies are carefully reviewed here.

Autosomal dominant Parkinson's disease: Incidence of mutations in LRRK2, SNCA, VPS35 and GBA genes in Brazil.

Introduction: Amongst Parkinson's disease (PD) genetic factors, mutations in LRRK2, SNCA, VPS35 and GBA genes are recognized causes of PD. Nonetheless, few genetic screenings have been conducted in families with a history of PD consistent with autosomal dominant inheritance (ADPD), and their relevance to the etiology of PD has been poorly explored in Latin American populations, such as the Brazilian one, with a high degree of admixture.

Methods: In order to assess the contribution of specific mutations in LRRK2, SNCA, VPS35 and GBA genes to ADPD in Brazil, we conducted the first molecular evaluation in a cohort of 141 index cases from families with ADPD.

Nanoradiopharmaceuticals for breast cancer imaging: development, characterization, and imaging in inducted animals.

Monoclonal antibodies as polymeric nanoparticles are quite interesting and endow this new drug category with many advantages, especially by reducing the number of adverse reactions and, in the case of radiopharmaceuticals, also reducing the amount of radiation (dose) administered to the patient. In this study, a nanoradiopharmaceutical was developed using polylactic acid (PLA)/polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)/montmorillonite (MMT)/trastuzumab nanoparticles labeled with technetium-99m (99mTc) for breast cancer imaging. In order to confirm the nanoparticle formation, atomic force microscopy and dynamic light scattering were performed.

¹H and (15)N NMR Analyses on Heparin, Heparan Sulfates and Related Monosaccharides Concerning the Chemical Exchange Regime of the N-Sulfo-Glucosamine Sulfamate Proton.

Heparin and heparan sulfate are structurally related glycosaminoglycans (GAGs). Both GAGs present, although in different concentrations, N-sulfo-glucosamine (GlcNS) as one of their various composing units. The conditional fast exchange property of the GlcNS sulfamate proton in these GAGs has been pointed as the main barrier to its signal detection via NMR experiments, especially ¹H-(15)N HSQC.

A Time-Based and Intratumoral Proteomic Assessment of a Recurrent Glioblastoma Multiforme.

Tumors consist of cells in different stages of transformation with molecular and cellular heterogeneity. By far, heterogeneity is the hallmark of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), the most malignant and aggressive type of glioma. Most proteomic studies aim in comparing tumors from different patients, but here we dive into exploring the intratumoral proteome diversity of a single GBM.

Forearm Resistance-Vessel Dilatation Function During Reactive Hyperemia in Patients With Resistant Hypertension.

Background: Forearm blood flow (FBF) measured during reactive hyperemia by venous-occlusion plethysmography assesses resistance-vessel dilatation function but has never been investigated in resistant hypertension. The aim was to evaluate the independent correlates of forearm resistance-vessel function parameters in resistant hypertensives.

Methods: In a cross-sectional study, 274 resistant hypertensives performed 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure (BP) monitoring, 2D-echocardiography, aortic pulse wave velocity, and venous-occlusion plethysmography with baseline and hyperemic FBF and vascular resistance measurements.