Developing Folate-Conjugated miR-34a Therapeutic for Prostate Cancer: Challenges and Promises.

Prostate cancer (PCa) remains a common cancer with high mortality in men due to its heterogeneity and the emergence of drug resistance. A critical factor contributing to its lethality is the presence of prostate cancer stem cells (PCSCs), which can self-renew, long-term propagate tumors, and mediate treatment resistance. MicroRNA-34a (miR-34a) has shown promise as an anti-PCSC therapeutic by targeting critical molecules involved in cancer stem cell (CSC) survival and functions.

MicroRNA-34a, Prostate Cancer Stem Cells, and Therapeutic Development.

Prostate cancer (PCa) is a highly heterogeneous disease and typically presents with multiple distinct cancer foci. Heterogeneity in androgen receptor (AR) expression levels in PCa has been observed for decades, from untreated tumors to castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) to disseminated metastases. Current standard-of-care therapies for metastatic CRPC can only extend life by a few months.

Prostate cancer as a dedifferentiated organ: androgen receptor, cancer stem cells, and cancer stemness.

Cancer progression is characterized and driven by gradual loss of a differentiated phenotype and gain of stem cell-like features. In prostate cancer (PCa), androgen receptor (AR) signaling is important for cancer growth, progression, and emergence of therapy resistance. Targeting the AR signaling axis has been, over the decades, the mainstay of PCa therapy.

Trends of Adverse Drug Reaction Reports in a Hospitalized Psychiatric Population: Exploring Prescriber Discontinuations as Potential Unreported Adverse Drug Events.

The review of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) is a safety mandate required by numerous organizations in the medication safety community. For adverse reactions to be properly reviewed, they must first be reported as potential events. There are notable challenges to ensure adequate and accurate reporting of ADRs that could be overcome if obstacles were better understood and addressed in a manner that is not punitive or threatening.

Exploring the Effectiveness of Team-based Enablement Interventions to Improve Antibiotic Prescribing within a Psychiatric Hospital.

Antimicrobial resistance threatens the effective prevention and treatment of many types of infections. Infection occurs more frequently in patients diagnosed with psychiatric illness due to a number of risk factors. Urinary tract infections (UTI) are among the most common infections in this patient population.

Respiratory Management of the Patient With Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.

In 2010, Care Considerations for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, was published in , and in 2018, these guidelines were updated. Since the publication of the first set of guidelines, survival of individuals with Duchenne muscular dystrophy has increased. With contemporary medical management, survival often extends into the fourth decade of life and beyond.

Activity of Oral ALS-008176 in a Respiratory Syncytial Virus Challenge Study.

BACKGROUND Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection is a cause of substantial morbidity and mortality. There is no known effective therapy. METHODS We conducted a randomized, double-blind, clinical trial in healthy adults inoculated with RSV.

Health service and medication use among veterans with persistent postconcussive symptoms.

Persistent postconcussive symptoms (PPCS) are noted when a series of cognitive, emotional, and somatosensory complaints persist for months after a concussion. Clinical management of PPCS can be challenging in the veteran population because of the nonspecific nature of symptoms and co-occurrence with affective disturbances such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and chronic pain. In this study, we compared health service and medication use patterns in a sample of 421 veterans with PPCS with an age-matched cohort of case controls.

FAK and HAS inhibition synergistically decrease colon cancer cell viability and affect expression of critical genes.

Focal adhesion kinase (FAK), hyaluronan (HA), and hyaluronan synthase-3 (HAS3) have been implicated in cancer growth and progression. FAK inhibition with the small molecule inhibitor Y15 decreases colon cancer cell growth in vitro and in vivo. HAS3 inhibition in colon cancer cells decreases FAK expression and activation, and exogenous HA increases FAK activation.

Retrorectal tumors.

Retrorectal or presacral tumors are rare and can be challenging to diagnose and treat. Because the retrorectal space contains multiple embryologic remnants derived from various tissues, the tumors that develop in this space are heterogeneous. Most lesions are benign, but malignant neoplasms are not uncommon.

Impact of optimal medical therapy with or without percutaneous coronary intervention on long-term cardiovascular end points in patients with stable coronary artery disease (from the COURAGE Trial).

The main results of the Clinical Outcomes Utilizing Revascularization and Aggressive DruG Evaluation (COURAGE) trial revealed no significant differences in the primary end point of all-cause mortality or nonfatal myocardial infarction [MI] or major secondary end points (composites of death/MI/stroke; hospitalization for acute coronary syndromes [ACSs]) during a median 4.6-year follow-up in 2,287 patients with stable coronary artery disease randomized to optimal medical therapy (OMT) with or without percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). We sought to assess the impact of PCI when added to OMT on major prespecified tertiary cardiovascular outcomes (time to first event), namely cardiac death and composites of cardiac death/MI, cardiac death/MI/hospitalization for ACS, cardiac death/MI/stroke, MI/stroke, or cardiac death/MI/ACS/stroke, during study follow-up.

Chemotherapy is linked to severe vitamin D deficiency in patients with colorectal cancer.

Background: Preclinical and clinical evidence support an association between vitamin D deficiency and an increased risk of colorectal cancer. Normal vitamin D status has been linked to favorable health outcomes ranging from decreased risk of osteoporosis to improved cancer mortality. We performed a retrospective study to assess the impact of metastatic disease and chemotherapy treatment on vitamin D status in patients with colorectal cancer residing in Western New York.

Surgical management of rectal cancer.

Rectal cancer affects more than 40,000 people in the United States annually. Despite recent advances in radiation and chemotherapy, surgical resection remains an integral part of curative therapy for this disease. Although rectal cancer is thought to be biologically similar to colon cancer, the anatomic complexity of the pelvis makes therapy for this disease considerably more complicated.

A phase I pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic study of intravenous calcitriol in combination with oral gefitinib in patients with advanced solid tumors.

Purpose: In preclinical models, calcitriol and the tyrosine kinase inhibitor gefitinib are synergistic and modulate extracellular signal-regulated kinase (Erk) and Akt pathways. Therefore, we conducted a phase I study of calcitriol and gefitinib to determine the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) of this combination.

Experimental Design: Calcitriol was given i.