Recently, it has been proposed that the receptor for advanced glycation end-products (RAGE) plays a crucial role in damaging cellular processes, such as neuroinflammation, neurodegeneration, ...excitotoxicity and oxidative stress. RAGE is a multiligand receptor belonging to the immunoglobulin superfamily of cell surface molecules acting as a counter-receptor for diverse molecules. Engagement of RAGE converts a brief pulse of cellular activation into sustained cellular dysfunction and tissue damage. Indeed, the involvement of RAGE in physiopathological processes has been demonstrated for several neurodegenerative diseases. It is the full-length form of RAGE the one constituting the cellular receptor which is able to activate intracellular signals. After the binding of ligands to RAGE, oxidative stress is increased; then, over-expression of RAGE produces vicious cycles that perpetuate oxidative stress and contribute to neuroinflammation by nuclear factor-kB (NF-kB) up-regulation. The NF-kB activation promotes the expression of proinflammatory cytokines, including RAGE expression, to induce a prolonged activation and promotion of signaling mechanisms for cell damage. Because inflammatory and oxidative events have been demonstrated to concertedly interact during neurodegenerative events, this review is aimed to discuss the role of RAGE as mediator of an interaction between inflammation and oxidative stress through NF-kB signaling pathway.
Neurological diseases comprise a group of heterogeneous disorders characterized by progressive brain dysfunction and cell death. In the next years, these diseases are expected to constitute a ...world-wide health problem. Because excitotoxicity and oxidative stress are involved in neurodegenerative diseases, it becomes relevant to describe pharmacological therapies designed to activate endogenous cytoprotective systems. Activation of transcription factor Nrf2 stimulates cytoprotective vitagenes involved in antioxidant defense. In this work, we investigated the ability of the antioxidant curcumin to induce transcription factor Nrf2 in a neurodegenerative model induced by quinolinic acid in rats. Animals were administered with curcumin (400 mg/kg, p.o.) for 10 days, and then intrastriatally infused with quinolinic acid (240 nmol) on day 10 of treatment. Curcumin prevented rotation behavior (6 days post-lesion), striatal morphological alterations (7 days post-lesion) and neurodegeneration (1 and 3 days post-lesion) induced by quinolinic acid. Curcumin also reduced quinolinic acid-induced oxidative stress (measured as protein carbonyl content) at 6 h post-lesion. The protective effects of curcumin were associated to its ability to prevent the quinolinic acid-induced decrease of striatal intra-nuclear Nrf2 levels (30 and 120 min post-lesion), and total superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase activities (1 day post-lesion). Therefore, results of this study support the concept that neuroprotection induced by curcumin is associated with its ability to activate the Nrf2 cytoprotective pathway and to increase the total superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase activities.
Mucormycosis is an invasive opportunistic fungal infection with high mortality, mainly detected in people with COVID-19, especially those with underlying diseases such as diabetes mellitus. ...Mucormycosis prevalence is 0.005 to 1.7 cases per million inhabitants, and it has been increasing in countries like India and Pakistan. This mycosis can affect different organs, and clinical manifestations reflect the transmission mechanism. Frequent forms are rhino-orbital-cerebral and pulmonary. This disease should be suspected in patients with necrotic injuries on mucous membranes or skin.
We present a case of a patient with diabetes mellitus and diagnosed with oral mucormycosis associated with COVID-19.
Antecedentes: Dentro de las enfermedades autoinmunes que provocan lesiones erosivas y ampollas en la piel y las mucosas se encuentra el pénfigo. Un subtipo raro de esta enfermedad es el pénfigo ...seborreico, o síndrome de Senar-Usher, caracterizado por ampollas rotas y costras que afectan las áreas corporales que secretan grasa.
Reporte de caso: Paciente femenina de 40 años, atendida inicialmente en una unidad de primer nivel por un cuadro de 45 días de evolución, caracterizado por lesiones costrosas gruesas de base eritematosa, pruriginosas y dolorosas, de localización centro-facial, con posterior extensión hacia el abdomen, tórax y extremidades. El tratamiento consistió en prednisolona, con evolución favorable. La biopsia de las lesiones confirmó el diagnóstico de pénfigo seborreico.
Conclusión: El síndrome de Senear-Usher, o pénfigo seborreico, es una enfermedad excepcional, de origen multifactorial. El diagnóstico oportuno y tratamiento adecuado son factores decisivos para evitar la evolución de la enfermedad a formas avanzadas.
The objective of this study was to describe prior negative screening history and symptoms around the time of diagnosis of incident cervical cancer (CC) cases diagnosed between 2000 and 2010 within ...the Asturias public health system.
Records from 374 women diagnosed with CC between 2000 and 2010 from all public hospitals in Asturias were retrieved. Clinical information, FIGO stage and all previous cytological data were extracted from clinical and histopathological records. Proportional differences were assessed using chi-square tests. Logistic regression analysis was used to estimate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Inter-observer agreement in cytology was checked by comparing concordance values using k-statistics.
No prior screening history was recorded in 60.7% of CC cases and its absence increased with age and advanced stage. Advanced stage (e.g., ≥ II) at diagnosis was associated with age (>50 years) and adenocarcinoma (ADC) compared to younger women and those with a squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). False negative smears were identified in 27.1% of women with CC (ADC 52.6% vs. SCC 16.2%, p<0.05).
Absence of prior screening history was common among CC cases. Organized actions to reduce "under screening" and the use of highly sensitive HPV-based tests could be useful strategies in reducing the burden of CC in Asturias.
6-Hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) is a neurotoxin that generates an experimental model of Parkinson's disease in rodents and is commonly employed to induce a lesion in dopaminergic pathways. The ...characterization of those molecular mechanisms linked to 6-OHDA-induced early toxicity is needed to better understand the cellular events further leading to neurodegeneration. The present work explored how 6-OHDA triggers early downstream signaling pathways that activate neurotoxicity in the rat striatum. Mitochondrial function, caspases-dependent apoptosis, kinases signaling (Akt, ERK 1/2, SAP/JNK and p38) and crosstalk between nuclear factor kappa B (NF- Kappa B) and nuclear factor-erythroid-2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) were evaluated at early times post-lesion. We found that 6-OHDA initiates cell damage via mitochondrial complex I inhibition, cytochrome c and apoptosis-inducing factor (AIF) release, as well as activation of caspases 9 and 3 to induce apoptosis, kinase signaling modulation and NF- Kappa B-mediated inflammatory responses, accompanied by inhibition of antioxidant systems regulated by the Nrf2 pathway. Our results suggest that kinases SAP/JNK and p38 up-regulation may play a role in the early stages of 6-OHDA toxicity to trigger intrinsic pathways for apoptosis and enhanced NF- Kappa B activation. In turn, these cellular events inhibit the activation of cytoprotective mechanisms, thereby leading to a condition of general damage.
Intensive Care to facilitate Organ Donation (ICOD) consists of the initiation or continuation of intensive care measures in patients with a devastating brain injury (DBI) in whom curative treatment ...is deemed futile and death by neurological criteria (DNC) is foreseen, to incorporate organ donation into their end-of-life plans. In this study we evaluate the outcomes of patients subject to ICOD and identify radiological and clinical factors associated with progression to DNC. In this first prospective multicenter study we tested by multivariate regression the association of clinical and radiological severity features with progression to DNC. Of the 194 patients, 144 (74.2%) patients fulfilled DNC after a median of 25 h (95% IQR: 17-44) from ICOD onset. Two patients (1%) shifted from ICOD to curative treatment, both were alive at discharge. Factors associated with progression to DNC included: age below 70 years, clinical score consistent with severe brain injury, instability, intracranial hemorrhage, midline shift ≥5 mm and certain types of brain herniation. Overall 151 (77.8%) patients progressed to organ donation. Based on these results, we conclude that ICOD is a beneficial and efficient practice that can contribute to the pool of deceased donors.
Pharmacological activation at the basal ganglia of the transcription factor Nrf2, guardian of redox homeostasis, holds a strong promise for the slow progression of Parkinson's disease (PD). However, ...a potent Nrf2 activator in the brain still must be found. In this study, we have investigated the potential use of the antioxidant compound S-allyl cysteine (SAC) in the activation of Nrf2 in 6-hydoxydopamine (6-OHDA)-intoxicated rats. In the rat striatum, SAC by itself promoted the Nrf2 dissociation of Keap-1, its nuclear translocation, the subsequent association with small MafK protein, and further binding of the Nrf2/MafK complex to ARE sequence, as well as the up-regulation of Nrf2-dependent genes encoding the antioxidant enzymes HO-1, NQO-1, GR, and SOD-1. In vivo and in vitro experiments to identify signaling pathways activated by SAC pointed to Akt as the most likely kinase participating in Nrf2 activation by SAC. In PC12 cells, SAC stimulated the activation of Akt and ERK1/2 and inhibited JNK1/2/3 activation. In the rat striatum, the SAC-induced activation of Nrf2 is likely to contribute to inhibit the toxic effects of 6-OHDA evidenced by phase 2 antioxidant enzymes up-regulation, glutathione recovery, and attenuation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), nitric oxide (NO), and lipid peroxides formation. These early protective effects correlated with the long-term preservation of the cellular redox status, the striatal dopamine (DA) and tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) levels, and the improvement of motor skills. Therefore, this study indicates that, in addition to direct scavenging actions, the activation of Nrf2 by SAC might confer neuroprotective responses through the modulation of kinase signaling pathways in rodent models of PD, and suggests that this antioxidant molecule may have a therapeutic value in this human pathology.
Contribution over time of human papillomavirus (HPV) types in human cancers has been poorly documented. Such data is fundamental to measure current HPV vaccines impact in the years to come. We ...estimated the HPV type‐specific distribution in a large international series of invasive cervical cancer (ICC) over 70 years prior to vaccination. Paraffin embedded ICC cases diagnosed between 1940 and 2007 were retrieved from eleven countries in Central‐South America, Asia and Europe. Included countries reported to have low‐medium cervical cancer screening uptake. Information on age at and year of diagnosis was collected from medical records. After histological confirmation, HPV DNA detection was performed by SPF‐10/DEIA/LiPA25 (version1). Logistic regression models were used for estimating the adjusted relative contributions (RC) of HPV16 and of HPV18 over time. Among 4,771 HPV DNA positive ICC cases, HPV16 and HPV18 were the two most common HPVs in all the decades with no statistically significant variations of their adjusted‐RC from 1940–59 to 2000–07 (HPV16—from 61.5 to 62.1%, and HPV18—from 6.9 to 7.2%). As well, the RC of other HPV types did not varied over time. In the stratified analysis by histology, HPV16 adjusted‐RC significantly increased across decades in adenocarcinomas. Regarding age, cases associated to either HPV16, 18 or 45 were younger than those with other HPV types in all the evaluated decades. The observed stability on the HPV type distribution predicts a high and stable impact of HPV vaccination in reducing the cervical cancer burden in future vaccinated generations.
What's new?
Evaluation of the success or failure of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination programs depends in part on knowledge of the historical contribution of the different HPV types to human cancer. The present study analyzed HPV type‐specific relative contributions to invasive cervical cancer (ICC) over a 70‐year period prior to the implementation of HPV vaccination. The relative contributions of different HPV types, including those for which a vaccine is now available, were found to be constant across decades. The findings indicate that HPV vaccination will have a high, stable impact on cervical cancer reduction.
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