Infectious disorders drug targets最新文献

Capecitabine, a prodrug of 5-fluorouracil, is an FDA-approved drug for adjuvant treatment of colon, metastatic colorectal, and breast cancer. A variety of mucocutaneous adverse effects has been recognized with capecitabine. The pathogenesis of such manifestations still remains an enigma though various theories have been proposed. Here, we report two such cases. A 59-year-old female with carcinoma of the sigmoid colon on palliative therapy developed localized cutaneous hyperpigmentation of the palms and soles secondary to capecitabine in her 2nd cycle. Another case was of a 42-year-old female with stomach adenocarcinoma, who developed similar adverse effects after administration of capecitabine in her 4th cycle. Since these drugs have been widely used in recent years due to their relative ease in administration, the relative unawareness of Hand-foot syndrome (HFS) caused due to this drug makes it a prudent topic to be reported.

A new COVID-19 variant that no one currently wants has emerged with the start of the new year. Omicron, which was first discovered in November of last year, was only just beginning to be understood when another strain uncovered in France made headlines. On January 4, 2022, news of the variant exploded on social media, but cases of what is now known as variant B.1.640.2 (IHU) were initially discovered about two months prior. Evidence is still being gathered, but internet misinformation regarding the latest coronavirus variety is already rampant, as it was with Omicron. The majority of existing vaccines target SARS-spike CoV-2's protein, which the virus utilizes to enter and infect cells. Epidemiologists and virologists worldwide are concerned about the virus' spike protein, which plays a key role in how your body identifies and reacts to the virus. Spike proteins are produced, recognized, and defended against by our immune system. Your body and the vaccines you have had injected into your system have a far harder time fighting the virus when the amino acids in a protein are altered or removed.

Background/objective: Delays in diagnosing pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) are linked to financial difficulties, employment limits, dependency, and symptomatic treatment, all of which have an impact on the patient's quality of life. Patients' psychological, economic, and social well-being are also harmed by delayed therapy. The goal of this research was to evaluate sociodemographic characteristics and quality of life in new pulmonary TB patients and determine the associated factors with delayed TB diagnosis.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted in the Choke Chai Community Hospital, in Northeastern Thailand between 2016 and 2018. The information related to the patient's medical history and laboratory tests were gathered from 332 newly diagnosed tuberculosis patients at the hospital's tuberculosis clinic; of those 15 died and were excluded from the final analysis. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 17.0.

Results: The cases included new cases (94%) and those returning to receive treatment after discontinuation of treatment, relapse, or recurrence of the disease (6%). The sample consisted of 68.7% males and 31.3% females. The average age was 52.7 years (S.D = 15.64). The majority of patients were married (60.5%), employed (68.6%), received a low income (66.6%), had a history of chronic diseases (73%), drank alcohol (31.7%), and smoked (85.7%). Approximately half of PTB experienced treatment delay and had a low quality of life (QoL) (46.6%). The treatment delay was associated with age > 50 years (p <0.05), low self-care (p <0.05), long distance to facility (p <0.05), unavailable caretaker to treat (p <0.05), no caregiver in family (p <0.05), high expenses (p <0.01), and lack of information (p <0.001).

Conclusion: It appeared that the patients' health-related quality of life could be deteriorated as a result of pulmonary tuberculosis. Treatment delays can be significantly reduced by changing the understanding of family caregivers, increasing awareness, providing adequate support for patients, and guaranteeing early diagnosis and treatment by implementing an efficient surveillance system.

This review focuses on the applications of chitosan derivatives towards vaccine delivery for their role as adjuvants. Adjuvants have been used as one of the key components in modern-day vaccines to enhance the immune response or as a drug delivery carrier. Generally, vaccines are administered to protect the host against harmful disease-causing infectious pathogens. The area of vaccine delivery is reaching new heights day by day with the evolution of the strategies and tools used for vaccine development. Currently, the vaccines have created a great impact by saving the lives of many human beings. A narrative review of all the relevant papers were conducted across the databases of PubMed and ScienceDirect. Based on the various studies performed in various animal models, the chitosan nanoparticle (CNP) was reported to be a safe and effective adjuvant candidate for a wide range of prophylactic and therapeutic vaccines that require a balanced and potent stimulation of both the cellular and humoral responses, due to its natural origin and good biocompatibility, as well as its lack of lethal toxicity to humans and animals. There was a tremendous shift in the paradigm of vaccine drug delivery from the use of conventional to novel adjuvants. For the development of a promising vaccine delivery system, adjuvant plays an irreplaceable role, but the adjuvants have not been utilized to their full potential because of the limited number of approved adjuvants. Hence the search for novel adjuvants is highly increased. In the list of versatile adjuvants, chitosan derivatives occupy an important place because of their huge benefits. The chitosan derivatives are obtained by the chemical modification of chitosan. The studies performed on various animal models validate the potential use of chitosan dervatives as adjuvants for vaccine delivery.

Introduction: SARS-CoV-2 cause pneumonia can spread across the lung and lead to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) in severe cases. Post-exposure prophylaxis has shown great potential to prevent the transmission of some viral infections; however, such results for COVID-19 are still inconclusive.

Methods: Therefore, the aim of this study was to systematically review the resources that utilized postexposure prophylaxis (PEP) for COVID-19 and the possible clinical benefits of such drugs. An organized search of relevant literature was done using the keywords and search queries on public databases of Cochrane, PubMed, Web of Science and Scopus from December 2019 to August 23, 2021. Original resources that had the inclusion criteria were included after two-phase title/abstract and full-text screenings. This review adhered to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta- Analysis (PRISMA) statement.

Results: Out of 841 retrieved records 17 resources were appropriate to include in the systematic review. Hydroxychloroquine with a daily dose of 400-800 mg and a duration of 5-14 days was the most frequently used agent for PEP. Chloroquine was recommended to use to control treatment in patients with mild to severe COVID-19 pneumonia. Other agents like Lopinavir-ritonavir (LPV/r), angiotensinconverting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs), Angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs), Vitamin D, arbidol, thymosin drugs, and Xin guan no.1 (XG.1, a Chinese formula medicine) have also been applied in some studies.

Conclusion: Current evidence demonstrated no established clinical benefits of any drug as PEP in individuals with COVID-19. However, scarce indication occurs for the beneficial effects of some agents, but more studies are needed to explore such effects.

Background: Recently, the emergence and spread of extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) bacteria have become a global health concern. In addition, the ability to form biofilm due to less impermeability to antibiotics and the horizontal transformation (conjugation) of genes involved in antibiotic resistance have exacerbated the concerns. With a comprehensive meta-analysis, this study evaluated the potential relationship between ESBL and biofilm formation.

Methods: A literature search was performed using global databases, such as PubMed and Scopus, up to November 2021. We retrieved all relevant documents and selected eligible articles based on inclusion criteria. Finally, the potential association between the biofilm formation capacity and resistance of ESBL-producing bacteria was measured with an odds ratio and a 95% confidence interval.

Results: In the present study, 17 articles, including 2,069 Gram-negative isolates, were considered as eligible. The prevalence of biofilm formation in all clinical isolates of ESBL and non-ESBL pathogens was 72.4% (95% CI: 60.7-81.6) and 40.5% (95% CI: 30.2-51.8), respectively. Our results showed a positive relationship between the ability for biofilm formation and conferring antibiotic resistance in ESBL-producing bacteria (OR: 3.35; 95% CI: 1.67-6.74; p-value: 0.001).

Conclusion: In general, we showed the rate of biofilm formation to be significantly higher in ESBLproducing strains. Given the current results, the updated therapeutic guidelines should consider the role of biofilm production for optimal therapy, treatment course, and clinical outcomes rather than the recommendation of antimicrobial agents by focusing on the results of the antibiotic susceptibility test.

Introduction: Healthcare-associated urinary tract infection (UTI) represents a significant health problem, especially in infants and young children. The most common pathogen associated with this infection is Escherichia coli (E. coli).

Objective: The present study aimed to detect the frequency of virulence genes among clinical isolates of E. coli isolated from healthcare-associated urinary tract infections in children and the correlation between these virulence genes and the presence of the bla_CTX gene.

Methods: The study included one hundred clinical isolates of E. coli isolated from healthcareassociated urinary tract infections in children in intensive care units. The isolates were subjected to antibiotics sensitivity by disc diffusion method and detection of extended-spectrum beta-lactamase by double disc diffusion method. In addition, multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to detect some virulence genes, and PCR was used to detect the bla_CTX-M gene.

Results: E. coli producing ESBL by double discs method was identified in 74 isolates. bla_CTX-M gene detection by PCR was identified among 38 isolates representing 51.4% of ESBL-producing E. coli. There was a significant association between ESBL and bla_CTX-M Gene, P = 0.0001. The frequency of the studied virulence genes by multiplex PCR in the isolated E. coli was 66% for the Fim gene, 75% for the Aer gene, 68% for the FliC gene, 53% for each of IucD gene and Usp gene, 40% for pap gene, 35% for each of AFA and ironN genes and 17% for sfa gene. None of the isolated E. coli had the Cdt gene. There was a significant association between the presence of the FimH gene (P = 0.0001), Pap gene (P = 0.05), sfa (P = 0.026), Afa gene (P = 0.018), and aer gene (P = 0.035) and the presence of the bla_CTX-M gene in the isolated E. coli.

Conclusion: The present study highlights the presence of virulence genes and bla_CTX-M gene in uropathogenic E. coli isolated from pediatric patients with healthcare-associated urinary tract infections. There was an association between the bla_CTX-M gene and virulence genes FimH, pap, sfa, Afa, and aer. Various distributions of the studied genes with a high frequency of fimbria are flic genes. Moreover, the ESBL had high frequency in E. coli with the presence of bla_CTX-M in about one-third of the isolates.

Introduction: Earlier studies demonstrated a decreased level of physical activity (PA) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, we aimed to systematically review the relevant studies among various age groups and explore the impact on physical and mental health.

Methods: We searched and retrieved all relevant articles using the keywords on the online databases of PubMed, Scopus, and Cochrane from the start of the pandemic until May 3rd, 2021. A two-phase screening process of identified records was carried out to shortlist the most relevant studies. First, the studies were evaluated based on their title/abstract, and then the full-text of included studies was thoroughly read. The eligible studies based on the eligibility criteria were included in this review.

Results: A total of 57 studies were included based on the eligibility criteria. Lockdowns and infection with SARS-CoV-2 have led to a decreased level of PA in the general population compared to the prepandemic era. Men had significantly less PA compared to women in some studies, probably due to higher pre-pandemic PA. The level of PA among those with chronic diseases also significantly diminished, putting them at a higher risk of cardiovascular incidents. Sedentary lifestyles have dominated people's life, including adolescents and university students. The increased levels of mental health issues, such as depression, anxiety, and occupational stress, have been suggested to contribute to the decreased PA. On the other hand, the decreased PA appeared to lead to more mental health issues. Fortunately, the decreasing trend of PA seemed to taper towards the end of the quarantines.

Conclusion: Overall, the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent quarantines reduced PA among all age groups and both sexes and had detrimental effects on people's physical and mental health. We suggest countries implement strategies to alleviate restrictions and encourage people to exercise in safe environments and prepare healthy routines for themselves.

Background: Clostridium sporogenes is reported rarely in literature. Reports from the skin and soft tissue infections are even less, more so in immunocompetent patients.

Case presentation: Two skin and soft tissue infections with C. sporogenes in immunocompetent patients have been presented in this study. One of the cases was following an electrical burn wound, and the other was following a bedsore. Both patients expired despite antibacterial treatment and debridement.

Discussion and conclusion: C. sporogenes had usually been reported after trauma particularly after penetrating and deep wound infection. More attention should be given to these patients so that the infection can be treated and diagnosed early in suspected anaerobic infections like Clostridium species.

Background & aims: Coronavirus disease - 2019 (COVID-19) is a major pandemic that causes high morbidity and mortality rates.

Aim of this study: to detect the relations between many risk factors, ACE-2, MCP-1, Micro RNA 146 gene expression, and COVID-19 infection and disease severity.

Methods: This study was carried out on 165 cases of COVID-19 and 138 controls. ACE2 and MCP1 levels were measured in COVID-19 cases and control by ELISA and micro-RNA-146 expression by PCR.

Results: We found an increased blood level of ACE2 and MCP1 in COVID- 19 patients than in healthy persons and a significant down-regulation of micro-RNA 146 gene expression in cases than in controls. There was a significant correlation between increased blood level of ACE2, regulation of micro-RNA 146 gene expression and severity of lung affection, a significant correlation was found between increased blood level of MCP1 and thrombosis in COVID-19 patients. Neurological complications were significantly correlated with more viral load, more ACE2 blood level, and down regulation of micro RNA146 expression.

Conclusion: High viral load, increased blood level of ACE2, and down-regulation of micro-RNA 146 expression are associated with more severe lung injury and the presence of neurologic complications like convulsions and coma in COVID-19 Egyptian patients.