Health sciences review (Oxford, England)最新文献

This exhaustive review examines the therapeutic possibilities of butein, an organic compound sourced from plants, which has a long history in traditional medicine. Initiating with an investigation of plant-based remedies in native societies, the review emphasizes the importance of researching the physiological effects of plant-derived chemicals. The multifaceted biological activities of butein, encompassing its anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-cancer, and neuroprotective properties are systematically analyzed. Detailed discussions elucidate the underlying mechanisms driving these activities and the wide-ranging applications of butein in managing various illnesses such as cancer, neurodegenerative disorders, and cardiovascular ailments. The article also explores the challenges associated with developing butein as a therapeutic agent, including issues with bioavailability and toxicity. The authors deliberate on diverse approaches to surmount these obstacles, incorporating the application of innovative drug delivery systems and the synthesis of artificial analogs. On the whole, this review offers a thorough outline of the therapeutic potential of butein and underscores the significance of investigating plant-based compounds for the formulation of novel medications. It is deduced that butein holds substantial promise as a therapeutic remedy, necessitating further exploration to fully comprehend its mechanisms of operation and potential applications in clinical environments.

Ulcerative Colitis (UC) is a persistent inflammatory condition of the colon that occurs due to the disruption in the epithelial barrier and immunological responses. In UC the episodes of inflammation are relapsing and remitting in the colonic mucosa. Etrasimod, an S1P receptor modulator, is a potential therapy for UC. The goal of this review is to compile the data related to effectiveness and safety studies of etrasimod in the treatment of UC. Pre-clinical and clinical studies examine how etrasimod affects many aspects of UC pathophysiology, including S1P receptor regulation, immune cell migration, and improved gut barrier function. Etrasimod mainly inhibits the lymphocytes entry into the peripheral blood and prevents the migration of lymphocytes into the inflammation cycle. This article gives a comprehensive account of several factors linked to etrasimod and ulcerative colitis, including the pathology of ulcerative colitis, US-FDA approved treatment for UC, mechanism of action of etrasimod, pharmacokinetic, pharmacodynamic data of etrasimod, reported risk and related aspects and completed and ongoing clinical trials.

Background

The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the global overdose crisis, increased opioid-related deaths and highlighted the need for innovative treatment strategies. This study critically evaluates the efficacy of take-home methadone for patients with opioid use disorders (OUDs) during public health emergencies.

Methods

Adhering to PRISMA reporting guidelines, this systematic review scrutinized RCTs and quasi-experimental studies on opioid agonist treatments (OATs), notably methadone, from Medline, Web of Science (core collection), Embase, Cochrane Library, and Scopus, spanning January 2020 to May 2024. It targeted global patients of any age, contrasting take-home methadone with in-clinic dosing, omitting non-English studies or those solely analyzing program delivery modifications without take-home dose discussions. Key outcomes included emergency room (ER) visits, treatment retention, overdose rates, alongside secondary outcomes like patient health, quality of life (QoL), and satisfaction. Registered with PROSPERO (CRD42023474723), the review prioritized treatment impacts and language inclusivity.

Findings

The final search yielded 1,222 records, with two studies included (four records). Despite included only two studies (four records) due to a focused selection criterion, findings indicate overall participant satisfaction with take-home methadone, suggesting its potential as a viable treatment modality during public health emergencies. However, the limited study number and focus on indirect outcome measures underscore the need for further comprehensive research.

Interpretation

This review champions flexible dosing, technology integration, and stigma reduction in OUD treatment, urging longitudinal research on take-home methadone's continued impacts. Despite constraints, it enriches OUD management for enhanced public health outcomes, highlighting future research avenues.

The overgrowth condition known as Sotos syndrome is distinguished by its characteristic facial gestalt, macrocephaly, excessive development during childhood, varying degrees of learning problems, and a variety of other abnormalities. Due to abnormally high height, occipitofrontal circumference (OFC), advanced bone age, neonatal problems such as hypotonia and feeding issues, and facial gestalt, the diagnosis is typically recognized after birth. The current work aims to identify potential therapeutic treatments through bioinformatics analysis, focusing on key genes and pathways implicated in the disease. Text mining techniques were employed to identify 41 genes associated with Sotos syndrome, 37 of which were enriched with Gene Ontology (GO) terms and 24 with Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways. Using protein-protein interaction (PPI) network analysis, two gene modules were extracted using the Molecular Complex Detection (MCODE) algorithm, highlighting 15 hub genes as central candidates. Furthermore, leveraging drug-gene interaction databases and network pharmacology tools, 23 FDA-approved drugs were identified that target 11 of these core hub genes, suggesting potential therapeutic avenues for Sotos syndrome. Only bioinformatics tools were used in this study further in-vitro and in-vivo studies are required because phenotypic differences will vary from person to person depending on the expressivity of the gene. In future this approach may help to collaborate with clinical researchers to integrate bioinformatics findings with real-world clinical data. This will enhance understanding of clinical relevance of the identified genes and pathways and validate bioinformatics predictions with patient-derived samples and clinical histories.

Only homologous LSD vaccine should be used in absence of efficacy of experimental studies indicating the effectiveness of heterologous LSD vaccine.

Human mastitis is an infection that affects the mammary glands of females and mainly occurs during the puerperium, a common condition brought on by improper breastfeeding technique. Mastitis is differentiated into lactational and non-lactational types according to its symptoms. Based on the available data, the pooled incidence of mastitis across countries like the USA, UK, Australia, Denmark, Turkey, Finland and New Zealand is estimated to be 13.45%. Poor hygiene, sore and cracked nipples, nipple piercing, smoking and fitted innerwear are reported risk factors. Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis are predominant pathogens, with a prevalence range between 50 to 87%, respectively. Mastitis management is essential to reduce infection rates and discover alternate treatments. Studies indicate that antibiotic treatment may be substituted for herbal and probiotic therapies. In addition, if mastitis is not adequately diagnosed in females, there is a high risk of breast cancer. Mastitis is a significant health issue, but it is often overlooked in the field of human medicine. In this review, we have focused on the risk factors, the alternative therapeutic approaches, and the relationship of breast cancer associated with mastitis.

Diabetes, a chronic condition characterized by an inability to maintain normal glucose levels significantly accounts for enhancing the cost of healthcare expenditure. Managing diabetes using a standard medication protocol more often leads to progressive failure in effectively treating the associated complications. The recent trends involve understanding of diabetes's genetic architecture and its consequences have provided the background for application of precision medicine for customizing protocols for preventing and managing the diabetes therapy. Further, utilizing the electronic health data and genetic information for assisting care and planning therapeutic protocol for monogenic form of diabetes is well-executed example of genomic medicine. The present write-up emphasized recent advances about the causes and effects of diabetes genetics. This also drive to the need for the further investigation for ensuring the appropriate knowledge to enable patients and healthcare providers to make informed decisions for obtaining the best possible outcome.

Smoking during pregnancy is detrimental to the foetus and the mother, but quitting smoking can be challenging for pregnant women. The nicotine metabolite ratio (NMR), the ratio between 3-hydroxycotinine and cotinine, indicates the rate of nicotine metabolism and is associated with smoking behaviours and cessation success in the general population. Our goal was to establish what is currently known about the rate of nicotine metabolism during pregnancy. A search was conducted from inception to January 2024 using PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Web of Science, and Medline. Inclusion criteria encompassed pregnant women actively using any tobacco or nicotine-containing products for whom cotinine and 3-hydroxycotinine levels were assessed in maternal saliva, blood, or urine samples. Exclusion criteria comprised non-English articles, passive exposure to smoking, and absence of cotinine and 3-hydroxycotinine measurements. In half of the studies, more than 75% of participants were White. Four studies demonstrated that NMR (i.e. rate of nicotine metabolism) increased during pregnancy. Two studies found opioid use can increase NMR, and higher NMR correlated with greater nicotine dependence during pregnancy. One study found that higher NMR was associated with heavy cigarette use during pregnancy. Similarly, one study revealed pregnant women with higher NMR are less likely to quit smoking. However, one study linked lower NMR to lower birth weight, particularly among African-American populations compared to White populations. NMR tends to increase during pregnancy, complicating smoking cessation. Although race is an important determinant of NMR, the limited range of ethnic backgrounds highlights a need for further research in diverse populations.