Project description:Botulinum neurotoxins (BoNTs) produce local chemo-denervation by cleaving soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor activating protein receptor (SNARE) proteins. Botulinum neurotoxins are therapeutically indicated in several neurological disorders and have been in use for three decades. The long-term efficacy, safety, and side effects of BoNTs have been well documented in the literature. However, the development of muscle atrophy following chronic exposure to BoNTs has not received sufficient attention. Muscle atrophy is not only cosmetically distressing, but also has an impact on future injections. An extensive literature search was conducted on atrophy and mechanisms of atrophy. Five hundred and four relevant articles in the English language were reviewed. This review revealed the surprising lack of documentation of atrophy within the literature. In addition, as demonstrated in this review, the mechanisms and the clinical factors that may lead to atrophy have also been poorly studied. However, even with this limited information it is possible to indicate factors that could modify the clinical approach to botulinum toxin injections. This review highlights the need for further study of atrophy following BoNT injections.

| S-EPMC6115806 | biostudies-literature

Infection prevention and the medical director: uncharted territory.

Project description:Infections continue to be a major cause of disease and contributor to death in patients on dialysis. Despite our knowledge and acceptance that hemodialysis catheters should be avoided and eliminated, most patients who begin dialysis initiate treatment through a central vein hemodialysis catheter. Dialysis Medical Directors must be the instrument through which our industry changes. We must lead the charge to educate our dialysis staff and our dialysis patients. We must also educate ourselves so that we not only know that our facility policies are consistent with the best evidence available, but we must also know where local and federal regulations differ. When these differences impact on patient care, we must speak out and have these regulations changed. But it is not enough to know the rules and write them. We must lead by example and show our patients, our nephrology colleagues and our dialysis staff that we always follow these same policies. We need to practice what we preach and be willing and available to redirect those individuals who have difficulty following the rules. In order to effectively change process meaningful data must be collected, analyzed and acted upon. Dialysis Medical Directors must direct and lead the quality improvement process. We hope this review provides Dialysis Medical Directors with the necessary tools to effectively drive this process and improve care.

| S-EPMC4422234 | biostudies-literature

Transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy: An uncharted territory awaiting discovery.

Project description:Transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy (ATTR-AC) is an under-recognized and underdiagnosed disease. Although traditionally considered a rare condition, the epidemiology of the disease is rapidly changing due to the possibility of non-invasive diagnosis through cardiac scintigraphy with bone tracers and novel disease-modifying treatments providing survival advantages. Nevertheless, many questions and grey areas have to be addressed, such as the natural history of ATTR-AC, the role and implications of genotype-phenotype interactions, the best clinical management, prognostic stratification and the most appropriate treatments, including those already recommended for patients with heart failure. Clinicians have to cope with old beliefs and evolving concepts in ATTR-AC. A wide horizon of possibilities for physicians of many specialties is unfolding and awaits discovery.

| S-EPMC7534738 | biostudies-literature

Beyond templates: exploring uncharted territory in anisotropic gold nanostructure-oligomer composites synthesis and electrocatalytic performance towards environmental pollutants.

Project description:The synthesis of polymer/oligomer-stabilized metal nanostructures (MNS) opens up a wide range of possibilities, from fundamental materials science to practical applications in domains such as medicine, catalysis, sensing, and energy. Because of the versatility of this synthetic approach, it is a dynamic and ever-changing field of study. These polymers/oligomers have precise control over the nucleation and growth kinetics, allowing the production of mono-disperse MNS with well-defined properties. The protective coating provided by polymers or oligomers increased the stability and colloidal dispersity of MNS in these oligomer-MNS composites. As a result, the current research reports the electrocatalytic reduction of nitrobenzene (NB) utilizing oligomeric aminomercaptotriazole (oligo AMTa) and oligo (AMTa-AuNS) modified glassy carbon (GC) electrodes developed via a wet chemical technique. UV-visible spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), high resolution mass spectroscopy (HR-MS), and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM) approaches were used to confirm the development of oligomer and AuNS. After that, the GC electrode was directly linked to the oligo AMTa and oligo AMTa-AuNS by dipping them in the appropriate solutions. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and cycle voltammetry (CV) were all employed to confirm the fabrication of oligo AMTa and oligo AMTa-AuNS. Eventually, the electrochemical reduction of NB occurred using the fabricated electrodes. The catalytic activity of oligo AMTa-AuNS has been observed to be more than that of the other modified electrode. As an outcome, the film was employed to determine the sensitivity level of NB, and a limit of detection (LOD) of 2.8 nM was found. The straight-forward method's practical utility was proven by measuring NB in lake sample water.

| S-EPMC11664328 | biostudies-literature

Pediatric Cancer Immunotherapy: Opportunities and Challenges.

Project description:Cancer immunotherapies, widely heralded as transformational for many adult cancer patients, are becoming viable options for selected subsets of pediatric cancer patients. Many therapies are currently being investigated, from immunomodulatory agents to adoptive cell therapy, bispecific T-cell engagers, oncolytic virotherapy, and checkpoint inhibition. One of the most exciting immunotherapies recently FDA approved is the use of CD19 chimeric antigen receptor T cells for pre-B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia. With this approval and others, immunotherapy for pediatric cancers is gaining traction. One of the caveats to many of these immunotherapies is the challenge of predictive biomarkers; determining which patients will respond to a given therapy is not yet possible. Much research is being focused on which biomarkers will be predictive and prognostic for these patients. Despite many benefits of immunotherapy, including less long-term side effects, some treatments are fraught with immediate side effects that range from mild to severe, although most are manageable. With few downsides and the potential for disease cures, immunotherapy in the pediatric population has the potential to move to the front-line of therapeutic options.

| S-EPMC6153971 | biostudies-literature

Pediatric ocular nanomedicines: Challenges and opportunities.

Project description:The eye is a highly complex, yet readily accessible organ within the human body. As such, the eye is an appealing candidate target for a vast array of drug therapies. Despite advances in ocular drug therapy research, the focus on pediatric ocular drug delivery continues to be highly underrepresented due to the limited number of degenerative ocular diseases with childhood onset. In this review, we explore more deeply the reasons underlying the disparity between ocular therapies available for children and for adults by highlighting diseases that most commonly afflict children (with focus on the anterior eye) and existing prognoses, recent developments in ocular drug delivery systems and nanomedicines for children, and barriers to use for pediatric patients.

| S-EPMC5683720 | biostudies-literature

Regenerative Medicine and Angiogenesis; Challenges and Opportunities.

Project description:Blood vessel development is one of the most prominent steps in regenerative medicine due to the restoration of blood flow to the ischemic tissues and providing the rapid vascularization in clinical-sized tissue-engineered grafts. However, currently tissue engineering technique is restricted because of the inadequate in vitro/in vivo tissue vascularization. Some challenges like as transportation in large scale, distribution of the nutrients and poor oxygen diffusion limit the progression of vessels in smaller than clinically relevant dimensions as well in vivo integration. In this regard, the scholars attempted to promote the vascularization process relied on the stem cells (SCs), growth factors as well as exosomes and interactions of biomaterials with all of them to enable the emergence of ideal microenvironment which is needed for treatment of unhealthy organs or tissue regeneration and formation of new blood vessels. Thus, in the present review we aim to describe these approaches, advances, obstacles and opportunities as well as their application in regeneration of heart as a prominent angiogenesis-dependent organ.

| S-EPMC7539317 | biostudies-literature

Lung cancer susceptibility beyond smoking history: opportunities and challenges.

Project description: Not available

| S-EPMC9359957 | biostudies-literature

Global Pharmacogenomics Within Precision Medicine: Challenges and Opportunities.

Project description: Not available

| S-EPMC7077926 | biostudies-literature