Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Antiviral Agents For Pregnant Women With Genital Herpes, Christopher Wenner Md

Articles

Clinical Question

Do antiviral medications prevent perinatal transmission of genital herpes to neonates?

Evidence-Based Answer

There is no evidence that the use of antiviral agents in women who are pregnant and have a history of genital herpes prevents perinatal transmission of herpes simplex virus (HSV) to neonates. [Strength of recommendation: A, based on multiple systematic reviews] However, treatment with antivirals during the last month of pregnancy does reduce the rate of HSV outbreaks in pregnant women and the resultant need for cesarean delivery. [Strength of recommendation: A, based on multiple systematic reviews]

Molecular And Clinical Analyses Of Greig Cephalopolysyndactyly And Pallister-Hall Syndromes: Robust Phenotype Prediction From The Type And Position Of Gli3 Mutations, Jennifer J. Johnston, Isabelle Olivos-Glander, Christina Killoran, David Tilstra Md

Articles

Mutations in the GLI3 zinc-finger transcription factor gene cause Greig cephalopolysyndactyly syndrome (GCPS) and Pallister-Hall syndrome (PHS), which are variable but distinct clinical entities. We hypothesized that GLI3 mutations that predict a truncated functional repressor protein cause PHS and that functional haploinsufficiency of GLI3 causes GCPS. To test these hypotheses, we screened patients with PHS and GCPS for GLI3 mutations. The patient group consisted of 135 individuals: 89 patients with GCPS and 46 patients with PHS. We detected 47 pathological mutations (among 60 probands); when these were combined with previously published mutations, two genotype-phenotype correlations were evident. First, GCPS was …

Endostatin Modulates Vegf-Mediated Barrier Dysfunction In The Retinal Microvascular Endothelium, Brenda B. Brankin, M. Campbell, P. Canning, T. Gardiner, A. Stitt

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Recent evidence indicates that the anti-angiogenic peptide endostatin may modulate some of the vasomodulatory effects of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in the retina, including reduction of blood retinal barrier function although it remains uncertain how endostatin promotes endothelial barrier properties. The current study has sought to examine how physiological levels of endostatin alters VEGF-induced inner BRB function using an in vitro model system and evaluation of occludin and ZO-1 regulatory responses. In addition, the ability of exogenous endostatin to regulate VEGF-mediated retinal vascular permeability in vivo was investigated.

Retinal microvascular endothelial cells (RMEC's) were exposed to various concentrations of …

Medium From Irradiated Cells Induces A Dose Dependent Expression Of Mitochondrial Changes And Bcl2 Responses In Unirradiated Human Keratinocytes, Paula Maguire, Carmel Mothersill, C. Seymour, Fiona Lyng

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Exposure of unirradiated human keratinocytes to irradiated cell conditioned medium (ICCM) is known to cause a cascade of events that leads to reproductive death and apoptosis. This study investigates the effect of ICCM on clonogenic survival, mitochondrial mass and BCL2 expression in unirradiated keratinocytes. Exposure to 5 mGy, 0.5 Gy and 5 Gy ICCM resulted in a significant decrease in clonogenic survival. Human keratinocytes incubated with ICCM containing an antioxidant, N-acetylcysteine, showed no significant decrease in clonogenic survival. HPV-G cells incubated with ICCM containing a caspase 9 inhibitor showed no significant decrease in clonogenic survival when the ICCM dose was …

Ecology, Morality And Synergism, Thomas Power

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This short essay looks at the views of unorthodox members of three professions. Richard Douthwaite an anti-growth economist, James Lovelock a "mythical" scientist, and Yoneji Masuda, a Japanese guru of the Information Technology age. All three assume a re-orientation of human thinking. Douthwaite's "moral society", Lovelock's "ecological society" and Masuda's "synergistic society" have little basis in reality, despite their intrinsic appeal. Despite the "high knowledge consumption" of an information age, predicted by Masuda, history teaches us that knowledge has always been used by man to gain power and not to better the lot of mankind. There is no reason to …

Combining Cytotoxic And Immune-Mediated Gene Therapy To Treat Brain Tumors, James Curtin, Gwendalyn King, Marianela Candolfi, Remy Greeno, Kurt Kroeger, Pedro Lowenstein, Maria Castro

Articles

Glioblastoma (GBM) is a type of intracranial brain tumor, for which there is no cure. In spite of advances in surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, patients die within a year of diagnosis. Therefore, there is a critical need to develop novel therapeutic approaches for this disease. Gene therapy, which is the use of genes or other nucleic acids as drugs, is a powerful new treatment strategy which can be developed to treat GBM. Several treatment modalities are amenable for gene therapy implementation, e.g. conditional cytotoxic approaches, targeted delivery of toxins into the tumor mass, immune stimulatory strategies, and these will all …

Discrimination Against The Unhealthy In Health Insurance, Mary Crossley

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As employers seek to contain their health care costs and politicians create coverage mechanisms to promote individual empowerment, people with health problems increasingly are forced to shoulder the load of their own medical costs. The trend towards consumerism in health coverage shifts not simply costs, but also insurance risk, to individual insureds, and the results may be particularly dire for people in poor health. This Article describes a growing body of research showing that unhealthy people can be expected disproportionately to pay the price for consumerism, not only in dollars, but in preventable disease and disability as well. In short, …

Identification Of Fatty Acid Oxidation Disorder Patients With Lowered Acyl-Coa Thioesterase Activity In Human Skin Fibroblasts, Mary Hunt, Jos Ruiter, Petra Mooyer, Carlo W T Van Roermond, Rob Ofman, Lodewig Ijlst, Ronald J A Wanders

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Background: Acyl-CoA thioesterases are enzymes that hydrolyze acyl-CoAs to the free fatty acid and coenzyme A (CoASH). These enzymes have been identified in several cellular compartments and are thought to regulate intracellular levels of acyl-CoAs, free fatty acids and CoASH. However, to date no patients deficient in acyl-CoA thioesterases have been identified. Design: Acyl-CoA thioesterase activity was measured in human skin fibroblasts. Western blot analysis was used to determine Type-II acyl-CoA thioesterase protein levels in patients. Results: Activity was found in human fibroblasts with all saturated acyl-CoAs from C4:0- to C18:0-CoA, with highest activity detected with lauroyl-CoA and myristoyl-CoA (C12:0 …

Gene Therapy And Targeted Toxins For Glioma, James Curtin, Gwendalyn King, Marianela Candolfi, Kurt Kroeger, Pedro Lowenstein, Maria Castro

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The most common primary brain tumor in adults is glioblastoma. These tumors are highly invasive and aggressive with a mean survival time of nine to twelve months from diagnosis to death. Current treatment modalities are unable to significantly prolong survival in patients diagnosed with glioblastoma. As such, glioma is an attractive target for developing novel therapeutic approaches utilizing gene therapy. This review will examine the available preclinical models for glioma including xenographs, syngeneic and genetic models. Several promising therapeutic targets are currently being pursued in pre-clinical investigations. These targets will be reviewed by mechanism of action, i.e., conditional cytotoxic, targeted …

Assessing Clinical Waste Management Performance In A Health Care Organisation, Victor Hrymak

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An assessment of clinical waste management was undertaken in an Irish health care organisation. The methodology and results are presented together with recommendations.