Couple Therapy

Hypoxia-inducible factor prolyl hydroxylase inhibitors (HIF-PHIs) are new drugs developed for the treatment of anemia associated with chronic kidney disease (CKD). This class of drugs stimulates endogenous erythropoietin production and, at the same time, improves iron absorption and mobilization of iron stores (less evident with daprodustat, vadadustat and enarodustat). Several studies have been published in the last few years showing that these agents are not inferior to standard therapy in correcting anemia associated with CKD...

Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA), an exceptionally aggressive malignancy originating from the epithelium of the bile duct, poses a formidable challenge in cancer research and clinical management. Currently, attention is focused on exploring the oncogenic role and prognostic implications associated with Bmi1 in the context of CCA. In our study, we assessed the correlation of Bmi1 and Foxn2 expression across all types of CCA and evaluated their prognostic significance. Our results demonstrated that Bmi1 exhibits significantly upregulated expression in CCA tissues, while Foxn2 expression shows an inverse pattern...

PURPOSE: The development of vitrification and blastocyst culture have recently led to a rapidly growing number of single frozen thawed blastocyst transfer (FBT) cycles worldwide. Although the impact of female smoking on spontaneous fertility is well established, its effect on assisted reproductive technologies (ART) outcome is still controversial, and no study has specifically evaluated its effect on FBT cycles' outcome. METHODS: This retrospective study was conducted in all consecutive FBT cycles conducted between 2012 and 2021 in a single University-based ART centre...

BACKGROUND: The in-depth understanding of the role of lateral genetic transfer (LGT) in phage-prophage interactions is essential to rationalizing phage applications for human and animal therapy, as well as for food and environmental safety. This in silico study aimed to detect LGT between phages of potential industrial importance and their hosts. METHODS: A large array of genetic recombination detection algorithms, implemented in SplitsTree and RDP4, was applied to detect LGT between various Escherichia, Listeria, Salmonella, Campylobacter, Staphylococcus, Pseudomonas, and Vibrio phages and their hosts...

AIM: A review of diagnostic options and standardized methods for specifying clinical symptoms associated with uterine myomatosis. METHODS: A literature search of databases aimed at finding validated metrics for assessing myomas symptomatology. RESULTS: Summary of obligatory and optional examination methods in the diagnosis of uterine fibroids and methods of examination of reproductive parameters of the couple in relation to myomatosis. Defining the metrics of bleeding manifestations of myomatosis with emphasis on the "Pictorial Bleeding Assessment Chart"...

This research investigates the effects of the immunotherapeutic agent nivolumab on the metabolism of lung cancer cells (NCI-H1975) using GC-MS metabolomic profiling. Multivariate analysis such as unsupervised PCA and supervised OPLS-DA along with univariate analysis and pathway analysis were employed to explore the metabolomic data and identify altered metabolic pathways induced by nivolumab treatment. The study revealed distinct metabolic alterations in cancer cells, linked to proliferative and survival advantages, such as enhanced glycolysis, increased glutaminolysis, and modified amino acid metabolism...

BACKGROUND: The past 15 years have seen increasing attention to relationship factors among sexual minority male (SMM) couples at high risk for HIV infection. Research has largely focused on HIV prevention outcomes. Outcomes relevant to SMM living with HIV have received relatively less attention. PURPOSE: This study evaluated associations between relational covariates (relationship status, sexual agreements, and seroconcordance) and HIV care cascade outcomes (having a current antiretroviral therapy [ART] prescription, ART adherence, viral load (VL) testing, and VL detectability) above and beyond cannabis and stimulant drug use...

Cerebral infra-slow oscillation (ISO) is a source of vasomotion in endogenic (E; 0.005-0.02 Hz), neurogenic (N; 0.02-0.04 Hz), and myogenic (M; 0.04-0.2 Hz) frequency bands. In this study, we quantified changes in prefrontal concentrations of oxygenated hemoglobin (Δ[HbO]) and redox-state cytochrome c oxidase (Δ[CCO]) as hemodynamic and metabolic activity metrics, and electroencephalogram (EEG) powers as electrophysiological activity, using concurrent measurements of 2-channel broadband near-infrared spectroscopy and EEG on the forehead of 22 healthy participants at rest...

Paired associative stimulation (PAS) consisting of high-intensity transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and high-frequency peripheral nerve stimulation (known as high-PAS) induces plastic changes and improves motor performance in patients with incomplete spinal cord injury (SCI). Listening to music during PAS may potentially improve mood and arousal and facilitate PAS-induced neuroplasticity via auditory-motor coupling, but the effects have not been explored. This pilot study aimed to determine if the effect of high-PAS on motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) and subjective alertness can be augmented with music...

RATIONALE: Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) epitomizes an acute peripheral neuropathy hallmarked by an autoimmune retort directed at the myelin sheath enwrapping peripheral nerves. While it is widely acknowledged that a majority of GBS patients boast a history of antecedent infections, the documentation of postoperative GBS occurrences is progressively mounting. Drawing upon an exhaustive compendium of recent case reports, the disease's inception spans a gamut from within 1 hour to 1...

With an aging population, and an anticipated increase in overall fracture incidence, a sound understanding of bone healing and how technology can optimize this process is crucial. Concentrated bone marrow aspirate (cBMA) is a technology that capitalizes on skeletal stem and progenitor cells (SSPCs) to enhance the regenerative capacity of bone. This overview highlights the science behind cBMA, discusses the role of SSPCs in bone homeostasis and fracture repair, and briefly details the clinical evidence supporting the use of cBMA in fracture healing...

PURPOSE: Sacroiliac joint dysfunction (SIJD), while being the primary contributor to low back pain, is still disregarded and treated as low back pain. Mulligan's Mobilization with Movement (MWM) Techniques and Core Stability Exercises (CSE) are often used to treat low back pain. There is not much evidence that it is effective in SIJD. To evaluate the effectiveness of CSE coupled with MWM (CSE + MWM) in the treatment of SIJD. METHODS: 39 patients with SIJD were recruited and randomly divided into distinct groups as follows: control group (n = 13), CSE group (n = 13) and CSE + MWM group (n = 13)...

BAK and BAX execute intrinsic apoptosis by permeabilising the mitochondrial outer membrane. Their activity is regulated through interactions with pro-survival BCL-2 family proteins and with non-BCL-2 proteins including the mitochondrial porin VDAC2. VDAC2 is important for bringing both BAK and BAX to mitochondria where they execute their apoptotic function. Despite this important function in apoptosis, while interactions with pro-survival family members are well characterised and have culminated in the development of drugs that target these interfaces to induce cancer cell apoptosis, the interaction between BAK and VDAC2 remains largely undefined...

Metabolic syndrome increases the risk of stroke, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes. The morbidity and mortality associated with this constellation of risk factors are equally alarming when considering the economic and global significance that this epidemic has on an institutional and patient level. Despite several current treatments available, there needs to be a continuous effort to explore more specific and effective druggable entities for preventative and therapeutic interventions. Within this context, the G-protein coupled receptor, GPR75, is an attractive pharmacological target...

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Chronic liver disease (CLD) remains a global health issue associated with a significant disease burden. Liver fibrosis, a hallmark of CLD, is characterised by the activation of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) that gain profibrotic characteristics including increased production of extracellular matrix protein. Currently, no antifibrotic therapies are available clinically, in part because of the lack of HSC-specific drug targets. Here, we aimed to identify HSC-specific membrane proteins that can serve as targets for antifibrotic drug development...

The landscape of the cranial neurosurgery has changed tremendously in past couple of decades. The main frontiers including introduction of neuro-endoscopy, minimally invasive skull base approaches, SRS, laser interstitial thermal therapy and use of tubular retractors have revolutionized the management of intracerebral hemorrhages, deep seated tumors other intracranial pathologies. Introduction of these novel techniques is based on smaller incisions with maximal operative corridors, decreased blood loss, shorter hospital stays, decreased post-operative pain and cosmetically appealing scars that improves patient satisfaction and clinical outcomes...

BACKGROUND: Studies on the early retinal changes in Diabetic Retinopathy (DR) have demonstrated that neurodegeneration precedes vascular abnormalities like microaneurysms or intraretinal hemorrhages. Therefore, there is a growing field of study to analyze the cellular and molecular pathways involved to allow for the development of novel therapeutics to prevent the onset or delay the progression of DR. Molecular Mechanisms: Oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction contribute to neurodegeneration through pathways involving polyol, hexosamine, advanced glycation end products, and protein kinase C...

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a global autoimmune disease that requires long-term management. Ambulatory monitoring and treatment of RA favors remission and rehabilitation. Here, we developed a wearable reconfigurable integrated smart device (ISD) for real-time inflammatory monitoring and synergistic therapy of RA. The device establishes an electrical-coupling and substance delivery interfaces with the skin through template-free conductive polymer microneedles that exhibit high capacitance, low impedance, and appropriate mechanical properties...

This study aimed to develop a novel radiotracer using trastuzumab and the long-lived [52 Mn]Mn isotope for HER2-targeted therapy selection and monitoring. A new Mn(II) chelator, BPPA, synthesized from a rigid bispyclen platform possessing a picolinate pendant arm, formed a stable and inert Mn(II) complex with favorable relaxation properties. BPPA was converted into a bifunctional chelator (BFC), conjugated to trastuzumab, and labeled with [52 Mn]Mn isotope. In comparison to DOTA-GA-trastuzumab, the BPPA-trastuzumab conjugate exhibits a labeling efficiency with [52 Mn]Mn approximately 2 orders of magnitude higher...

This paper describes a procedure for the estimation of 241Am and 239Pu activity present in the human tissue by measuring the depth of contaminant using a portable Planar High Purity Germanium detector (HPGe). The ratios of photopeak counts of X-rays or gammas obtained with the detector coupled to collimator are calculated for the estimation of depth of the contaminant and the optimum one is determined. Since Minimum Detectable Activities (MDA) for the detector coupled to a collimator are higher than that of bare detector, activity must be estimated using bare detector, after locating the contaminant...