Chasebendtsen5620

Background The association of the fetal MTHFR A1298C (rs1801131) polymorphism and neural tube defects (NTDs) susceptibility has been widely demonstrated, but the results remain inconclusive. Thus, we performed a meta-analysis to investigate the association between fetal MTHFR A1298C polymorphism and NTDs risk.Methods An electronic search of PubMed, web of science, SciELO, CNKI database for studies on the fetal MTHFR A1298C polymorphism and NTDs risk was performed up to March 30, 2020.Results A total of 22 case-control studies with 3,224 fetuses with NTDs and 3,295 controls were selected. Overall, pooled data showed that the fetal MTHFR A1298C polymorphism was not significantly associated with risk an increased risk of NTDs in the global population. When stratified analysis by ethnicity, country of origin and NTDs type, still no statistically significant association was found.Conclusions Our pooled data emerged no evidence for significant association between fetal MTHFR A1298C polymorphism and NTDs risk.Regenerative medicine represents a major challenge for the scientific community. The choice of the biological sources used, such as stem cells and grafts, is crucial. Stem cell therapy is mainly related to the use of mesenchymal stem cells; however, clinical trials are still needed to investigate their safety. mTOR inhibitor The micrografting technique was conceived by Cicero Parker Meek in 1958. It is based on the principle that by increasing the superficial area of skin grafts and reducing the size of its particles, it is possible to cover an area larger than the original donor site. Stem cells are pluripotent cells that have the capacity to differentiate into all cell types and are self-renewing, whereas micrografts derive from a small fragment of an autologous tissue and exhibit limited differentiative potential compared with stem cells. Therefore, stem cells and micrografts cannot be considered equivalent, although in some cases they exhibit similar regenerative potential, which is the focus of this review. Last, stem cell therapies remain limited because of complex and costly processes, making them not very feasible in clinical practice, whereas obtaining micrografts is generally a one-step procedure that does not require any advanced tissue manipulation.Background Respiratory phase patterns associated with deglutition and clearance of pharynx by deglutition are important in protecting airways and lungs against aspiration.Aims/objectives Sleep-related deglutition and respiratory phase patterns in the aged with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) before and under CPAP therapy were investigated.Materials and methods Ten aged adults with severe OSA under CPAP therapy were examined by polysomnography and surface electromyography of the muscles related to swallowing and compared with the same patients before CPAP therapy.Results Under CPAP therapy, swallowing was also infrequent and absent for long periods. The deeper the sleep stage, the lower the deglutition frequency. The median number of swallows per hour during total sleep time was 1.5 and the median longest deglutition-free period was 74.5 min. Swallows following and/or followed by inspiration, which were observed a great deal before CPAP therapy, were markedly reduced. On the other hand, swallows following and/or followed by expiration markedly increased. Approximately, 73.5% of swallows occurred after expiration and approximately 66.8% were followed by expiration. Respiratory phase patterns associated with sleep-related deglutition improved under CPAP.Conclusions/significance CPAP therapy improved sleep-related deglutition and respiratory phase patterns in the aged with OSA.Introduction Treatment of colorectal cancer as one of the most commonly diagnosed and a frequent cause of cancer-related deaths is of great challenges in health-related issues. Areas covered Immunotherapy is the fourth pillar of cancer treatment which provides more novel therapeutic options with expanding investigational potentials. One of the modalities in immunotherapy is the use of bispecific antibodies. Despite demonstrating many promising roles, it still needs more advanced studies to identify the actual pros and cons. In this review, the application of bispecific antibody in the treatment of colorectal cancer has been explained, based on preclinical and clinical studies. The literature search was conducted mainly through PubMed in June and September 2019. Expert opinion Bispecific antibody is in its early stages in colorectal cancer treatment, requiring modern technologies in manufacturing, better biomarkers and more specific target antigens, more studies on individual genetic variations, and conducting later phase clinical trials and systematic reviews to achieve better survival benefits.Introduction Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) recently introduced as a global public health problem by the World Health Organization (WHO). The virus outbreak has been documented around the world. Updating data in different aspects of the virus could force us to revise our idea about the main questions concerning coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19). Areas covered Although our knowledge about the SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 is largely based on the very limited data, the information is growing rapidly. The renewed answers to the specific research questions concerning updating data not only reveal gaps for future research but also re-categorized our information. Here, we attempt to briefly discuss 10 important questions about SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19. Expert opinion Since our knowledge about different aspects of SARS-CoV-2 appears to be in its infancy and is rapidly changing, the provision of the right data is more difficult in this regard. However, we try to rely on results from more extensive research to answer the main questions about this new virus. Therefore, further studies, particularly in the context of the virus pathogenesis, diagnosis, treatment, and vaccine development, are warranted.Objective The development of medicinal plants for clinical use represents an important direction in biomedical research, despite the technological difficulties.Significance The aim of this study was to compare pharmaceutical characteristics and in vitro release of Classical and Pickering emulsions containing crude or fractionated extracts of Libidibia ferrea.Methods After evaluating the extract's solubility in formulation, a dispersion of hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) was prepared in water. For Pickering emulsions, the aqueous phase was HPMC and the oil phase was Miglyol® 812; for Classical emulsions, water with Tween® 20 and Miglyol® 812 with Span® 80 were used for aqueous and oil phases, respectively. Crude or fractionated extracts were added to the aqueous phase (5% w/v). Both phases were heated (40 °C); then, the oil phase was poured into the aqueous phase and homogenized using an Ultra-Turrax. Emulsions were characterized for 90 days by pH, polyphenol content, phytomarker content, macroscopic characteristics, droplet size, and zeta potential.