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Artificial Organs Dec 2021Coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) ranges from asymptomatic infection to severe cases requiring admission to the intensive care unit. Together with supportive therapies...
BACKGROUND
Coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) ranges from asymptomatic infection to severe cases requiring admission to the intensive care unit. Together with supportive therapies (ventilation in particular), the suppression of the pro-inflammatory state has been a hypothesized target. Pharmacological therapies with corticosteroids and interleukin-6 (IL-6) receptor antagonists have reduced mortality. The use of extracorporeal cytokine removal, also known as hemoperfusion (HP), could be a promising non-pharmacological approach to decrease the pro-inflammatory state in COVID-19.
METHODS
We conducted a systematic review of PubMed and EMBASE databases in order to summarize the evidence regarding HP therapy in COVID-19. We included original studies and case series enrolling at least five patients.
RESULTS
We included 11 articles and describe the characteristics of the populations studied from both clinical and biological perspectives. The methodological quality of the included studies was generally low. Only two studies had a control group, one of which included 101 patients in total. The remaining studies had a range between 10 and 50 patients included. There was large variability in the HP techniques implemented and in clinical and biological outcomes reported. Most studies described decreasing levels of IL-6 after HP treatment.
CONCLUSION
Our review does not support strong conclusions regarding the role of HP in COVID-19. Considering the very low level of clinical evidence detected, starting HP therapies in COVID-19 patients does not seem supported outside of clinical trials. Prospective randomized data are needed.
Topics: Adult; Aged; Biomarkers; COVID-19; Cytokines; Female; Hemoperfusion; Humans; Inflammation Mediators; Male; Middle Aged; Risk Factors; Treatment Outcome
PubMed: 34632596
DOI: 10.1111/aor.14078 -
Acta Obstetricia Et Gynecologica... Dec 2021Human papillomavirus (HPV), p16, and p53 have been investigated as prognostic markers in various HPV-related cancers. Within the field of vaginal cancer, however, the...
INTRODUCTION
Human papillomavirus (HPV), p16, and p53 have been investigated as prognostic markers in various HPV-related cancers. Within the field of vaginal cancer, however, the evidence remains sparse. In this systematic review, we have compiled the presently published studies on the prognostic significance of HPV and immunohistochemical expression of p16 and p53 among women with vaginal cancer.
MATERIAL AND METHODS
We conducted a systematic search of PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library to identify relevant studies published until April 2021. We included studies reporting survival after histologically verified vaginal cancers tested for HPV, p16, and/or p53. Survival outcomes included overall survival, disease-free survival, disease-specific survival, and progression-free survival.
RESULTS
We included a total of 12 studies. The vast majority of vaginal cancer cases included in each study were squamous cell carcinomas (84%-100%). Seven studies reported survival after vaginal cancer according to HPV status, and the majority of these studies found a tendency towards improved survival for women with HPV-positive vaginal cancer. Three out of four studies reporting survival according to p16 status found an improved survival among women with p16-positive vaginal cancer. For p53, only one of six studies reported an association between p53 expression and survival.
CONCLUSIONS
This systematic review suggests that women with HPV- and p16-positive vaginal cancer have an improved prognosis compared with those with HPV- or p16-negative vaginal cancer. Results for p53 were varied, and no conclusion could be reached. Only 12 studies could be included in the review, of which most were based on small populations. Hence, further and larger studies on the prognostic impact of HPV, p16, and p53 in vaginal cancer are warranted.
Topics: Alphapapillomavirus; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell; Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p16; Disease-Free Survival; Female; Humans; Prognosis; Tumor Suppressor Protein p53; Vaginal Neoplasms
PubMed: 34546565
DOI: 10.1111/aogs.14260 -
Critical Reviews in Food Science and... Jan 2018Legume lectins are carbohydrate-binding proteins of non-immune origin. Significant amounts of lectins have been found in Phaseolus vulgaris beans as far back as in the... (Review)
Review
Legume lectins are carbohydrate-binding proteins of non-immune origin. Significant amounts of lectins have been found in Phaseolus vulgaris beans as far back as in the last century; however, many questions about their potential biological roles still remain obscure. Studies have shown that lectins are anti-nutritional factors that can cause intestinal disorders. Owing to their ability to act as toxic allergens and hemagglutinins, the Phaseolus vulgaris lectins are of grave concern for human health and safety. Nonetheless, their potential beneficial health effects, such as anti-cancer, anti-human immunodeficiency virus (anti-HIV), anti-microbial infection, preventing mucosal atrophy, reducing type 2 diabetes and obesity, promoting nutrients absorption and targeting drugs, are of immense interest. The significance of Phaseolus vulgaris lectins in biological researches and the potential biomedical applications have placed tremendous emphasis on the development of purification strategies to obtain the protein in pure and stable forms. These purification strategies entail considerations such as effects of proteolysis, heating, gamma radiation, and high-hydrostatic-pressure that can have crucial outcomes in either eliminating or improving bioactivities of the lectins. Thus, up-to-date research findings of Phaseolus vulgaris lectins on different aspects such as anti-nutritional and health impacts, purification strategies and novel processing trends, are systematically reviewed.
Topics: Animals; Anti-HIV Agents; Anti-Infective Agents; Anticarcinogenic Agents; Diet; Digestion; Drug Stability; Female; Food Handling; Health Promotion; Humans; Immunity; Intestinal Diseases; Male; Phytohemagglutinins
PubMed: 26479307
DOI: 10.1080/10408398.2015.1096234 -
Current Opinion in Infectious Diseases Apr 2010Legionella pneumophila is increasingly recognized as a significant cause of sporadic and epidemic community-acquired and nosocomial-acquired pneumonia. This review... (Review)
Review
PURPOSE OF REVIEW
Legionella pneumophila is increasingly recognized as a significant cause of sporadic and epidemic community-acquired and nosocomial-acquired pneumonia. This review focuses on the latest literature concerning the epidemiology, pathogenesis, clinical presentation, diagnosis, and treatment of Legionnaires' disease.
RECENT FINDINGS
A significant increase in the incidence of Legionnaires' disease in the United States has been documented over the last years. L. pneumophila has recently been found to be a leading cause of community-acquired pneumonia in hospitalized and ambulatory patients in Germany. Recent studies provide insight into the understanding of the pathogenesis of Legionnaires' disease and the relevance of the formation of biofilms. Clinical manifestations of Legionnaires' disease are not specific and current diagnostic scores are of limited use. Several recent studies offer useful information concerning Legionnaires' disease in immunosuppressed patients. A systematic review of English literature performed to assess test characteristics of Legionella urinary antigen has found that the pooled sensitivity of the test was 0.74 and specificity was 0.991. Improved clinical response has been observed for patients with Legionnaires' disease treated with highly active antimicrobial agents against Legionella.
SUMMARY
Legionnaires' disease is a significant health problem in many countries. Clinical manifestations are unreliable in diagnosing Legionnaires' disease. Therefore, diagnostic laboratory tests for Legionella, including the urinary antigen test, should be applied to all patients with pneumonia. Levofloxacin (or other fluoroquinolone) or azithromycin are the current drugs of choice for treatment of Legionnaires' disease. Effective preventive strategies are needed.
Topics: Anti-Bacterial Agents; Antigens, Bacterial; Azithromycin; Community-Acquired Infections; Cross Infection; Germany; Humans; Incidence; Legionella pneumophila; Legionnaires' Disease; Levofloxacin; Ofloxacin; United States
PubMed: 20051846
DOI: 10.1097/QCO.0b013e328336835b -
Medicine Mar 2019The incidence of acute pancreatitis (AP) is rising around the world, thus further increasing the burden on healthcare services. Approximately 20% of AP will develop... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
BACKGROUND
The incidence of acute pancreatitis (AP) is rising around the world, thus further increasing the burden on healthcare services. Approximately 20% of AP will develop severe acute pancreatitis (SAP) with persistent organ failure (>48 h), which is the leading cause of high mortality. To date, there is no specific drug in treating SAP, and the main treatment is still based on supportive care. However, some clinical control studies regarding the superiority of continuous blood purification (CBP) has been published recently. Therefore, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the efficacy of CBP in SAP treatment.
METHODS
Four databases (Medline, SinoMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library) were searched for eligible studies from 1980 to 2018 containing a total of 4 randomized controlled trials and 8 prospective studies.
RESULTS
After the analysis of data amenable to polling, significant advantages were found in favor of the CBP approach in terms of Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE II) score (WMD = -3.00,95%CI = -4.65 to -1.35), serum amylase (WMD = -237.14, 95% CI = -292.77 to 181.31), serum creatinine (WMD = -80.54,95%CI = 160.17 to -0.92), length of stay in the ICU (WMD = -7.15,95%CI = -9.88 to -4.43), and mortality (OR = 0.60, 95%CI = 0.38-0.94). No marked differences were found in terms of C-reactive protein (CRP), alamine aminotransferase (ALT) and length of hospital stay (LOS).
CONCLUSION
Compared with conventional treatment, CBP remedy evidently improved clinical outcomes, including reduced incidence organ failure, decreased serum amylase, APACHE II score, length of stay in the ICU and lower mortality rate, leading us to conclude that it is a safer treatment option for SAP. Furthermore, relevant multicenter RCTs are required to prove these findings.
Topics: APACHE; Acute Disease; Hemofiltration; Humans; Inflammation Mediators; Length of Stay; Multiple Organ Failure; Pancreatitis; Prospective Studies
PubMed: 30896634
DOI: 10.1097/MD.0000000000014873 -
Brazilian Journal of Microbiology :... 2017Specific proteases capable of degrading native triple helical or denatured collagen have been required for many years and have a large spectrum of applications. There... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis Review
Specific proteases capable of degrading native triple helical or denatured collagen have been required for many years and have a large spectrum of applications. There are few complete reports that fully uncover production, characterization and purification of fungi collagenases. In this review, authors searched through four scientific on line data bases using the following keywords (collagenolytic OR collagenase) AND (fungi OR fungus OR fungal) AND (production OR synthesis OR synthesize) AND (characterization). Scientific criteria were adopted in this review to classify found articles by score (from 0 to 10). After exclusion criteria, 21 articles were selected. None obtained the maximum of 10 points defined by the methodology, which indicates a deficiency in studies dealing simultaneously with production, characterization and purification of collagenase by fungi. Among microorganisms studied the non-pathogenic fungi Penicillium aurantiogriseum and Rhizoctonia solani stood out in volumetric and specific collagenase activity. The only article found that made sequencing of a true collagenase showed 100% homology with several metalloproteinases fungi. A clear gap in literature about collagenase production by fungi was verified, which prevents further development in the area and increases the need for further studies, particularly full characterization of fungal collagenases with high specificity to collagen.
Topics: Collagen; Collagenases; Culture Media; Enzyme Activation; Fungi; Proteolysis; Substrate Specificity
PubMed: 27756540
DOI: 10.1016/j.bjm.2016.08.001 -
Frontiers in Endocrinology 2022Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is a major microvascular complication of both type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus and is the most frequent cause of end-stage renal disease... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is a major microvascular complication of both type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus and is the most frequent cause of end-stage renal disease with an increasing prevalence. Presently there is no non-invasive method for differential diagnosis, and an efficient target therapy is lacking. Extracellular vesicles (EV), including exosomes, microvesicles, and apoptotic bodies, are present in various body fluids such as blood, cerebrospinal fluid, and urine. Proteins in EV are speculated to be involved in various processes of disease and reflect the original cells' physiological states and pathological conditions. This systematic review is based on urinary extracellular vesicles studies, which enrolled patients with DN and investigated the proteins in urinary EV. We systematically reviewed articles from the PubMed, Embase, Web of Science databases, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) database until January 4, 2022. The article quality was appraised according to the Newcastle-Ottawa Quality Assessment Scale (NOS). The methodology of samples, isolation and purification techniques of urinary EV, and characterization methods are summarized. Molecular functions, biological processes, and pathways were enriched in all retrievable urinary EV proteins. Protein-protein interaction analysis (PPI) revealed pathways of potential biomarkers. A total of 539 articles were retrieved, and 13 eligible records were enrolled in this systematic review and meta-analysis. And two studies performed mass spectrometry to obtain the proteome profile. Two of them enrolled only T1DM patients, two studies enrolled both patients with T1DM and T2DM, and other the nine studies focused on T2DM patients. In total 988 participants were enrolled, and DN was diagnosed according to UACR, UAER, or decreased GFR. Totally 579 urinary EV proteins were detected and 28 of them showed a potential value to be biomarkers. The results of bioinformatics analysis revealed that urinary EV may participate in DN through various pathways such as angiogenesis, biogenesis of EV, renin-angiotensin system, fluid shear stress and atherosclerosis, collagen degradation, and immune system. Besides that, it is necessary to report results compliant with the guideline of ISEV, in orderto assure repeatability and help for further studies. This systematic review concordance with previous studies and the results of meta-analysis may help to value the methodology details when urinary EV proteins were reported, and also help to deepen the understanding of urinary EV proteins in DN.
Topics: Biomarkers; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2; Diabetic Nephropathies; Extracellular Vesicles; Humans; Proteome
PubMed: 36034457
DOI: 10.3389/fendo.2022.866252 -
Obesity Reviews : An Official Journal... Dec 2015There is evidence that certain infections may induce obesity. Obese persons may also have more severe infections and have compromised response to therapies. The... (Review)
Review
There is evidence that certain infections may induce obesity. Obese persons may also have more severe infections and have compromised response to therapies. The objective of this study is to review the available literature identifying infections that potentially contribute to greater body mass index (BMI) and differential responses of overweight and obese persons to infections. A systematic literature review of human studies examining associations between infections and weight gain, differential susceptibility, severity, and response to prevention and treatment of infection according to BMI status (January 1980-July 2014) was conducted. Three hundred and forty-three studies were eligible for inclusion. Evidence indicated that viral infection by human adenovirus Ad36 and antibiotic eradication of Helicobacter pylori were followed by weight gain. People who were overweight or obese had higher susceptibility to developing post-surgical infections, H1N1 influenza and periodontal disease. More severe infections tended to be present in people with a larger BMI. People with a higher BMI had a reduced response to vaccinations and antimicrobial drugs. Higher doses of antibiotics were more effective in obese patients. Infections may influence BMI, and BMI status may influence response to certain infections, as well as to preventive and treatment measures. These observations have potential clinical implications.
Topics: Adenoviridae; Adenovirus Infections, Human; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Antibodies, Bacterial; Antibodies, Viral; Antiviral Agents; Body Mass Index; Disease Susceptibility; Helicobacter Infections; Helicobacter pylori; Humans; Influenza A Virus, H1N1 Subtype; Influenza, Human; Obesity; Severity of Illness Index; Surgical Wound Infection; Weight Gain
PubMed: 26354800
DOI: 10.1111/obr.12320 -
Critical Reviews in Food Science and... Dec 2023NLRP3 (NOD-, LRR- and pyrin domain-containing protein 3), a member of the nucleotide-binding domain (NOD) and leucine-rich repeat sequence (LRR) protein (NLR) family,... (Review)
Review
NLRP3 (NOD-, LRR- and pyrin domain-containing protein 3), a member of the nucleotide-binding domain (NOD) and leucine-rich repeat sequence (LRR) protein (NLR) family, plays an essential role in the inflammation initiation and inflammatory mediator secretion, and thus is also associated with many disease progressions. Food-derived bioactive peptides (FDBP) exhibit excellent anti-inflammatory activity in both and models. They are encrypted in plant, meat, and milk proteins and can be released under enzymatic hydrolysis or fermentation conditions, thereby hindering the progression of hyperuricemia, inflammatory bowel disease, chronic liver disease, neurological disorders, lung injury and periodontitis by inactivating the NLRP3. However, there is a lack of systematic review around FDBP, NLRP3, and NLRP3-related diseases. Therefore, this review summarized FDBP that exert inhibiting effects on NLRP3 inflammasome from different protein sources and detailed their preparation and purification methods. Additionally, this paper also compiled the possible inhibitory mechanisms of FDBP on NLRP3 inflammasomes and its regulatory role in NLRP3 inflammasome-related diseases. Finally, the progress of cutting-edge technologies, including nanoparticle, computer-aided screening strategy and recombinant DNA technology, in the acquisition or encapsulation of NLRP3 inhibitory FDBP was discussed. This review provides a scientific basis for understanding the anti-inflammatory mechanism of FDBP through the regulation of the NLRP3 inflammasome and also provides guidance for the development of therapeutic adjuvants or functional foods enriched with these FDBP.
PubMed: 38153262
DOI: 10.1080/10408398.2023.2294164 -
Foodborne Pathogens and Disease Sep 2011Trichinella sp. larvae are released from the intestine and usually migrate through the liver into the general circulation. Nevertheless, hepatic involvement does not... (Review)
Review
Trichinella sp. larvae are released from the intestine and usually migrate through the liver into the general circulation. Nevertheless, hepatic involvement does not represent a leading feature of human trichinellosis. This narrative systematic review focuses exclusively on hepatic complications of trichinellosis and includes a brief overview and analysis of selected cases reported in the literature. Our major goals were to gather important data to understand the substrate of trichinous liver injury and to provide helpful clinical hints for practitioners. To our knowledge, this is the first international review dedicated to this topic. Thirty two cases were detailed enough to allow pooled analysis. The mean age of the analyzed group was 30.5±17 years old with most cases aged 19 to 29 years (29%). Hepatomegaly was noticed in 34.4% of cases, hypoalbuminemia in 40.6%, and hypoproteinemia in 34.4%. Our systematic analyses demonstrated that hepatic complications were mainly evidenced in fatal cases of trichinellosis (65.6%). The most frequent necroptic findings were parenchymatous and/or fatty degeneration of the liver (59.4%). Although less discussed in the literature than other complications, hepatic involvement should be considered more carefully because of its significant consequences on protein metabolism and liver function. Difficult to be revealed intra vitam, hepatic involvement may represent an additional concern to the classical clinical picture of trichinellosis and other life-threatening complications, especially in severe cases of infection. Consequently, physicians should be aware of any possible liver involvement to ensure adequate management of their patients.
Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Animals; Child; Female; Foodborne Diseases; Hepatomegaly; Humans; Hypoalbuminemia; Hypoproteinemia; Infant; Liver; Male; Trichinella; Trichinellosis
PubMed: 21524198
DOI: 10.1089/fpd.2011.0861