Switching to the aflibercept (3 mg) therapy for treatment-resistant wet age-related macular degeneration: 1-year outcomes.

This study aimed to elucidate 1-year outcomes following switching to the aflibercept (3 mg) therapy for treatment-resistant wet age-related macular degeneration (wAMD). In this prospective, open-label, non-controlled clinical trial, 18 patients with wAMD who had multiple recurrences or persistent exudation despite intravitreal injections of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor agents (except aflibercept) received a 3-mg intravitreal aflibercept injection every 4 weeks. Each patient received 3 to 8 injections. The central retinal thickness and fibrovascular pigment epithelial detachment height decreased significantly at 1 month after initiation of the aflibercept injection, and the values were 146 and 163.2 µm, respectively, at the final visit. The morphological improvement was sustained. The intraretinal and subretinal fluid was completely absorbed at the end of the follow-up. The logMAR vision increased from baseline 0.68 to 0.59 (P < .05). No ocular or systemic adverse events occurred. The intravitreal injection of 3-mg aflibercept seems to be feasible in the treatment of wAMD unresponsive to other anti-vascular endothelial growth factor agents.

Moisture Property and Thermal Behavior of Two Novel Synthesized Polyol Pyrrole Esters in Tobacco.

To overcome the shortcomings of high relative humidity and harmful oxidation products from traditional humectants, excellent humectants and flavor precursors were reported herein. Glucosamine hydrochloride was used as the starting material for the cyclization, oxidation, and alkylation processes that produced pyrrole acid. Then, esterification occurred with polyol catalyzed by EDC and DMAP to give the target compounds 2-(2,3-dihydroxypropyl) 4-methyl 5-methyl-1-propyl-1H-pyrrole-2,4-dicarboxylate (Gpe) and (2-hydroxypropyl) 4-methyl 5-methyl-1-propyl-1H-pyrrole-2,4-dicarboxylate (Ppe). Nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR, 13C NMR), infrared spectroscopy (IR), and high-resolution mass recorded spectrometry (HRMS) were used to confirm the two novel polyol pyrrole ester compounds. When Gpe and Ppe were added to the tobacco shred, low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (LF-NMR) imaging was applied to assess the hygroscopicity and moisturizing capacity. Furthermore, thermogravimetry (TG) and pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS) techniques were applied to study their thermal behaviors. These results showed that the target compounds (Gpe and Ppe) are good humectants with thermal properties of high-temperature stability and flavor release.

Critical roles of RGS16 in the mucosal inflammation of ulcerative colitis.

BACKGROUND: Ulcerative colitis is a chronic and progressive inflammatory disorder. The regulator of the G-protein signaling (RGS) is involved in the pathogenesis of several immune system disorders. RGS16, a member of the RGS protein superfamily, has been shown to play critical roles in several immune system-related diseases. However, the roles of RGS16 in ulcerative colitis remain to be elucidated. METHODS: We analyzed the expression of RGS16 in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and inflamed mucosa of ulcerative colitis patients using quantitative reverse transcription-PCR, western blotting and immunohistochemistry. We performed Spearman's correlation to analyze the correlation between RGS16 expression and the ulcerative colitis endoscopic index of severity (UCEIS), Mayo index, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and serum tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-a) and IL-17A levels. Further, PBMCs were stimulated with inflammatory cytokines in vitro . RESULTS: RGS16 expression significantly increased in the colonic mucosa and PBMCs from patients with ulcerative colitis and significantly correlated with the Mayo index, UCEIS, ESR and serum TNF-α and IL-17A levels. TNF-α upregulated RGS16 expression in PBMCs in a dose- and time-dependent manner via the nuclear factor kappa beta (NF-kB) signaling pathway. Moreover, anti-TNF treatment with infliximab significantly decreased RGS16 expression in PBMCs and intestinal mucosa of patients with ulcerative colitis. CONCLUSION: Our study revealed a novel mechanism by which RGS16 expression in ulcerative colitis is positively correlated with disease activity. Thus, RGS16 might serve as a potential therapeutic marker for the treatment of ulcerative colitis.