Cellular therapy for treatment of spinal cord injury in Zebrafish model.

Spinal cord injury is a serious problem with a high rate of morbidity and mortality for all persons, especially young people (15-25 years old). Due to the large burden and the costs incurred on the government, finding the best therapeutic approach is necessary. In this respect, treatment strategies based on the disease mechanism can be effective. After the first trauma of spinal cord cascades, cellular events happen one after the other known as secondary trauma. The mechanism of secondary events of spinal cord injury could be helpful for target therapy as trying to stop the secondary trauma. Herein, some medical and surgical therapy has been introduced and cell therapy strategy was considered as a recent method. Actually, cell therapy is defined as the application of different cells including mesenchymal stem cells, embryonic stem cells, induced pluripotent stem cells, and some others to replace or reconstruct the damaged tissues and restore their functions. However, as a newly emerged therapeutic method, cell therapy should be used through various subclinical studies in animal models to assess the efficacy of the treatment under controlled conditions. In this review, the role of Zebrafish as a recommended model has been discussed and combinatory approach as the probably most useful treatment has been suggested.

Human Coronaviruses SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV, and SARS-CoV-2 in Children.

The novel coronavirus, known as 2019-nCoV or severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has caused an epidemic with high mortality and morbidity since December 2019, in Wuhan, China. The infection has now been transmitted to more than 210 countries worldwide and caused more than 200,000 deaths. Similar to other coronaviruses such as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV), SARS-CoV-2 appears to less commonly affect pediatrics and to cause less severe disease along with fewer symptoms compared to adults. Available data suggest that the pediatric population is just as likely as adults to become infected with SARS-CoV-2. However, they may be asymptotic or have milder symptoms than adults; they can be potential carriers of the disease. This article reviews the present understanding of SARS-CoV-2 infection in the pediatric age group in comparison with MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV.

A study of efficacy of Nigella sativa in treatment of Meniere's disease: A randomized, placebo controlled clinical trial.

Purpose: Meniere's disease (MD), first introduced by Prosper Meniere, is characterized mainly by vertigo, tinnitus, aural fullness and sensorineural hearing loss. Though the exact pathophysiology of MD is unknown, immunologic and inflammatory interactions are possible underlying mechanisms involved in MD. This study is aimed to investigate the immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory effect of Nigella sativa on MD as a therapeutic agent. Methods: We divided 40 patients with definite MD into two groups of 20 cases. The study group received 1 g of Nigella sativa oil daily for three months and the control group received a placebo. Changes in hearing, tinnitus and vertigo were estimated by pure tone audiometry, tinnitus handicap inventory questionnaire and dizziness handicap inventory questionnaire, respectively. Results: At the end of the study we did not observe any significant improvement in study's group hearing threshold, tinnitus and vertigo compared to the control group. Conclusions: In this study, statistical analysis showed that Nigella sativa failed to improve signs and symptoms of MD. However, further investigations with a larger study population are needed to ascertain the current conclusion.

Advancement of Organoid Technology in Regenerative Medicine.

Purpose: Organoids are three-dimensional cultures of stem cells in an environment similar to the body's extracellular matrix. This is also a novel development in the realm of regenerative medicine. Stem cells can begin to develop into 3D structures by modifying signaling pathways. To form organoids, stem cells are transplanted into the extracellular matrix. Organoids have provided the required technologies to reproduce human tissues. As a result, it might be used in place of animal models in scientific study. The key goals of these investigations are research into viral and genetic illnesses, malignancies, and extracellular vesicles, pharmaceutical discovery, and organ transplantation. Organoids can help pave the road for precision medicine through genetic editing, pharmaceutical development, and cell therapy. Methods: PubMed, Google Scholar, and Scopus were used to search for all relevant papers written in English (1907-2021). The study abstracts were scrutinized. Studies on the use of stem-cell-derived organoids in regenerative medicine, organoids as 3D culture models for EVs analysis, and organoids for precision medicine were included. Articles with other irrelevant aims, meetings, letters, commentaries, congress and conference abstracts, and articles with no available full texts were excluded. Results: According to the included studies, organoids have various origins, types, and applications in regenerative and precision medicine, as well as an important role in studying extracellular vesicles. Conclusion: Organoids are considered a bridge that connects preclinical studies to clinical ones. However, the lack of a standardized protocol and other barriers addressed in this review, hinder the vast use of this technology. Lay Summary: Organoids are 3D stem cell propagations in biological or synthetic scaffolds that mimic ECM to allow intercellular or matrix-cellular crosstalk. Because these structures are similar to organs in the body, they can be used as research models. Organoids are medicine's future hope for organ transplantation, tumor biobank formation, and the development of precision medicine. Organoid models can be used to study cell-to-cell interactions as well as effective factors like inflammation and aging. Bioengineering technologies are also used to define the size, shape, and composition of organoids before transforming them into precise structures. Finally, the importance of organoid applications in regenerative medicine has opened a new window for a better understanding of biological research, as discussed in this study.

Pulmonary Embolism and Right Heart Thrombi: A Single-Center Experience.

Background: The right heart thrombus (RHT) embolizes from deep venous thrombi and sits in the right atrium or the right ventricle. We aimed to determine the occurrence and prognosis of the RHT in patients with pulmonary embolism. Methods: We reviewed the cohort data of 622 patients with acute pulmonary embolism obtained from the registry of Tehran Heart Center. Demographic, physiological, clinical, and echocardiographic data, as well as clinical outcomes, were compared between patients with and without the RHT. Results: The study population comprised 622 patients, including 329 men (52.8%). The mean age of the patients was 60.2±17.0 years. Thirty patients (4.8%) had echocardiographically proven RHT. Baseline demographic and clinical characteristics were not different between the 2 groups. Right ventricular dysfunction was more prevalent in the RHT (+) group, and more patients in this group were treated with thrombolysis (P=0.013 and P<0.001, respectively). Overall, 3 out of 21 patients (14.2%) in the RHT (+) group vs 29 out of 306 patients (9.4%) in the RHT (-) group died at 1 month (P=0.445) and 5 out of 21 patients (23.8%) in the RHT (+) group vs 56 out of 307 patients (18.2%) in the RHT (-) group died at 1 year (P=0.562). Conclusion: The RHT is an influential complication in patients with pulmonary emboli, and it seems to increase the mortality rate of patients with acute pulmonary embolism.

Organ on a Chip: A Novel in vitro Biomimetic Strategy in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) Modeling.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is a pernicious neurodegenerative disorder that is associated with the progressive degeneration of motor neurons, the disruption of impulse transmission from motor neurons to muscle cells, and the development of mobility impairments. Clinically, muscle paralysis can spread to other parts of the body. Hence it may have adverse effects on swallowing, speaking, and even breathing, which serves as major problems facing these patients. According to the available evidence, no definite treatment has been found for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) that results in a significant outcome, although some pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments are currently applied that are accompanied by some positive effects. In other words, available therapies are only used to relieve symptoms without any significant treatment effects that highlight the importance of seeking more novel therapies. Unfortunately, the process of discovering new drugs with high therapeutic potential for ALS treatment is fraught with challenges. The lack of a broad view of the disease process from early to late-stage and insufficiency of preclinical studies for providing validated results prior to conducting clinical trials are other reasons for the ALS drug discovery failure. However, increasing the combined application of different fields of regenerative medicine, especially tissue engineering and stem cell therapy can be considered as a step forward to develop more novel technologies. For instance, organ on a chip is one of these technologies that can provide a platform to promote a comprehensive understanding of neuromuscular junction biology and screen candidate drugs for ALS in combination with pluripotent stem cells (PSCs). The structure of this technology is based on the use of essential components such as iPSC- derived motor neurons and iPSC-derived skeletal muscle cells on a single miniaturized chip for ALS modeling. Accordingly, an organ on a chip not only can mimic ALS complexities but also can be considered as a more cost-effective and time-saving disease modeling platform in comparison with others. Hence, it can be concluded that lab on a chip can make a major contribution as a biomimetic micro-physiological system in the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders such as ALS.

Investigating and comparing energy and macronutrient intake in female aerobic athletes in two different socio-economic regions.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to assess nutritional intakes of female aerobic athletes in two different socio-economic classes in city of Isfahan. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The participants of this analytical study were 99 female aerobic athletes aged between 15 and 50 years old who were randomly sampled (50 females in low economic region and 49 females in high economic region). The demographic details were collected by a questionnaire, and anthropometric indexes including height, weight, and waste circumference were measured using a tape measure and a scale. They filled out the 24-hour food recall questionnaire for two consecutive days in order to obtain their nutritional information. To analyze the data, Nutritionist 4 and SPSS18 software were used. RESULTS: The means of energy intake in high and low regions were 1479.19 ± 561.86 and 1300.68 ± 498.354 kcal, respectively. There was no significant difference in terms of energy intake between these two groups (P = 0.98). The means of protein intake in low and high socio-economic classes were 17.41 ± 5.85 and 54.48 ± 6.62, respectively, and no significant differences were observed between these two regions (P = 0/606). The means of carbohydrate intake were 61.85 ± 9.76 and 54.48 ± 6.62 in the low and high socio-economic classes with a significant difference between them (P < 0.001). The mean of carbohydrate intake in the low socio-economic class was considerably higher than that in the high socio-economic class. The means of fat intake were 23.88 ± 8.24% and 30.07 ± 6.68% in the low and high socio-economic classes, respectively, and the means of fat intake in the high socio-economic region was significantly higher than that in the low socio-economic region (P < 0/001). CONCLUSION: The findings of this study indicated that the intakes of fat and carbohydrate were significantly different in the two different socio-economic regions in city of Isfahan. This difference could be attributed to different food patterns in these two regions.