Novel tick glutathione transferase inhibitors as promising acaricidal compounds.

Ticks are important ectoparasites with a worldwide distribution. The most commonly used method for tick control involves the use of acaricides. The main problem is that its indiscriminate use has led to the selection of resistant tick populations. Glutathione transferases (GSTs) are enzymes that play an important role in the detoxification of several types of compounds used in commercial tick control products. This work aims to find new bioactive molecules through in vitro assays with a panel of 160 molecules with putative inhibitory activity on the Rhipicephalus microplus GST enzyme (RmGST). Also, selected molecules were tested against GSTs from other tick species; Rhipicephalus decoloratus, Amblyomma variegatum, Rhipicephalus appendiculatus, and Haemaphysalis longicornis. The first screening on RmGST identified 30 compounds with the ability to modify the enzymatic activity of this enzyme. These compounds included different chemical families, like chalcones, diarylideneketones, flavone, thiazoles, thiourea, steroids, thiadiazines, indazoles, and hydrazine. The most potent compounds against RmGST belong to the diarylideneketones family with an inhibition concentration of 50% of activity (IC50) between 7-50 µM. Interestingly, one of the most potent compounds was also an inhibitor of the GST from other tick species. Experiments with R. microplus adults and larvae showed toxicity at 150 µM, suggesting a potential acaricidal effect of these molecules.

Psychotropic medication use among women seeking assisted reproductive technology (ART) therapy: A cross-sectional study.

Background Infertility is associated with increased anxiety, depressive symptoms and mood disorders. Unfortunately, mental health is not often addressed in infertility treatment and infertile patients could be at higher risk of self-administration of not prescribed drugs or/and be exposed to alternative emotional treatments. Therefore, the aim of the present study is to investigate the use of psychotropic medication and to evaluate the frequency of psychiatric diagnosis among infertile women seeking assisted reproductive technology (ART) therapy. Methods All infertile women starting treatment at an ART clinic who agreed to participate in the study were included. Patients were submitted to a structured psychiatric interview, the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (M.I.N.I.). Current and lifetime use of psychotropic medication were assessed. Results Ninety patients who agreed to participate completed the research protocol.  A total of 12/90  were on current use of psychotropic medication.Thirty-six out of ninety patients  had at least one psychiatric disorder. Mood disorders were detected in 19 of the 90. Anxiety disorders were highly frequent, reaching 27/90 of the patients, as agoraphobia the most common diagnosis (12/90). Limitations The study has several limitations, such as the absence of a control group of fertile patients and strict inclusion criteria, in which only subjects that spontaneously agreed to participate were enrolled. Conclusion Women suffering from infertility seeking ART treatment are at high risk for depression and anxiety disorders and a considerable number of them are in use of medication. Its implications on infertility treatments and offspring are uncertain.