Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Risperidone in Treating Breath-Holding Spells in Children.

Objectives: Breath holding spells (BHS) are a type of syncope in children that is commonly seen in the first years of life. Although these attacks do not cause serious damage to the child's brain, in severe or repeated cases, they expose the brain to hypoxia and cause a lot of stress in parents. In these cases, the clinician should consider therapy. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of Risperidone in the treatment of BHS in children visiting the neurology clinic of the Children's Medical Center Hospital. Materials & Methods: In this randomized clinical trial, the statistical population included patients with the history of Breath Holding spells grades 2 to 3 (after ruling out of seizure disorders) over one year old, visiting the neurology clinic of Tehran Children's Medical Center in 2019. The subjects were randomly selected from patients visiting the clinic using a table of random numbers from the admit ion list. After providing the necessary explanations and obtaining informed consent from their parents, they were treated with low-dose Risperidone (maximum 1 mg) for three months. The patients were observed for three months in terms of frequency and severity of spells monthly. Results: In this study, the median (25th and 75th percentile) age of subjects was 2.3 (2.0-2.6) years. Both the number and severity of seizures in the subjects had a statistically significant decrease in the period after treatment with Risperidone (P<0.001). The studied boys and girls experienced statistically significant decrease in terms of both the frequency of spells (P-value of 0.002 and 0.039) and intensity of seizures (P=0.016) and P=0.008), respectively after treatment with Risperidone. Also, in the studied children under 2 years old and over 2 years old, both the frequency (P=0.021 and P=0.004) and intensity of spells (P=0.008) 0.016 for subjects under and over 2 years, respectively) had a statistically significant decrease after treatment with risperidone compared to pretreatment. Conclusion: According to the results of this study, it seems that both the frequency and the intensity of spells in children (regardless of gender and age group), experienced a statistically significant decrease after treatment with Risperidone. We suggest conducting a more comprehensive study considering a larger sample size in order to estimate this issue more correctly.

Cerium oxide nanoparticles: Synthesis methods and applications in wound healing.

Wound care and treatment can be critical from a clinical standpoint. While different strategies for the management and treatment of skin wounds have been developed, the limitations inherent in the current approaches necessitate the development of more effective alternative strategies. Advances in tissue engineering have resulted in the development of novel promising approaches for accelerating wound healing. The use of various biomaterials capable of accelerating the regeneration of damaged tissue is critical in tissue engineering. In this regard, cerium oxide nanoparticles (CeO2 NPs) have recently received much attention because of their excellent biological properties, such as antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and angiogenic features. The incorporation of CeO2 NPs into various polymer-based scaffolds developed for wound healing applications has led to accelerated wound healing due to the presence of CeO2 NPs. This paper discusses the structure and functions of the skin, the wound healing process, different methods for the synthesis of CeO2 NPs, the biological properties of CeO2 NPs, the role of CeO2 NPs in wound healing, the use of scaffolds containing CeO2 NPs for wound healing applications, and the potential toxicity of CeO2 NPs.

Lectins and lectibodies: potential promising antiviral agents.

In nature, lectins are widely dispersed proteins that selectively recognize and bind to carbohydrates and glycoconjugates via reversible bonds at specific binding sites. Many viral diseases have been treated with lectins due to their wide range of structures, specificity for carbohydrates, and ability to bind carbohydrates. Through hemagglutination assays, these proteins can be detected interacting with various carbohydrates on the surface of cells and viral envelopes. This review discusses the most robust lectins and their rationally engineered versions, such as lectibodies, as antiviral proteins. Fusion of lectin and antibody's crystallizable fragment (Fc) of immunoglobulin G (IgG) produces a molecule called a "lectibody" that can act as a carbohydrate-targeting antibody. Lectibodies can not only bind to the surface glycoproteins via their lectins and neutralize and clear viruses or infected cells by viruses but also perform Fc-mediated antibody effector functions. These functions include complement-dependent cytotoxicity (CDC), antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC), and antibody-dependent cell-mediated phagocytosis (ADCP). In addition to entering host cells, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spike protein S1 binds to angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) and downregulates it and type I interferons in a way that may lead to lung disease. The SARS-CoV-2 spike protein S1 and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) envelope are heavily glycosylated, which could make them a major target for developing vaccines, diagnostic tests, and therapeutic drugs. Lectibodies can lead to neutralization and clearance of viruses and cells infected by viruses by binding to glycans located on the envelope surface (e.g., the heavily glycosylated SARS-CoV-2 spike protein).

Differentiation of PANC-1 ductal cells to ß-like cells via cellular GABA modulation by Magainin and CPF-7 peptides.

Some of the antimicrobial peptides induce insulin release and improve glucose tolerance while their effects on pancreatic cell differentiation have remained unresolved. In this report, we evaluated the effects of two of these peptides, Magainin-II and CPF-7, and also GABA, on PANC-1 ductal cells' differentiation. Based on immunofluorescence and qRT-PCR analyses the expression levels of some of the Epithelial to Mesenchymal transition (EMT)-related factors such as Snai1 and Ngn3, as two biomarkers of alpha and beta cells, were increased. Our findings also revealed a drastic increase in Arx, Pax4, Dnmt-1 and Glucagon expressions associated with dedifferentiation of PANC-1 cells into pancreatic endocrine progenitor cells. Futhermore, Magainin-II and CPF-7 exerted their roles partly via influencing the GABA cellular content. These data would undoubtedly provide a suitable ground for further investigation to guide these cells toward transplantable insulin producing beta cells.

Long-Term Effect of Keratinized Tissue Width on Peri-implant Health Status Indices: An Updated Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

PURPOSE: The keratinized tissue (KT) around dental implants may be useful to ease plaque control. This meta-analysis aimed to compare peri-implant health parameters based on KT width (≥ 2 mm vs < 2 mm). MATERIALS AND METHODS: A highly sensitive search of five databases was performed up to February 1, 2020. The quality of eligible studies was assessed using a modified version of the Newcastle-Ottawa checklist. A random-effects model was used to pool standardized mean differences with 95% confidence intervals. To discover sources of heterogeneity, subgroup analysis and meta-regression were used. Publication bias was evaluated by the Egger and Begg tests. RESULTS: From 7,934 identified studies, 22 papers were included in the meta-analysis, representing 3,004 implants in the case group (KT ≥ 2 mm) and 1,829 implants in the control group (KT < 2 mm). The results indicated that most of the parameters, including gingival recession (GR), Gingival Index (GI), modified Gingival Index (mGI), Plaque Index (PI), modified Plaque Index (mPI), bleeding on probing (BOP), modified Bleeding Index (mBI), and bone loss (BL) revealed substantial differences between the control and case groups. On the contrary, no statistically significant association was detected for pocket depth (PD) between the two groups. CONCLUSION: The presence of at least 2 mm of KT around implants has a protective effect on the peri-implant tissue condition. Narrow KT was related to higher BL, BOP, mBI, GI, mGI, PI, mPI, and GR. In addition, with regard to PD, no significant difference was found.

Combined inhibition of CD73 and ZEB1 by Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD)-targeted nanoparticles inhibits tumor growth.

Abnormal expression of several macromolecules within tumor milieu helps the development of neoplasia and immune suppression in various cancers. ZEB-1 and CD73 are important factors in tumor progression, which their overexpression in tumor site enhances several cancer hallmarks, including proliferation, angiogenesis, metastasis, migration, and invasion. In this study, we decided to inhibit the expression of these factors in the tumor site by using RGD-conjugated chitosan lactate (RGD-CL) nanoparticles (NPs) encapsulating CD73/ZEB-1 siRNA molecules, in vitro and in vivo. The NPs were about 127 nm in size, non-toxic, and RGD conjugation to NPs could efficiently increase cell transfection through interaction with αvß3 integrins expressed on cancer cells and tumoral endothelial cells.Moreover, RGD-conjugated CL NPs containing siRNAs could significantly reduce the ZEB-1 and CD73 expression levels in cancer cells. Following transfection, cancer cells showed a significant reduction in migration and proliferation. Furthermore, the administration of these NPs into 4T1 and CT26 tumor-bearing mice resulted in tumor suppression and prolonged survival. These findings indicate the importance of targeting the CD73/ZEB1 axis in cancer cells, which could encourage their use in cancer patients in the near future.

Codelivery of BV6 and anti-IL6 siRNA by hyaluronate-conjugated PEG-chitosan-lactate nanoparticles inhibits tumor progression.

AIMS: Increased expression of inhibitor of apoptosis (IAP) genes has been associated with progressive cancer and chemoresistance. Accordingly, blockade of IAPs by BV6 has resulted in ameliorative outcomes. Interleukin (IL)-6 is another important mediator involved in the growth and survival of tumor cells. Therefore, we hypothesized that simultaneous inhibition of IAPs and IL-6 could be a new promising anti-tumor treatment strategy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this study, we generated and characterized hyaluronate-PEG-Chitosan-Lactate (H-PCL) nanoparticles (NPs) to simultaneously deliver IL6-specific siRNA and BV6 to 4T1 (breast cancer) and CT26 (colon cancer) cells, and investigate the anti-tumor properties of this combination therapy both in vitro and in vivo. KEY FINDINGS: H-PCL NPs exhibited good physicochemical properties leading to efficient transfection of cancer cells and suppression of target molecules. Moreover, combination therapy synergistically increased apoptosis, as well as decreased cell migration, proliferation, colony formation, and angiogenesis in both 4T1 and CT26 cell lines and suppressed cancer progression in tumor-bearing mice that was associated with enhanced survival time. SIGNIFICANCE: These findings imply the effectiveness of cancer combination therapy by using H-PCL NPs loaded with anti-IL-6 siRNA and BV6.

Cylindrical agar gel with fluid flow subjected to an alternating magnetic field during hyperthermia.

PURPOSE: In magnetic fluid hyperthermia (MFH), nanoparticles are injected into diseased tissue and subjected to an alternating high frequency magnetic field. The process triggers sufficient heat to destroy the cancerous cells. One of the challenging problems during MFH is blood flow in tissue. In real conditions the heat which is transferred by blood flow should be considered in the analysis of MFH. METHODS: In this study, heat transfer was investigated in an agar gel phantom containing fluid flow. Fe3O4 as a nano-fluid was injected into the centre of a gel cylinder which was filled with another gel cylinder and subjected to an alternating magnetic field of 7.3 kA/m and a frequency of 50 kHz for 3600 s. The temperature was measured at three points in the gel. Temperature distributions regarding the time at these three points were experimentally measured. Moreover, the specific absorption rate (SAR) function was calculated with a temperature function. RESULTS: The SAR function was a key asset in the hyperthermia and was obtained on the condition that the fluid flowed through the gel. Finally, a finite element analysis (FEA) was performed to verify the SAR function. The results revealed that there was good agreement between the measured temperature and the one obtained from FEA. In addition, the effects of fluid flow and accuracy of function obtained for heat production in the gel were presented. CONCLUSION: It is believed that the proposed model has the potential ability to get close to reality in this type of investigation. The proposed function has implications for use in further modelling studies as a heat generation source.