Analysis of density changes of selected brain receptors after a 14-day supply of chromium(III) and evaluation of chromium(III) affinity to selected receptors and transporters

Chromium(III) is one of the most controversial biometals. Although, it is no longer on the list of minerals necessary for the proper functioning of the human body, and its pharmacological effect is still under discussion. One of the purposes of Cr(III) administration is to use it in patients with mood disorders and it is strictly related to its pharmacological, not dietary effect. This is because its high doses are necessary to obtain the results and additionally, no deficiencies in human population have been noted. In this study, the affinity of chromium(III) to selected receptors and transporters in the rat brain was evaluated, and the effect of the 14-day administration of thismetal was assessed on the density of selected receptors. All analyses were performed in vitro using radioligand binding assays, and the results indicated lack of affinity to β1 and α1 receptors and serotonin transporter (SERT), furthermore very weak affinity to the 5-HT1A receptor (30% inhibition at 10−4 and 10−5 M). Analysis of the α1 and β1 adrenergic receptor density indicated lack of any adaptive effects after 14 days of Cr(III) administration through intraperitoneal injections (doses 6 and 12 mg/kg). The antidepressant activity of chromium(III) indicated in clinical trials concerned patients with atypical, seasonal, or dystonic symptoms. This effect, as it seems based on the presented results, does not depend on direct affinity to serotonin receptors and transporter nor is the result of adaptive changes in the adrenoreceptor system

Functionalized NaA Nanozeolites Labeled with 224,225Ra for Targeted Alpha Therapy

The 223Ra, 224Ra, and 225Ra radioisotopes exhibit very attractive nuclear properties for application in radionuclide therapy. Unfortunately the lack of appropriate bifunctional ligand for radium is the reason why these radionuclides have not found application in receptor-targeted therapy. In the present work, the potential usefulness of the NaA nanozeolite as a carrier for radium radionuclides has been studied. 224Ra and 225Ra, a-particle emitting radionuclides, have been absorbed in the nanometer-sized NaA zeolite (30–70 nm) through simple ion exchange. 224,225Ra-nanozeolites exhibited very high stability in solutions containing physiological salt, EDTA, amino acids, and human serum. To make NaA nanozeolite particles dispersed in water their surface was modified with a silane coupling agent containing poly(ethylene glycol) molecules. This functionalization approach let us covalently attach a biomolecule to the NaA nanozeolite surface.JRC.E.5-Nuclear chemistr

Feasibility of the use of Lentinula edodes mycelium in terbinafine remediation

A detailed understanding of the fate of xenobiotics introduced into the environment and the mechanisms involved in their biotransformation, biodegradation, and biosorption is essential to improve the efficiency of remediation techniques. Mycoremediation is a form of bioremediation technique that has become increasingly popular in recent years as fungi are known to produce various effective extracellular enzymes that have the potential to neutralize a wide variety of xenobiotics released into the environment. Hence, mycoremediation appears to be a promising technique for the removal of a wide array of toxins and pharmaceutical residues from a damaged environment and wastewater. This study primarily aimed to investigate whether white-rot fungus (Lentinula edodes) can be utilized for the bioremediation of common antifungal agent terbinafine, which is mainly available in the market as powder or cream. The cultures of L. edodes were cultivated in the medium containing terbinafine powder or terbinafine 1% cream, each at a final concentration of 0.1 mg mL−1. The addition of terbinafine in powder form have a negative effect on biomass growth (p < 0.05). The total amount of terbinafine in the dry weight of mycelium after culture was estimated to be 7.63 ± 0.45 mg and 12.52 ± 2.46 mg for powder and cream samples, respectively. In addition, there were no traces of terbinafine in any of the samples of medium used for culturing L. edodes after the experimental duration period. The biodegradation products of terbinafine were identified for the first time using UPLC/MS/MS. The biodegradation of terbinafine resulted in the loss of 1-naphthylmethanol, which occurred via oxidative deamination, N-demethylation, or tert-butyl group hydroxylation. The results of the study demonstrate that L. edodes mycelium can be effectively used for the remediation of terbinafine

Central retinal vein occlusion in hypertensive patient — a case report

Retinal vein occlusion (RVO) is, beside diabetic retinopathy, the most common retinal vascular disease. RVO is associatedwith many risk factors, both systemic and ocular. Among the systemic risk factors is hypertension. A 36-year-old man came to the hospital because of impaired vision. Central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO) was diagnosed. The main reason for developing RVO was the untreated hypertension, which was diagnosed in the form of hypertensive crisis. The patient presented numerous additional CRVO risk factors that contributed to the development of the described pathology like: obesity, dyslipidaemia, hyperhomocysteinaemia, renal cancer. The authors suggested active examination for CRVO risk factors regardless of the age of patients

Determination of the content of bioelements in an aerosol produced from commercially available mineral waters using a Mini Graduation Tower-2018 device

There are various types of bottled water available, including: spring water and high-, medium- or low-mineralized mineral water. Water with the highest content of mineral salts (>1000 ppm), i.e. medicinal water, has been the most widely used in medicine. One of the most commonly used forms of application of the described water types are e.g. inhalations. It is worth mentioning, however, that the use of these types of water, due to the high content of minerals (barium, chloride, sulphate ions), has the influence on human health. Although a little is known about the limitations of using the external method, and particularly the recently popular aerosol therapy. The popularity of this method of treatment is due to the fact that it can be used at different age groups of patients and in contrary to oral drug dosage, aerosol therapy has faster onset of action and a much greater safety profile of the therapy. It is worth noting that not all producers of medicinal water provide information about the total mineral content of their products. Moreover, producers do not declare if mineral water can be applied in children. The aim of the study was the quantitative analysis of selected metals: sodium, potassium, magnesium, iron and zinc in 7 selected medicinal and mineral waters. The newly constructed Mini-Graduation Tower 2018 device was used to generate the aerosol. In most of the tested waters (except for the zinc content in the Słotwinka water), statistically significant changes in the content of the tested ions were demonstrated in relation to the control sample which were mineralizates obtained from catontrol (the filter subject to the 4-time distilled water aerosol). The highest content of divalent and trivalent ions was found in the mineralizate obtained from Zabłocka Mgiełka Solankowa, while the highest content of monovalent cations was found in Franciszek and Helena water. In all samples, the ion content obtained indicates the possibility of using the tested water in aerosol therapy. The obtained results show that the "Minitężnia-2018" device can be used to study aerosols