Lipid nanocarriers for hyperproliferative skin diseases

Hyperproliferative skin diseases (HSD) are a group of diseases that include cancers, pre-cancerous lesions and diseases of unknown etiology that present different skin manifestations in terms of the degree and distribution of the injuries. Anti-proliferative agents used to treat these diseases are so diverse, including 5-aminolevulinic acid, 5-fluorouracil, imiquimod, methotrexate, paclitaxel, podophyllotoxin, realgar, and corticosteroids in general. These drugs usually have low aqueous solubility, which consequently decreases skin permeation. Thus, their incorporation in lipid nanocarriers has been proposed with the main objective to increase the effectiveness of topical treatment and reduce side effects. This manuscript aims to describe the advantages of using lipid nanoparticles and liposomes that can be used to load diversity of chemically different drugs for the treatment of HSD.This research was funded by the Portuguese Science and Technology Foundation (FCT/MCT), European Funds (PRODER/COMPETE)—project UIDB/04469/2020 (strategic fund), co-financed by FEDER, under the Partnership Agreement PT2020. The work is also supported by the National Science Centre within the MINIATURA 4 for a single research activity (grant no: 2020/04/X/ST5/00789) and by the START 2021 Program of the Foundation for Polish Science (FNP) granted to Aleksandra Zielínskainfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Extraction of bioactive compounds from Curcuma longa L. using deep eutectic solvents: in vitro and in vivo biological activities

In this work, deep eutectic solvents (DES-based menthol and cholinium chloride) and the ethanol, temperature, and times were selected to extract bioactive compounds from the rhizome, leaves, and flowers Curcuma longa L., using ultrasound-assisted extraction. Analyzes antioxidant, flavonoids, antimicrobial, chelation Fe2+, inhibition of the cholinesterase's enzymes, cytotoxicity, and genotoxicity in Allium cepa cells were performed. The extracts showed results of iron chelation and antibacterial. Curcuma flowers and leaves' extracts inhibited food spoilage bacteria with values above 45%, with substantial iron-chelating activity above 50%. Extracts obtained by DES based on menthol and lactic acid exhibited a high percentage of inhibition of acetyl and butyryl cholinesterase. In contrast, flower extracts obtained by menthol and acetic acid showed low inhibition of cholinesterase enzyme activity. No extract showed cytotoxicity and genotoxicity. Biological activities showed a high potential for the application of these extracts in the food and pharmaceutical industries.This study was financed by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - Brasil (CAPES) – Finance Code 001. The authors thank both CAPES for the financial support, the Federal University of Paraná (UFPR) and the Federal University of Technology - Paraná (UTFPR), Labmulti-CM (UTFPR) for the technical support provided. M. R. Mafra and L. Igarashi-Mafra are grateful to the Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq - Grant 310182/2018-2 and 308517/2018-0, respectively).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

DESCRIÇÃO DO DESENVOLVIMENTO PSICOMOTOR EM LACTENTES COM ESTRABISMO: RELATO DE CASO

Introduction: Infant development is a combination of neuromotor, sensory and environmental conditions. The initial signs of psychomotor delay are nonspecific, and impairment in any of the sensory inputs can be expressed by atypical motor development. Vision is one of the main sensory inputs for sensory motor learning, and strabismus and ambioplasia stand out among the visual impairments associated with delay. The aims this study was to describe the initial psychomotor development of 4 full-term infants, with congenital strabismus. Case description: Four squint boys (4-18 months) were evaluated using the Denver II Test and Alberta Children's Motor Scale at three different times, with intervals of 86 ± 34 days between evaluations. All children showed delayed psychomotor development in at least two tests performed. Discussion: Children with congenital strabismus, without a diagnosis of neuromotor abnormalities, showed changes in development. Unfavorable developmental results in strabismus can result from the poor development of binocular vision that impairs spatial and depth perceptions, and can interfere with motor results. Performing instrumented developmental assessments in strabic infants can be an important tool in this monitoring, in order to favor the intervention and minimize future repercussions for the child.Introdução: O desenvolvimento do lactente, é uma combinação de suas condições neuromotoras,sensoriais e ambientais. Os sinais iniciais do atraso psicomotor são inespecíficos, e um prejuízo em quaisquer das entradas sensoriais pode ser expresso por um desenvolvimento motor atípico.  A visão, é um dos principais inputs sensoriais para o aprendizado sensório motor, e o estrabismo e a ambioplia se destacam entre os prejuízos visuais associados ao atraso.O trabalho objetiva descrever o desenvolvimento psicomotor inicial de 4 lactentes a termo, com estrabismo congênito. Descrição dos casos: Quatro meninos estrábicos, (4-18 meses), foram avaliados através do Teste Denver II e Escala Motora Infantil de Alberta em três momentos diferentes, com intervalos de 86 ± 34 dias entre as avaliações. Todas as crianças apresentaram desenvolvimento psicomotor atrasado em pelo menos dois exames realizados. Discussão:Crianças com estrabismo congênito, sem diagnostico de anormalidades neuromotoras, apresentaram alterações no desenvolvimento.Resultados desfavoráveis no desenvolvimento em estrábicos podem decorrer do mal desenvolvimento da visão binocular que prejudica as percepções espaciais e de profundidade, e pode interferir nos resultados motores. A realização de avaliações do desenvolvimento instrumentadas em lactentes estrábicos pode ser uma ferramenta importante nesse acompanhamento, a fim de favorecer a intervenção e minimizar repercussões futuras a criança

Microstructural evaluation by confocal and electron microscopy in thrombi developed in central venous catheters

Abstract OBJECTIVE Evaluating thrombi microstructure developed in central venous catheters using confocal and electron microscopy. METHOD An experimental, descriptive study carrying out a microstructural evaluation of venous thrombi developed in central venous catheters using Scanning Electron Microscopy and Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy. RESULTS A total of 78 venous catheters were collected over a period of three months. Different fibrin structures were distinguished: fibrin plates, fibrin network, and fibrin fibers. It was observed that the thrombus had thick fibrin plates adhered to the catheter wall openings in both a catheter with three days of permanence as well as in a catheter with 20 days of insertion in the patient. However, a greater amount of erythrocytes and fibrin fibers were found in the central region of the thrombus. CONCLUSION This study contributes to improving health care and can have a positive impact on clinical practice, as easy adherence of platelets and fibrins to the catheter wall demonstrated in this study makes it possible to adopt thrombus prevention strategies such as therapy discontinuation for an extended period, blood reflux by a catheter, slow infusion rate and hypercoagulo pathyclinical conditions

Bioactivity of Licaria puchury-major essential oil against Aedes aegypti, Tetranychus urticae and Cerataphis lataniae

The present study was carried out to evaluate an alternative controlling agent for greenhouse pests and the yellow fever mosquito larvae. The potential bioactivity of Licaria puchury-major (Mart.) Kosterm. (“puxuri”) was evaluated here against three most common pests in tropical and subtropical countries: Aedes aegypti Linn. Larvae, Tetranychus urticae Koch. mites and Cerataphis lataniae Boisd. aphids. The essential oil from seeds was analyzed by GC-FID and GC-MS. The major compounds were safrole (38.8%) and eucalyptol (21.7%). Phenylpropanes (51.7%) was the main group of compounds and oxygenated monoterpenes represented 28.8% of the total oil. The essential oil has shown no inhibition of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) in the tested concentrations. However, potential antioxidant activities were evaluated by different methods [DPPH: LD50 = (27.8 ± 1.0) µg/.mL; ABTS: (977.3 ± 25.2) µM TEs/g (Trolox Equivalents); FRAP: (548.2 ± 29.0) µM Fe(II)/g]. A significant larvicidal potential for 24 h of exposure was observed with LD50 = 98.9 µg/mL, being an indicative that the larval mortality may occur by ingestion or contact due to the no inhibition against AChE. Volatile phase effects were evaluated against T. urticae Koch. and C. lataniae Boisd. and LD50 were found about 30.8 and 13.5 µg/mL, respectively. These results are consistent with an octopaminergic effect, since some phenylpropanoids (such as Safrole, identified as the major compound in this work) can block octopamine, a multi-functional, naturally occurring biogenic amine. Then, this study clearly illustrated the efficacy of the investigated seeds, which encourages the development of a new potential natural controlling agent against these common pests due to the abundance of these seeds in the Amazon region and to the high essential oil yield. © 2018 ACG Publications. All rights reserved

High-Fat Feeding Improves Anxiety-Type Behavior Induced by Ovariectomy in Rats

Menopause-induced changes may include increased incidence of both depression/anxiety and obesity. We hypothesized that behavioral changes that may develop after ovarian failure could be related to neurochemical and metabolic aspects affected by this condition and that high-fat intake may influence these associations. The present study investigated in rats the effects of ovariectomy, either alone or combined with high-fat diets enriched with either lard or fish-oil, on metabolic, behavioral and monoaminergic statuses, and on gene expression of neuropeptides and receptors involved in energy balance and mood regulation. Female rats had their ovaries removed and received either standard chow (OvxC) or high-fat diets enriched with either lard (OvxL) or fish-oil (OvxF) for 8 weeks. The Sham group received only chow diet. Ovariectomy increased feed efficiency and body weight gain and impaired glucose homeostasis and serotonin-induced hypophagia, effects either maintained or even accentuated by the lard diet but counteracted by the fish diet. The OvxL group developed obesity and hyperleptinemia. Regarding components of hypothalamic serotonergic system, both ovariectomy alone or combined with the fish diet increased 5-HT2C expression while the lard diet reduced 5-HT1B mRNA. Ovariectomy increased the anxiety index, as derived from the elevated plus maze test, while both high-fat groups showed normalization of this index. In the forced swimming test, ovariectomy allied to high-lard diet, but not to fish-oil diet, reduced the latency to immobility, indicating vulnerability to a depressive-like state. Linear regression analysis showed hippocampal AgRP to be negatively associated with the anxiety index and hypothalamic AgRP to be positively associated with the latency to immobility. These AgRp gene expression associations are indicative of a beneficial involvement of this neuropeptide on both depression and anxiety measures. The present findings demonstrate metabolic, neurochemical and behavioral alterations after ovaries removal and highlight a positive effect of high-fat feeding on the anxiety-like behavior shown by ovariectomized animals. Since the polyunsaturated ômega-3 intake (fish diet), unlike the saturated fat intake (lard diet), failed to induce deleterious metabolic or neurochemical consequences, further studies are needed focusing on the potential of this dietary component as an adjuvant anxiolytic agent after menopause