Cyclooxygenase Inhibition Safety and Efficacy in Inflammation-Based Psychiatric Disorders

According to the World Health Organization, the major psychiatric and neurodevelopmental disorders include major depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and autism spectrum disorder. The potential role of inflammation in the onset and progression of these disorders is increasingly being studied. The use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), well-known cyclooxygenase (COX) inhibitors, combined with first-choice specific drugs have been long investigated. The adjunctive administration of COX inhibitors to classic clinical treatments seems to improve the prognosis of people who suffer from psychiatric disorders. In this review, a broad overview of the use of COX inhibitors in the treatment of inflammation-based psychiatric disorders is provided. For this purpose, a critical analysis of the use of COX inhibitors in the last ten years of clinical trials of the major psychiatric disorders was carried out

K Index in cerebrospinal fluid: a valid tool in multiple sclerosis diagnosis

Detection of oligoclonal IgG bands in cerebrospinal fluid by isoelectrocfocusing and immunodetection is the current gold standard to detect an inflammatory process in the central nervous system. It has been proposed that the presence of free light chains (FLCs) in CSF was associated with recent demyelination activity in MS and might be used as a prognosis marker. Our study’s objective is assessing the diagnostic accuracy of a new highly sensitive latex-enhanced nephelometric assay for k free light chain (kFLC) determination in CSF/serum as an alternative to traditional tests and its clinical application. Methods. kFLCs were measured in CSF/serum pairs from 80 patients by the use of a new highly sensitive latex-enhanced nephelometric automated immunoassay for detection of immunoglobulin FLC. The eighty patients were split into three groups according to the neurological diagnosis. In this study we confirm even more the use of the k Index as a diagnostic aid in multiple sclerosis. Results. kFLC Index seems to be more accurate parameter respect the determination of oligoclonal immunoglobulin bands (OCBs). We recalculate the K Index sensitivity and specificity respect the precedent published result. Two patients previously diagnosed with leukoencephalopathy have gone to group 3 as confirmed the diagnosis of MS. Conclusions. These new data reinforce even more the use of the k Index to diagnose MS in comparison to classical methods and to the reference method, the OCBs

The Link Among Neurological Diseases: Extracellular Vesicles as a Possible Brain Injury Footprint

Extracellular vesicles (EVs), referred as membranous vesicles released into body fluids from all cell types, represent a novel model to explain some aspects of the inter-cellular cross talk. It has been demonstrated that the EVs modify the phenotype of target cells, acting through a large spectrum of mechanisms. In the central nervous system, the EVs are responsible of the wide range of physiological processes required for normal brain function and neuronal support, such as immune signaling, cellular proliferation, differentiation, and senescence. Growing evidences link the EV functions to the pathogenic machinery of the neurological diseases, contributing to the disease progression and spreading. Extracellular vesicles are involved in the brain injury by multimodal ways; they propagate inflammation across the blood brain barrier (BBB), mediate neuroprotection and modulate regenerative processes. For these reasons, extracellular vesicles represent a promising biomarker in neurological disorders as well as an interesting starting point for the development of novel therapeutic strategies. Herein, we review the role of the EVs in the pathogenesis of neurological disease, discussing their potential clinical applications

Chromatographic determination of 12 dyes in meat products by HPLC-UV-DIODE array detection

The use of food dyes in meat is regulated by the current European and non-European legislation, due to several food safety concerns. A reliable method for the quali-quantitative determination of 12 food dyes (Amaranth, Ponceau 4R, Carmine, Ponceau SX, Ponceau 3R, Allura Red AC, Carmoisine, Erythrosine, Sudan I, Sudan II, Sudan III and Sudan IV) in meat products, by high performance liquid chromatography coupled to UV diode array detection is presented. The extraction was accomplished by using acetonitrile, methanol, water, and ammonia, 50:40:9:1 (v/v/v/v) as the solvent and ultrasonic bath. The chromatographic separation was obtained with a C18 RP column eluted by a gradient of acetate buffer/acetonitrile. Good analytical performances characterized this method (Table 1), in terms of selectivity, sensitivity, accuracy and ruggedness. Both method precision (CV% range: 6%-15%) and recovery percentages (range: 86%-105%) resulted in compliance with Decision 2002/657/EC, and the expanded measurement uncertainties, estimated by a bottom-up approach, were in the range 6%-20%. All these results demonstrated that the procedure can be applied successfully for confirmation analyses of commercial meat products. •12 food dyes were determined in meat by new HPLC/UV-DAD method.•The analytical method was fully validated for accurate confirmation analyses.•Method accuracy, sensitivity, selectivity and ruggedness resulted satisfactory

Improving cuff-less continuous blood pressure estimation with linear regression analysis

In this work, the authors investigate the cuff-less estimation of continuous BP through pulse transit time (PTT) and heart rate (HR) using regression techniques, which is intended as a first step towards continuous BP estimation with a low error, according to AAMI guidelines. Hypertension (the 'silent killer') is one of the main risk factors for cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), which are the main cause of death worldwide. Its continuous monitoring can offer a valid tool for patient care, as blood pressure (BP) is a significant indicator of health and, using it together with other parameters, such as heart and breath rates, could strongly improve prevention of CVDs. The novelties introduced in this work are represented by the implementation of pre-processing and by the innovative method for features research and features processing to continuously monitor blood pressure in a non-invasive way. Currently, invasive methods are the only reliable methods for continuous monitoring, while non-invasive techniques measure the values every few minutes. The proposed approach can be considered the first step for the integration of these types of algorithms on wearable devices, in particular on those developed for the SINTEC project

Investigation of fennel protein extracts by shot-gun Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry

A rapid shot-gun method by Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR-MS) is proposed for the characterization of fennel proteins. After enzymatic digestion with trypsin, few microliters of extract were analyzed by direct infusion in positive ion mode. A custom-made non-redundant fennel-specific proteome database was derived from the well-known NCBI database; additional proteins belonging to recognized allergenic sources (celery, carrot, parsley, birch, and mugwort) were also included in our database, since patients hypersensitive to these plants could also suffer from fennel allergy. The peptide sequence of each protein from that derived list was theoretically sequenced to produce calculated m/z lists of possible m/z ions after tryptic digestions. Then, by using a home-made Matlab algorithm, those lists were matched with the experimental FT-ICR mass spectrum of the fennel peptide mixture. Finally, Peptide Mass Fingerprint searches confirmed the presence of the matched proteins inside the fennel extract with a total of 70 proteins (61 fennel specific and 9 allergenic proteins)

Second- and Third-Line Chemotherapy in Advanced Gastric Cancer: a Real-Life Clinical Picture

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