Prevalence of Korean cats with natural feline coronavirus infections

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Feline coronavirus is comprised of two pathogenic biotypes consisting of feline infectious peritonitis virus (FIPV) and feline enteric coronavirus (FECV), which are both divided into two serotypes. To examine the prevalence of Korean cats infected with feline coronavirus (FCoV) type I and II, fecal samples were obtained from 212 cats (107 pet and 105 feral) in 2009.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Fourteen cats were FCoV-positive, including infections with type I FCoV (n = 8), type II FCoV (n = 4), and types I and II co-infection (n = 2). Low seroprevalences (13.7%, 29/212) of FCoV were identified in chronically ill cats (19.3%, 16/83) and healthy cats (10.1%, 13/129).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Although the prevalence of FCoV infection was not high in comparison to other countries, there was a higher prevalence of type I FCoV in Korean felines. The prevalence of FCoV antigen and antibody in Korean cats are expected to gradually increase due to the rising numbers of stray and companion cats.</p

Comparison of the efficacy and complications of endoscopic incisional therapy and balloon dilatation for benign esophageal strictures

Background Benign esophageal strictures are treated endoscopically, often with balloon dilatation (BD) or bougie dilators. However, recurrent esophageal strictures have been reported after BD, and severe complications sometimes occur. The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy and complications of endoscopic incisional therapy (EIT) and BD for benign esophageal strictures. Methods We retrospectively reviewed patients who underwent BD or EIT as primary treatment for benign esophageal strictures between July 2014 and June 2021. Technical success was defined as restoration of the lumen diameter with <30% residual stenosis. Clinical success was defined as no recurrence of dysphagia within 1 month after BD or EIT and an increase of 1 grade or more on the Functional Oral Intake Scale. Results Thirty patients with benign esophageal stricture were enrolled. There were 16 patients in the BD group and 14 patients in the EIT group. No significant differences in technical and clinical success rates were found between the two groups. Furthermore, no significant differences in the re-stricture rate were observed between the groups. There was one complication in the EIT group and three complications in the BD group. Three patients who underwent BD had re-stricture and underwent EIT thereafter, and we regrouped patients who underwent EIT at least once. The clinical success rate was significantly higher in patients regrouped to the EIT group than in patients who underwent BD only. Conclusions EIT is not inferior to BD as the primary treatment for benign esophageal strictures, especially for recurrent cases

Skills in Handling Turbuhaler, Diskus, and Pressurized Metered-Dose Inhaler in Korean Asthmatic Patients

Purpose: The objective of this study was to evaluate skills in handling inhalers and factors associated with these skills among patients with asthma who had undergone treatment at special asthma and allergy clinics in Korea. Methods: We enrolled 78 subjects who used Turbuhaler and 145 who used Diskus for asthma control at special clinics in 10 university hospitals and visually assessed their skills in handling these inhalers. We also evaluated skills in 137 subjects who had used pressurized metered-dose inhalers (pMDIs) for symptom relief. Age, sex, duration of asthma and inhaler use, smoking status, monthly income, highest grade completed in school and previous instruction for handling inhalers were also measured to evaluate their association with overall inhaler skills. Results: Performance grade was inadequate for 12.8% of participants using Turbuhaler, 6.2% for Diskus, and 23.4% for pMDIs. The success rates for each step in handling the inhalers were relatively high except for the &quot;exhale slowly to residual volume&quot; step, in which success rates ranged from 24.2% to 28.5%. Older age, male sex, lower educational grade, and absence of previous instruction for handling inhalers were associated with inadequate inhaler technique in univariate analysis; however, only older age and absence of previous instruction remained significant independent risk factors in multivariate analysis. Conclusions: Among Korean asthmatic patients in special asthma and allergy clinics, skills in handling their inhalers were mostly excellent; meanwhile, older age and absence of previous instruction for handling inhalers were associated with inadequate techniques

Bio-Inspired and Smart Nanoparticles for Triple Negative Breast Cancer Microenvironment

Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) with poor prognosis and aggressive nature accounts for 10–20% of all invasive breast cancer (BC) cases and is detected in as much as 15% of individuals diagnosed with BC. Currently, due to the absence of the estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and human epidermal growth factor 2 (HER2) receptor, there is no hormone-based therapy for TNBC. In addition, there are still no FDA-approved targeted therapies for patients with TNBC. TNBC treatment is challenging owing to poor prognosis, tumor heterogeneity, chemotherapeutic side effects, the chance of metastasis, and multiple drug-resistance. Therefore, various bio-inspired tumor-homing nano systems responding to intra- and extra- cellular stimuli are an urgent need to treat TNBC patients who do not respond to current chemotherapy. In this review, intensive efforts have been made for exploring cell-membrane coated nanoparticles and immune cell-targeted nanoparticles (immunotherapy) to modulate the tumor microenvironment and deliver accurate amounts of therapeutic agents to TNBC without stimulating the immune system

Alveolar macrophage phagocytosis-evading inhaled microgels incorporating nintedanib-PLGA nanoparticles and pirfenidone-liposomes for improved treatment of pulmonary fibrosis

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a chronic inflammatory and fibrotic response-driven lung disease that is difficult to cure because it manifests excessive profibrotic cytokines (e.g., TGF-β), activated myofibroblasts, and accumulated extracellular matrix (ECM). In an attempt to develop an inhalation formulation with enhanced antifibrotic efficacy, we sought to fabricate unique aerosolizable inhaled microgels (μGel) that contain nintedanib-poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanoparticles (NPs; n-PN) and pirfenidone-liposomes (p-LP). The aero-μGel was ∼12 μm, resisted phagocytosis by alveolar macrophages in vitro and in vivo, and protected inner-entrapped n-PN and p-LP. The n-PN/p-LP@aero-μGel caused enhanced/extended antifibrotic efficacy in a bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis mouse presumably due to prolonged lung residence. Consequently, the results obtained by intratracheal aerosol insufflation of our n-PN/p-LP@aero-μGel twice a week were much better than those by as many as seven doses of single or mixed applications of n-PN or p-LP. The antifibrotic/pharmacokinetic results for the n-PN/p-LP@aero-μGel included reduced fibrosis progression, restored lung physiological functions, deactivated myofibroblasts, inhibited TGF-β progression, and suppressed ECM component production (collagen I and α-SMA) along with prolonged lung retention time. We believe that our n-PN/p-LP@aero-μGel increased the local availability of both nintedanib and pirfenidone due to evasion of alveolar macrophage phagocytosis and prolonged lung retention with reduced systemic distribution. Through this approach, our inhalation formulation subsequently attenuated fibrosis progression and improved lung function. Importantly, these results hold profound implications in the therapeutic potential of our n-PN/p-LP@aero-μGel to serve as a clinically promising platform, providing significant advancements for improved treatment of many respiratory diseases including IFP

Design, Synthesis, and Therapeutic Evaluation of Poly(acrylic acid)–tetraDOCA Conjugate as a Bile Acid Transporter Inhibitor

Regulation of cholesterol and bile acid homeostasis has been attracting attention as a pharmaceutical target for the treatment of diseases, such as hypercholesterolaemia and type 2 diabetes. In recent years, small bile acid analogues have been developed for the purpose of apical sodium-dependent bile acid transporter (ASBT) inhibition. Here, we designed a novel hydrophilic ASBT inhibitor using oligomeric bile acid with a high affinity with ASBT. Polyacrylic acid–tetraDOCA conjugates (PATD) have the ability to bind to ASBT in order to induce hypocholesterolemic effects. Both the viability and the functionality of PATD were evaluated in vitro, showing that PATDs were effective in inhibiting the increases of cholesterol in the blood and oil in the liver induced by high fat diet (HFD). The results indicated that the newly developed biomaterials with oligomeric bile acids and a hydrophilic polymer are potent therapeutic agents for hyperlipidemia