New Approach to create an Effective Natural Treatments of Infections caused by Human Papillomavirus

Human Papillomavirus (HPV) has a double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) genome. Infections, mainly sexually transmitted, usually resolve spontaneously. However, if the infection persists over time, lesions of the skin and mucous membranes tend to appear, notably mucosal lesions in the cervix or the appearance of warts. Some of those slowly progress to cancers such as cervical, oral, anus, esophagus, and larynx carcinoma. Diagnosis of an HPV infection is made by Papanicolaou test (Pap test) or molecular screening such as the HPV DNA Test. Treatment with natural products is based on essential oils. The main point of this work is to identify natural molecules from vegetal derivation capable of inhibiting the proliferation of HPV-16 with the same and/or superior affinity as regular drugs used in pharmacological treatment. Once we have identified the main components in these plants, we have applied molecular docking software 1-Click Docking, for virtual testing of those, on main antigenic determinants of HPV-16 as oncoproteins E6 and E7 as well as major capsid protein L1. The major active component to bind oncoprotein E6, apigenin, has shown an affinity bigger than other molecules. For major capsid protein L1, apigenin has shown one level of affinity similar to conventional drugs. These results have shown how it is possible, with natural products present in our daily lives, to inhibit the proliferation of HPV

Clients' Perception of Outcome of Team-Based Prenatal and Reproductive Genetic Counseling in Serbian Service Using the Perceived Personal Control (PPC) Questionnaire

This is the first study in Serbia and the region of South-East Europe dedicated to clients' perception of outcome and efficiency of prenatal and reproductive genetic counseling. The primary aim of this study was to assess overall value and success of genetic counseling in prenatal and reproductive care with regard to perceived personal control of clients, reflecting also in a part patient comprehension, knowledge retention, and empowerment in decision-making. The standardized Perceived Personal Control questionnaire (PPC) was used for the assessment of 239 female participants. First, we performed a complete validation of the psychometric characteristics of the Serbian-language version of the PPC questionnaire. The validation of the questionnaire permits other researchers from Serbian-speaking regions of South-East Europe to use this standard instrument to assess the effectiveness of prenatal genetic counseling in their communities and analyze advantages and disadvantages of their counseling models. We also measured social and demographic characteristics of participants. Further, we analyzed effects of our team-based prenatal and reproductive genetic counseling model through (a) calculation of PPC scores at three different stages (before initial, after initial, and before second counseling session), and (b) by assessing participants' responses by indication for referral (advanced maternal age, abnormal biochemical screening, family history of hereditary disorders, maternal exposure to drugs, exposure to radiation, exposure to infective agents, infertility or recurrent abortions, and miscellaneous). The results indicate that participants' knowledge after initial counseling increased significantly and after that remained stable and sustainable. A satisfactory level of confidence among participants had been achieved, in that many felt an increased sense of control over their situation and emotional response to it. Indirectly, these results indicate the success of a team-based prenatal genetic counseling model, which has not been assessed in the literature to date