Autonomic Dysfunction Because of Severe Tetanus in an Unvaccinated Child

Tetanus is rare in a country with a national vaccination program. When it does occur, the associated autonomic dysfunction is a challenge for physicians. We report here a case of an unvaccinated 5-year-old boy who suffered from tetanus complicated by autonomic dysfunction, which was successfully controlled by the infusion of magnesium sulfate. This is the first case that demonstrated the therapeutic effect of magnesium sulfate in a child with tetanus. This case highlights the importance of implementing a vaccination program

Evaluation of a Technological Image-Based Dietary Assessment Tool for Children during Pubertal Growth: A Pilot Study

We designed an image-based dietary assessment tool called COFIT, which means “fit together” and pilot-tested it in the Taipei Puberty Longitudinal Study (TPLS). Children aged 6–17 years were invited to use COFIT over three days for recording all instances of eating in addition to maintaining written food records (FR). Spearman’s correlation and Bland–Altman analysis were used to compare the intake of macronutrients and micronutrients estimated using the image-based dietary assessment and the FR method. Intra-class correlation coefficients were used to estimate reliability between dietitians. In the final analysis, 23 children (mean age: 10.47 ± 0.47 years) with complete data obtained using two dietary assessment methods were included. Reliability among dietitians was high. Most assessments of macronutrients and micronutrients revealed moderate correlations between the two methods (range: 0.27–0.94); moreover, no significant differences in nutrients assessments were observed between the two methods, except for energy and fat. The average difference in energy intake between the methods was 194 kcal/day. Most limits of agreement were within an acceptable range. The Bland–Altman plots showed robust agreement with minimum bias. The limitation was the small sample size and not dividing the population into children and teenagers since the two groups may have different food consumption habits. Overall, the results showed that the image-based assessment tool is suitable for assessing children’s dietary intake of macronutrients and micronutrients during pubertal growth

Autophagy-inducing effect of pterostilbene: A prospective therapeutic/preventive option for skin diseases

Pterostilbene is a naturally occurring analog of resveratrol with many health benefits. These health benefits are associated with its antioxidant activity, anti-inflammatory effects, and chemopreventive effects attributed to its unique structure. The skin cancer chemopreventive potential of pterostilbene is supported by a variety of mechanistic studies confirming the anti-inflammatory effects in skin cancer models. Molecular biological studies have identified that pterostilbene targets pleotropic signaling pathways, including those involved in mitogenesis, cell cycle regulation, and apoptosis. Recently, pterostilbene has been reported to induce autophagy in cancer and normal cells. Through autophagy induction, the inflammatory-related skin diseases can be attenuated. This finding suggests the potential use of pterostilbene in the treatment and prevention of skin disorders via alleviating inflammatory responses by autophagy induction. This review summarizes the protective and therapeutic benefits of pterostilbene in skin diseases from the viewpoint of its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and autophagy-inducing effects. Novel underlying mechanisms regarding these effects are discussed. We proposed that pterostilbene, a promising natural product, can be used as a preventive and therapeutic agent for inflammation-related skin disorders through induction of autophagy

Alpha-Mangostin Reduces Pericellular Fibronectin on Suspended Tumor Cells and Therapeutically, but Not Prophylactically, Suppresses Distant Metastasis

Major cancer deaths can be ascribed to distant metastasis to which the assembly of pericellular fibronectin (periFN) on suspended tumor cells (STCs) in the bloodstream that facilitate endothelial attachment can lead. Even though mangosteen pericarps (MP) extracts and the major component α-mangostin (α-MG) exhibit potent cancer chemopreventive properties, whether they can prophylactically and therapeutically be used as dietary nutraceuticals to prevent distant metastasis by suppressing periFN assembly on STCs within the circulation remains obscure. Immunofluorescence staining, MTT assays, flow cytometric assays, immunoblotting, and experimental metastasis mouse models were used to detect the effects of MP extracts or α-MG on periFN on STCs, tumor cell proliferation and apoptosis, the AKT activity, and tumor lung metastasis. The periFN assembly on STCs was significantly diminished upon treatments of STCs with either α-MG or MP extracts in a dose-dependent manner without inhibiting cell proliferation and viability due to increased AKT activity. Pretreatment of STCs with α-MG appeared to suppress tumor lung metastasis and prolong mouse survival rates. Oral gavage with MP extracts could therapeutically, but not prophylactically, prevent lung metastasis of STCs. We concluded that MP extracts or the major component α-MG may therapeutically serve as a potent anti-metastatic nutraceutical

Liposome Consolidated with Cyclodextrin Provides Prolonged Drug Retention Resulting in Increased Drug Bioavailability in Brain

Although butylidenephthalide (BP) is an efficient anticancer drug, its poor bioavailability renders it ineffective for treating drug-resistant brain tumors. However, this problem is overcome through the use of noninvasive delivery systems, including intranasal administration. Herein, the bioavailability, drug stability, and encapsulation efficiency (EE, up to 95%) of BP were improved by using cyclodextrin-encapsulated BP in liposomal formulations (CDD1). The physical properties and EE of the CDD1 system were investigated via dynamic light scattering, transmission electron microscopy, UV–Vis spectroscopy, and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The cytotoxicity was examined via MTT assay, and the cellular uptake was observed using fluorescence microscopy. The CDD1 system persisted for over 8 h in tumor cells, which was a considerable improvement in the retention of the BP-containing cyclodextrin or the BP-containing liposomes, thereby indicating a higher BP content in CDD1. Nanoscale CDD1 formulations were administered intranasally to nude mice that had been intracranially implanted with temozolomide-resistant glioblastoma multiforme cells, resulting in increased median survival time. Liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry revealed that drug biodistribution via intranasal delivery increased the accumulation of BP 10-fold compared to oral delivery methods. Therefore, BP/cyclodextrin/liposomal formulations have potential clinical applications for treating drug-resistant brain tumors

Autophagy-inducing effect of pterostilbene: A prospective therapeutic/preventive option for skin diseases.

[[abstract]]Pterostilbene is a naturally occurring analog of resveratrol with many health benefits. These health benefits are associated with its antioxidant activity, anti-inflammatory effects, and chemopreventive effects attributed to its unique structure. The skin cancer chemopreventive potential of pterostilbene is supported by a variety of mechanistic studies confirming the anti-inflammatory effects in skin cancer models. Molecular biological studies have identified that pterostilbene targets pleotropic signaling pathways, including those involved in mitogenesis, cell cycle regulation, and apoptosis. Recently, pterostilbene has been reported to induce autophagy in cancer and normal cells. Through autophagy induction, the inflammatory-related skin diseases can be attenuated. This finding suggests the potential use of pterostilbene in the treatment and prevention of skin disorders via alleviating inflammatory responses by autophagy induction. This review summarizes the protective and therapeutic benefits of pterostilbene in skin diseases from the viewpoint of its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and autophagy-inducing effects. Novel underlying mechanisms regarding these effects are discussed. We proposed that pterostilbene, a promising natural product, can be used as a preventive and therapeutic agent for inflammation-related skin disorders through induction of autophagy