A comparative safety review of histone deacetylase inhibitors for the treatment of myeloma

Introduction: Dysregulation of histone deacetylase (HDAC) activity is an epigenetic hallmark of multiple myeloma (MM), leading to aberrant gene expression and cellular signaling in myeloma cell growth, survival and resistance to therapy. Hyper-methylation at diagnosis is a frequent observation, which eventually may convert to hypo-methylation during advanced phases.

Areas covered: A literature search on ‘HDAC inhibitors’ and ‘multiple myeloma’ was carried out using PubMed and Google Scholar in the preparation of this overview on clinical efficacy and safety data.

Expert opinion: First-generation non-selective HDAC inhibitors have demonstrated minimal single-agent activity in refractory MM. Subsequently, combination therapy has proven an improvement in progression-free survival (PFS) but not response rates. The main concerns are associated with toxicities. Ongoing studies on new and more selective agents, i.e. Romidepsin or Ricolinostat, are promising in terms of better efficacy and less toxicity.     

Clinical and microbiological profile of adult inpatients with community acquired pneumonia in Ilorin,North Central,Nigeria

BackgroundThe optimal management of community acquired pneumonia (CAP) depends on the clinical and microbiological profile in the locality.ObjectivesTo determine the clinical and microbiological profile of patients admitted with CAP in Ilorin, Nigeria.MethodsOne hundred and two consenting consecutively selected patients with clinical and radiologic confirmation of CAP were recruited in 12 months. The socio-demographic, physical examination and laboratory/radiologic parameters were documented in a questionnaire. Microbiological evaluation of their sputum was done and blood samples were taken for complete blood count, culture, serum urea and serological evaluation for atypical bacteria and some viral pathogens.ResultsCAP constituted 5.9% of the total medical admissions during the one-year study period. The mean age of the patients was 49 ± 22 years with the largest frequency in those aged 65 years and above. The commonest symptoms were shortness of breath (96.1%) and cough (94.1%), with a median duration of 3 days from symptom onset to admission. Systemic hypertension was the commonest comorbid illness (25/102; 24.5%). Klebsiella pneumoniae was the predominant pathogen isolated (20/102; 28.1%). The susceptible antibiotics were Imipenem, Ceftazidime and Ceftriaxone. Intra-hospital mortality was 17.6%. CURB – 65 score of ≥ 2 and the presence of complications of CAP were the independent predictors of mortality.ConclusionCAP constitutes a significant disease burden in Ilorin, Nigeria. Typical bacteria accounted for over half of the pathogens isolated from the patients with gram negative agents predominating. This highlights a possible shift in the microbiological profile which could guide empirical treatment.     

The effects of carnitine supplementation on clinical characteristics of patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

ObjectiveThe beneficial effects of carnitine supplementation on nonalcoholic fatty liver disease are unclear. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the effects of carnitine supplementation on liver function, lipid profile, body mass index, body weight, and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.MethodsA comprehensive search of PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar databases were performed. Only randomized placebo-controlled human studies that examined the effects of carnitine supplementation on liver function, lipid profile, body mass index, body weight, and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance up to September 2019 were included. Fixed effects or random-effects models were applied to compute the pooled effect size. Heterogeneity assessments were performed using Cochran’s Q test and I-squared statistics. The quality of the studies was assessed using the Jaded scale.ResultsA total of 5 articles were selected, including 334 individuals (167 in control and 167 in intervention groups). The results demonstrated that carnitine supplementation significantly reduced homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) (WMD: −0.91; 95 % CI: −1.11, −0.72; p < 0.001, I² = 0.0 %) and the levels of aspartate aminotransferase (AST) (WMD: −16.62; 95 % CI: −28.11, −5.14; IU/l; p = 0.005, I² = 93.5 %), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) (WMD: -33.39; 95 % CI: −45.13, −21.66; IU/l; p < 0.001, I² = 93.4 %), and triglycerides (TG) (WMD: −22.13; 95 % CI: −38.91, −5.34; mg/dl; p = 0.01; I² = 0.0 %). However, the results of the pooled effect size did not show any significant effect of carnitine supplementation on body mass index (BMI) (WMD: 0.07; 95 % CI: −0.15, 0.29; p = 0.55; I² = 0.0 %), body weight (WMD: −0.28; 95 % CI: −2.23, 1.68; p = 0.78; I² = 45.7 %), the levels of gamma-glutamyl transferase (γGT) (WMD: −11.31; 95 % CI: −24.35, 1.73; IU/l; p = 0.09, I² = 61.1 %), cholesterol (WMD: −13.58; 95 % CI: −46.77, 19.60; mg/dl; p = 0.42; I² = 94.9 %), high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) (WMD: 1.36; 95 % CI: −0.96, 3.68; mg/dl; p = 0.25; I² = 64.7 %), and low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) (WMD: −14.85; 95 % CI: −45.43, 15.73; mg/dl; p = 0.34; I² = 96.4 %).ConclusionsThis analysis shows that carnitine supplementation for patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease demonstrates a reduction in AST, ALT, TG levels and HOMA-IR. However, no significant effect of carnitine supplementation was observed on BMI, body weight, the levels of γGT, TC, HDL-cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol.     

Arabic adaptation of the Edinburgh cognitive and behavioural Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis screen (ECAS-AR)

Current screening batteries for assessing neuropsychological function are not specific for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and are considered as limited tools due to the physical disabilities associated with ALS. The Edinburgh Cognitive and Behavioural ALS screen (ECAS) was developed to detect the specific cognitive and behavioral changes that may occur among ALS patients. This study presents the ECAS developed for Arabic-speaking ALS patients (ECAS-AR) for use by healthcare professionals. ECAS was translated and modified to refined variety of Arabic language. Eighty-five ALS patients were included. Normative data were collected from 200 healthy controls (among them 97 were matched). Subjects were administered the ECAS-AR and two conventional cognitive screening batteries, Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB) and Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). ECAS-AR discriminated well between healthy controls and ALS patients. Significant differences were noted in language, executive functions, memory, and visuospatial domains between the two groups. The most prevalent deficit occurred in language and executive functions in ALS-specific functions. Whereas memory was more readily impaired in the lower and middle education groups concerning ALS non-specific functions. Verbal fluency tended to be preserved. Positive correlations were found between ECAS-AR and the standard cognitive tests supporting its full validity. The ECAS-AR version proposed will provide rapid, efficient and sensitive tools for healthcare professional to determine the cognitive-behavioural profile in Arabic-speaking ALS patients.     

上颌前突矫治术后软组织侧貌改变的研究

目的:分析上颌前份节段性骨切开矫治上颌前突术后软组织侧貌改变情况,探讨其稳定性。方法:对21例上颌前份节段性骨切开成年男性患者术前、术后1个月及术后1年的X线头影测量片进行对比研究。结果:术后软组织侧貌改变:上中切牙切缘点Is平均后移6.1±2.7m(mP<0.01),上唇突点Ls平均后移4.6±1.6m(mP<0.01),鼻唇角Cm-Sn-Ls平均增加6.8°±5.6(°P<0.01),上下唇间隙Stms-Stmi平均缩小4.5±3.5m(mP<0.01),露齿程度Is-Stms平均减小2.1±2.2m(mP<0.05),上唇突度减小,上唇厚度、长度及软组织面型角G-Sn-Pgss无显著改变(P<0.05)。术后1年颜面软组织侧貌改变的稳定性与术后早期相比,在水平方向上,所有指标复发率均超过10%。在垂直方向上各项指标复发率均在10%以内。结论:上颌前份节段性骨切开术矫正上颌前突,患者软组织侧貌的改善明显,效果稳定。     

正常生育男性成熟精子mRNA的种类和特征

目的:剖析具有正常生育能力男性成熟精子mRNA的种类和丰度。方法:健康并育有后代的成年男性10例,禁欲1周后取精液,上游法优化精子,Trizol试剂提取精子总RNA。混合所有总RNA进行基因表达系列分析(SAGE)。结果:所建SAGE文库共获877个克隆,测序得到21 052个标签,出现两次以上的独特性标签有2 712种。经与SAGEm ap数据库比对,19.7%的独特性标签没有基因匹配,代表新基因;其余能匹配的基因中,67%具有蛋白质结合或核酸结合能力,41%具有催化活性,13%与信号转导有关,与细胞运输、精子结构、转录调节相关者分别达到10%左右。结论:人成熟精子中存在数量庞大、种类繁多的mRNA。     

Cortical circumferential profile of SPECT cerebral perfusion in Alzheimer''s disease

We developed a semiautomatic method termed “cortical circumferential profiling” for objective analysis of cerebral cortex function in emission tomographic neuroimaging studies. This method treats cortex as a continuous ring near the outer brain edge. A computer algorithm samples the cortex at 60 contiguous, equiangular locations, using 1-cm² samples. These values are plotted as a function of cortical angle to produce the cortical circumferential profile. This method was used in a study of regional cerebral perfusion in 15 patients with Alzheimer's disease and 8 elderly control subjects using N-isopropyl [I-123]-iodoamphetamine. Cortical circumferential profiling decreases variability, examines the entire cortex within slices at preselected levels above the orbital-meatal line, and facilitates intrasubject and intersubject comparisons.     

The effect of seamustard on blood lipid profiles and glucose level of rats fed diet with different energy composition

Recently, Korean people are consuming seaweeds almost 3.5 times more now than three decades ago. It is well known that seaweeds contain lots of soluble dietary fiber in addition to micronutrients such as β-carotene, iodine and some bioactive components. Seaweeds are considered to be effective for preventing chronic diseases including obesity, diabetes mellitus, atherosclerosis, cancer or constipation. This study was conducted to investigate the effect of seamustard intake on body weight gain, blood glucose level and lipid profiles in rats fed diets with different energy nutrient composition. Male Sprague-Dawley rats (average initial weight 103.7 g) were divided into groups for two experiments as follows; Control, M2.5 & M5 groups (Exp. I) and M5, M10, HCM5, HCM10, HFM5 & HFM10 groups (Exp. II). The rats were fed diet and water ad libitum for 4 weeks. In general, there was no significant difference in blood glucose and triglyceride concentration among groups. In Exp. I, serum LDL-cholesterol level of rats fed diet with 5% seamustard powder (M5) was significantly lower than that of control group, while HDL-cholesterol level, TC/LDL ratio and weight of adrenal gland were higher. In Exp. II, food intake, body weight gain and EER of high fat diet with 10% seamustard group (HFM10) were the lowest among groups. Except gastrocnemius muscle, all organ weights of HFM10 group were the lowest. Fecal cholesterol excretion and serum LDL-cholesterol concentration of HFM10 group were the highest, while serum HDL-cholesterol level was the lowest among groups. Interestingly, HDL-cholesterol concentration was the highest in HCM5 group among groups. From these results, it was suggested that seamustard intake might be more effective for body weight control, but not for improving blood lipid profiles in high fat diet than in high carbohydrate diet.