Common trace elements alleviate pain in an experimental mouse model

Trace elements represent a group of essential metals or metaloids necessary for life, present in minute amounts. Analgesic adjuvants can enhance the effect of other pain drugs or be used for pain control themselves. Previous studies on the effects of trace elements on nociception and their potential use as analgesic adjuvants have yielded conflicting results. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that three vital trace elements (Zn²⁺, Mg²⁺, Cu²⁺) have direct antinociceptive effects. Groups of eight Swiss mice were intraperitoneally (i.p) injected with incremental concentrations of Zn²⁺ sulfate (0.5, 2.0 mg/kg), Zn²⁺ citrate (0.125, 0.5 mg/kg), Mg²⁺ chloride (37.5, 75, 150 mg/kg), Cu²⁺ chloride (0.5, 1.0, 2.0 mg/kg), and Cu²⁺ sulfate (0.5, 1.0 mg/kg) or saline (control). Evaluations were made by hot plate (HP) and tail flick (TF) tests for central antinociceptive effect, writhing test (WT) for visceral antinociceptive effect, and activity cage (AC) test for spontaneous behavior. Zn²⁺ induced pain inhibition in HP/TF tests (up to 17%) and WT (up to 25%), with no significant differences among the salts used. Mg²⁺ salts induced pain inhibition for all performed tests (up to 85% in WT). Cu²⁺ salts showed antinociceptive effects for HP/TF (up to 28.6%) and WT (57.28%). Only Mg²⁺ and Cu²⁺ salts have displayed significant effects in AC (Mg²⁺ anxiolytic/depressant effect; Cu²⁺ anxiolytic effect). We interpret these data to mean that all tested trace elements induced antinociceptive effects in central and visceral pain tests. Our data indicate the potential use of these cheap adjuvants in pain therapy. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Correction to: Factors Contributing to Psychological Ill#Effects and Resilience of Caregivers of Children with Developmental Disabilities During a Nation#wide Lockdown During the COVID#19 Pandemic

Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders -     

Opioidrotation bei „mixed pain“ in der Tumorschmerztherapie

Wiener Medizinische Wochenschrift - Im vorliegenden Fallbericht wird die Situation einer 67-jährigen chronischen Schmerzpatientin geschildert, die aufgrund eines Zufallsbefundes mit der...     

C3 Glomerulopathy and post-infectious glomerulonephritis define a disease spectrum

Background

Post-infectious glomerulonephritis (PIGN) usually follows a benign course, but few children have an atypical, severe presentation, and these exceptional cases have been linked to the dysregulation of the complement alternative pathway (CAP). There is a considerable overlap in the histopathological features of PIGN and C3 glomerulopathy (C3G), which is also associated with CAP dysregulation but has a poorer outcome. We hypothesized that PIGN and C3G define a disease spectrum, and that in the past there may be some children with C3G who were misclassified with PIGN before C3G was described as a separate disease entity.

Methods

Children with PIGN (n?=?33) diagnosed between 1985 and 2010 who underwent a renal biopsy due to their unusual course were reviewed and of them, 8 were reclassified into C3G based on the current classification criteria. Outcome was based on the degree of proteinuria, C3 level, and renal function at follow-up.

Results

Sixteen (72.7%) children with typical PIGN recovered completely as compared to only 2 (25%) with C3G. Of note, children with “typical” PIGN had a more severe disease course at onset; however, the outcome at last follow up was favorable.

Conclusions

Our results support the hypothesis that PIGN and C3G form a disease spectrum and have different long-term clinical implications and management strategies.

     

Procalcitonin kinetics – prognostic and diagnostic significance in septic patients

Introduction

Severe sepsis and septic shock are advanced clinical conditions representing the patient''s response to infection and having a variable but high mortality rate. Early evaluation of sepsis stage and choice of adequate treatment are key factors for survival. Some study results suggest the necessity of daily procalcitonin (PCT) monitoring because of its prognostic and discriminative value.

Material and methods

An observational and prospective study was conducted to evaluate the prognostic and discriminative value of PCT kinetics in comparison to PCT absolute value measurements. In a group of 50 intensive care unit patients with diagnosis of severe sepsis or septic shock, serum PCT measurements were performed on admission, and on the 2^nd, 3^rd and 5^th day of therapy. The level of PCT was determined with a commercially available test according to the manufacturer''s protocol.

Results

The kinetics of PCT assessed by ΔPCT was statistically significant in the survivors vs. the non-survivors subgroup (ΔPCT_3/1, p = 0.022; ΔPCT_5/1, p = 0.021). ΔPCT has no statistical significance in the severe sepsis and septic shock subgroups for all analyzed days. Only the 5^th day PCT level was significantly higher in the non-survivors vs. survivors group (p = 0.008). The 1^st day PCT level in the severe sepsis vs. septic shock group has a discriminative impact (p = 0.009).

Conclusions

According to the results, single serum PCT measurement, regardless of absolute value, has a discriminative impact but no prognostic significance, during the first 2 days of therapy. The PCT kinetics is of prognostic value from the 3^rd day and is of earlier prognostic significance in comparison to changes in the patient''s clinical condition evaluated by SOFA score kinetics.     

Investigational therapies targeting CD37 for the treatment of B-cell lymphoid malignancies

Introduction: While chemotherapy still remains a cornerstone of oncologic therapy, immunotherapy with monoclonal antibodies has steadily improved the treatment strategy for several hematologic malignancies. New treatment options need to be developed for relapsed and refractory non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) patients. Currently, novel agents targeting specific molecules on the surface of lymphoma cells, such as anti-CD37 antibodies, are under considerable investigation. Here we report on anti-CD37 targeting for the treatment of patients with B-cell NHL.

Areas covered: CD37 seems to be the perfect therapeutic target in patients with NHL. The CD37 antigen is abundantly expressed in B-cells, but is absent on normal stem cells and plasma cells. It is hoped that anti-CD37 monoclonal antibodies will increase the efficacy and reduce toxicity in patients with both newly diagnosed and relapsed and refractory disease. Recent clinical trials have shown promising outcomes for these agents, administered both as monotherapy and in combination with standard chemotherapeutics.

Expert opinion: The development of new therapeutic options might help to avoid cytotoxic chemotherapy entirely in some clinical settings. This article presents the latest state of the art on the new treatment strategies in NHL patients. It also discusses recently approved agents and available clinical trial data.