Structural and pharmacological profile of generic enoxaparins used in Brazil

Generic active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) have been commonly used in Brazil, since 1999, but most of them are synthetic and small molecules. Recently, a large number of generic enoxaparins were introduced into the market raising concerns related to product-to-product interchangeability, efficiency, and drug counterfeiting. These drugs are produced from biological sources and their production involves complex procedures and purification processes. The present article evaluates several generic enoxaparins, structurally and pharmacologically, and compares them with the branded products. Structural analysis showed that the generic products are, indeed, quite similar to the branded products, however, this similarity cannot be extended to their pharmacological activities. The results showed that generic products must go through extensive structural, pharmacological, and clinical evaluation in order to assess their quality, efficacy and, ultimately, avoid drug counterfeiting before clinical use. Variation was also observed between the branded products, showing that such drugs must be at constant surveillance.     

The impact of hemodialysis on retinal and choroidal thickness in patients with chronic renal failure

International Ophthalmology - Patients with chronic renal failure are commonly cared using a blood filtration mechanism like hemodialysis. Little information is available regarding ocular changes...     

Trans-fracture transposition of the radial nerve during the open approach of humeral shaft fractures

The radial nerve constitutes a major problem in humeral shaft fractures; it may be injured immediately or during closed reduction or open reduction and internal fixation with plate and screws. After fixation, the nerve always runs directly over the plate without any interposed structure. If a revision surgery is indicated, the nerve is at high risk as it is usually difficult to dissect from surrounding fibrotic scar tissue or callus formation. To avoid these complications, some authors reported transposition of the radial nerve through the fracture line. We present herein the surgical technique of the trans-fracture transposition of the radial nerve during open reduction and internal fixation of humeral shaft fractures, along with our preliminary results in 6 cases and a review of the literature.     

Association of microRNAs genes polymorphisms with rheumatoid arthritis in Egyptian female patients

ObjectiveTo investigate whether miRNA-499 (rs3746444) and miRNA-146a (rs2910164) genes polymorphisms are independent factors for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in Egyptians, and whether they influence disease severity and activity.MethodsTwo hundred and seventeen RA patients and 245 healthy controls were enrolled in this study. Polymorphisms of miRNA-146a and miRNA-499 genes were detected using polymerase chain reaction restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP).ResultsThe miRNA-499 CT genotype was an independent factor of RA. The miRNA-499 CT, CC genotypes and C allele frequencies were significantly increased in erosive RA group. Moreover, the heterozygote CT had more severe and more active form of the disease compared with homozygote CC or TT. However, we did not find any significant association of miRNA-146a polymorphism with RA risk, severity, and activity.ConclusionThe miRNA-499 polymorphism is an independent factor of RA, and influences disease severity and activity.     

Assessment of cardiac mass from tagged magnetic resonance images

Purpose

Tagged and cine magnetic resonance imaging (tMRI and cMRI) techniques are used for evaluating regional and global heart function, respectively. Measuring global function parameters directly from tMRI is challenging due to the obstruction of the anatomical structure by the tagging pattern. The purpose of this study was to develop a method for processing the tMRI images to improve the myocardium-blood contrast in order to estimate global function parameters from the processed images.

Materials and methods

The developed method consists of two stages: (1) removing the tagging pattern based on analyzing and modeling the signal distribution in the image’s k-space, and (2) enhancing the blood-myocardium contrast based on analyzing the signal intensity variability in the two tissues. The developed method is implemented on images from twelve human subjects.

Results

Ventricular mass measured with the developed method showed good agreement with that measured from gold-standard cMRI images. Further, preliminary results on measuring ventricular volume using the developed method are presented.

Conclusion

The promising results in this study show the potential of the developed method for evaluating both regional and global heart function from a single set of tMRI images, with associated reduction in scan time and patient discomfort.