Recent advances on diagnosis and management of childhood asthma and food allergies

The epidemic of childhood allergic disorders has been associated to the decline of infectious disease. However, exposure to many triggers (airborne viruses, tobacco smoke, pollution, indoor allergens, etc.) contribute to the disease. Breast feeding practices, nutrition, dietary and obesity also play a multifaceted role in shaping the observed worldwide trends of childhood allergies. Guidelines for treatment are available, but their implementation is suboptimal. Then developed countries are slowing learning integrating the development of suitable guidelines with implementation plans. Awareness, psychosocial and family factors strongly influence asthma and food allergy control. Moreover, monitoring tools are necessary to facilitate self-management. By taking into consideration these and many other pragmatic aspects, national public health programs to control the allergic epidemic have been successful in reducing its impact and trace the need for future research in the area.     

Use of casting tape for support of an extraoral impression

This article describes a technique for using casting tape to support irreversible hydrocolloid material when making extraoral impressions to increase patient comfort, save time, and produce less tissue distortion.     

Steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome: pharmacogenetics and epigenetic points and views

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Glucocorticoids (GCs) are the first-line therapy for patients with nephrotic syndrome (NS), a common glomerular disease, that cause complete remission in most of the cases. In response to the treatment, NS patients are divided into glucocorticoid-sensitive and -resistant. This variation is due to the differences in pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of GCs in each patient that affect the response to the treatment modality. Since the genetic variations in drug-metabolizing enzymes and transporter proteins significantly impact the pharmacokinetics, efficacy and safety of the applied medications, this review highlights the basic mechanisms of genetic variations involved in GCs metabolism in drug-resistant NS patients.

Areas covered: This review explains the pharmacogenetic variations that influence the profile of GCs responses and their pharmacokinetics in NS patients. Moreover, the epigenetic variations including histone modifications and miRNA gene regulation that have an influence on GCs responses will review. A comprehensive literature search was performed using different keywords to the reviewed topics.

Expert opinion: The accumulative data suggest the importance of pharmacogenetic studies to develop personalized therapies and increase the GCs responsiveness in these patients. It is imperative to know that genetic testing does not give absolute answers to all existing questions in steroid resistance.     

A Dual Impression Technique for Implant Overdentures

This article describes a technique for a two-stage selective pressure impression with a custom tray for implant-retained, tissue-supported overdentures.     

Global Prevalence of Anemia in Pregnant Women: A Comprehensive Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Maternal and Child Health Journal - Anemia is one of the most critical health conditions affecting people worldwide. The disease is silent, with a slow progression and a few physical symptoms....     

The lactate dehydrogenase-elevating virus capsid protein is a nuclear–cytoplasmic protein

Arteriviruses replicate in the cytoplasm and do not require the nucleus function for virus multiplication in vitro. However, nucleocapsid (N) protein of two arteriviruses, porcine reproductive respiratory syndrome virus and equine arteritis virus, has been observed to localize in the nucleus and nucleolus of virus-infected and N-gene-transfected cells in addition to their normal cytoplasmic distribution. In the present study, the N protein of lactate dehydrogenase-elevating virus (LDV) of mice was examined for nuclear localization. The subcellular localization of LDV-N was determined by tagging N with enhanced green fluorescence protein (EGFP) at the N- and C-terminus. Both N-EGFP and EGFP-N fusion proteins localized to the nucleus and nucleolus of gene-transfected cells. Labeled N also accumulated in the perinuclear region, the site of virus replication. The LDV-N sequence contains a putative ‘pat4’-type nuclear localization signal (NLS) consisting of 38-KKKK. To determine its functional significance, a series of deletion constructs of N were generated and individually expressed in cells. The results showed that the ‘pat4’ NLS was essential for nuclear translocation. In addition, the LDV-N interacted with the importin-α and -β proteins, suggesting that the LDV-N nuclear localization may occur via the importin-mediated nuclear transport pathway. These results provide further evidence for the nuclear localization of N as a common feature within the arteriviruses.     

The effects of smoking on female sexual dysfunction: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Archives of Women's Mental Health - The increased number of female smokers is considered a global health challenge in recent years. One of the detrimental effects of smoking is sexual hormone...