Effect of deuteration on the single dose pharmacokinetic properties and postoperative analgesic activity of methadone

Although methadone is effective in the management of acute pain, the complexity of its absorption-distribution-metabolism-excretion profile limits its use as an opioid of choice for perioperative analgesia. Because deuteration is known to improve the pharmacokinetic, pharmacodynamic and toxicological properties of some drugs, here we characterized the single dose pharmacokinetic properties and post-operative analgesic efficacy of d₉-methadone.The pharmacokinetic profiles of d₉-methadone and methadone administered intravenously to CD-1 male mice revealed that deuteration leads to a 5.7- and 4.4-fold increase in the area under the time-concentration curve and maximum concentration in plasma, respectively, as well as reduction in clearance (0.9 ± 0.3 L/h/kg vs 4.7 ± 0.8 L/h/kg). The lower brain-to-plasma ratio of d₉-methadone compared to that of methadone (0.35 ± 0.12 vs 2.05 ± 0.62) suggested that deuteration decreases the transfer of the drug across the blood-brain barrier. The estimated LD₅₀ value for a single intravenous dose of d₉-methadone was 2.1-fold higher than that for methadone. Moreover, d₉-methadone outperformed methadone in the efficacy against postoperative pain by primarily activating peripheral opioid receptors. Collectively, these data suggest that the replacement of three hydrogen atoms in three methyl groups of methadone altered its pharmacokinetic properties, improved safety, and enhanced its analgesic efficacy.     

肥胖型PCOS患者的生物学特征和临床特征

多囊卵巢综合征（polycystic ovary syndrome,PCOS）是一种内分泌代谢紊乱综合征,临床表现高度异质性。肥胖是PCOS异质性临床表现之一,超过50%的PCOS患者超重或肥胖。肥胖型PCOS主要表现为高雄激素血症、中心型肥胖和糖脂代谢紊乱,非肥胖型PCOS主要表现为黄体生成激素（luteinizing hormone,LH）水平异常升高。尽管肥胖型和非肥胖型PCOS均存在内分泌代谢异常,然而肥胖可加重PCOS糖脂代谢紊乱;肥胖型PCOS还表现脂肪代谢的异常。综述肥胖型PCOS患者的临床特征、性激素水平、糖脂代谢特征,旨在为肥胖型和非肥胖型PCOS患者新的分型诊治提供参考。     

Recent advances in lipid nanoparticles for delivery of nucleic acid,mRNA, and gene editing-based therapeutics

Lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) are becoming popular as a means of delivering therapeutics, including those based on nucleic acids and mRNA. The mRNA-based coronavirus disease 2019 vaccines are perfect examples to highlight the role played by drug delivery systems in advancing human health. The fundamentals of LNPs for the delivery of nucleic acid- and mRNA-based therapeutics, are well established. Thus, future research on LNPs will focus on addressing the following: expanding the scope of drug delivery to different constituents of the human body, expanding the number of diseases that can be targeted, and studying the change in the pharmacokinetics of LNPs under physiological and pathological conditions. This review article provides an overview of recent advances aimed at expanding the application of LNPs, focusing on the pharmacokinetics and advantages of LNPs. In addition, analytical techniques, library construction and screening, rational design, active targeting, and applicability to gene editing therapy have also been discussed.     

Molecular simplification of lipid A structure: TLR4-modulating cationic and anionic amphiphiles

A growing body of data suggests that therapies based on Toll-like receptors (TLR) targeting, in particular TLR4, holds promise in curing autoimmune and inflammatory pathologies still lacking specific treatment, included several rare diseases. While TLR4 activators (agonists) have already found successful clinical application as vaccine adjuvants, the use of TLR4 blockers (antagonists) as antisepsis agents or as agents against inflammatory diseases (including arthritis, multiple sclerosis, neuroinflammations) and cancer is still at a preclinical phase of development. This minireview focuses on recent achievements on the development of TLR4 modulators based on lipid A structure simplification, in particular on compounds having disaccharide or monosaccharide structures. As the TLR4 activity of natural TLR4 ligands (lipopolysaccharide, LPS and its biologically active part, the lipid A) depends on both the structure of endotoxin aggregates in solution and on single-molecule interaction with MD-2 and CD14 receptors, the rational design of TLR4 modulators should in principle take into account both these factors. In the light of the most recent advances in the field, in this minireview we discuss the structure–activity relationship in simplified lipid A analogs, with cationic or anionic amphiphilic structures.     

Measured and predicted resting energy expenditure in wheelchair rugby athletes

Objective: Report measured resting energy expenditure (REE) in wheelchair rugby athletes and evaluate agreement between REE and the prediction models of Chun, Cunningham, Harris-Benedict, Mifflin, Nightingale and Gorgey, and Owen.

Design: Cohort-based validation study.

Setting. Paralympic team training camp.

Participants: Fourteen internationally competitive athletes who play wheelchair rugby, 13 of whom had cervical spinal cord injuries (SCI).

Outcome Measures: A portable metabolic analyzer was used to measure REE following an overnight fast and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) was used to assess lean body mass for the prediction equations.

Results: REE in the current sample was 1735?±?257?kcal?×?day^?1 ranging from 1324 to 2068?kcal?×?day^{?1 Bhambhani Y. Physiology of wheelchair racing in athletes with spinal cord injury. Sports Med 2002;32(1):23–51.[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]}. Bland–Altman analyses revealed negative mean bias but similar limits of agreement between measured REE and scores predicted by Chun, Cunningham, Mifflin, Nightingale and Gorgey, and Owen models in elite athletes who play wheelchair rugby.

Conclusion: Prediction models regressed on persons with and without SCI under-predicted REE of competitive wheelchair rugby athletes. This outcome may be explained by the higher REE/fat-free mass (FFM) ratio of current athletes compared to less active samples. Findings from the current study will help practitioners to determine nutrient intake needs on training days of varied intensity.     

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.     

同型半胱氨酸体内代谢及调节的研究进展

同型半胱氨酸（Hcy）是体内一碳单位代谢的一个正常中间产物，Hcy的重要代谢途径就是转甲基反应，体内Hcy浓度的调节受到多种因素的影响，高Hcy浓度会导致多种疾病的发生，近年来Hcy与临床多种疾病相关性的研究更加受到重视，因此，对于Hcy体内代谢及调节因素的研究显得非常关键，本文就此进行综述。     

金水宝片联合依诺肝素对维持性血液透析患者血脂代谢的影响

目的：探究金水宝片联合依诺肝素对维持性血液透析患者血脂代谢的影响。方法：选取2018年12月至2019年3月马鞍山十七冶医院血液净化中心进行透析的患者154例作为研究对象，根据用药不同分为对照组和观察组,每组77例。对照组常规应用依诺肝素抗凝，观察组在对照组抗凝基础上加用金水宝片，各组均干预3个月，比较2组患者血脂变化及持续血液透析并发症发生情况。结果：治疗后，观察组患者三酰甘油、总胆固醇及低密度脂蛋白胆固醇水平下降，高密度脂蛋白胆固醇升高，与治疗前比较差异均有统计学意义（P<0.05），与对照组治疗后比较，差异有统计学意义（P<0.05）；观察组总并发症发生率明显低于对照组，2组比较差异有统计学意义（P<0.05）；2组患者维持性血液透析不良反应发生率均较低，组间比较差异无统计学意义（P>0.05）。结论：金水宝片联合依诺肝素有助于改善维持性血液透析患者血脂代谢水平，降低维持性血液透析相关并发症，值得临床推广应用。     

小颗粒致密低密度脂蛋白氧化特性及对血管内皮细胞脂质过氧化的影响

了解小颗粒致密低密度脂蛋白中抗氧化维生素含量、氧化特性 ,探讨其对血管内皮细胞脂质过氧化的影响。采用二次密度梯度超速离心的方法分离制备小颗粒致密低密度脂蛋白 ,高压液相色谱测定其抗氧化物质维生素A、E和 β 胡萝卜素 ;连续监测小颗粒致密低密度脂蛋白在 2 34nm的吸光度以测定其氧化敏感曲线 ;在血管内皮培养液中分别加入不同浓度的小颗粒致密低密度脂蛋白 ,培养后测定培养液丙二醛的浓度。实验成功分离小颗粒致密低密度脂蛋白 ,与大而轻低密度脂蛋白相比 ,维生素A、E和 β 胡萝卜素等抗氧化物质及总抗氧化能力明显减少 ,只有大而轻低密度脂蛋白的 6 5 %、39%和 2 4 % ,故小颗粒致密低密度脂蛋白氧化的延迟时间只有大而轻低密度脂蛋白的 37.5 % ,但硫代巴比妥酸反应物质值及氧化速率分别是大而轻低密度脂蛋白的 1 .7倍和 1 .2 8倍 ;培养液中丙二醛含量随加入脂蛋白的浓度和作用时间而增高 ,2 4h时小颗粒致密低密度脂蛋白 5 0mg组、1 0 0mg组、1 5 0mg组与相同剂量大而轻低密度脂蛋白组比较丙二醛显著增高 (P <0 .0 5 )。上述结果提示 :小颗粒致密低密度脂蛋白中抗氧化物质及抗氧化能力下降 ,氧化敏感性增高 ,并促进内皮细胞过氧化损伤