Current Pharmaceutical Design - Volume 20, Issue 34, 2014

The manuscripts of this special issue of Current Pharmaceutical Design cover a wide spectrum of relevant and fascinating topics in the area of developmental and reproductive toxicology. Experimental studies have consistently shown that commonly prescribed therapeutic agents can decrease embryonic cardiac output, leading to periods of embryonic hypoxia causing malformations or embryonic death. The article aut Read More

During the organogenic period of development the cardiovascular system of the embryo fulfills several functions including delivery of oxygen and nutrients and a hemodynamic role necessary for cardiac morphogenesis, angiogenesis and hematopoiesis. It is expected that at each stage of embryonic development there is an ideal embryonic heart rate and contractility that maintains the optimal blood flow and pressure to fu Read More

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS), the most severe manifestation of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) is considered the leading non-hereditary cause of mental retardation and neurological deficit in the Western world. There lie a huge associated human cost to both FASD victims and their families and a considerable financial burden. This problem is being tackled on many fronts including community awareness programs, bi Read More

Unlike men, who have continuous spermatogenesis throughout most of their lifetime, women are born with a fixed supply of follicles, and this number progressively declines with age until the menopause. Beside age, the speed of follicle depletion can be regulated by genetic, hormonal and environmental influences. In the course of their lives, women are exposed to multiple chemicals and radiation sources that can increase Read More

The normal development of the male reproductive system can be divided into five phases: fetal, neonatal, childhood, puberty and adulthood. Childhood/peripuberty has yet been relatively little studied. Chemical insults during the peripubertal phase may result in adverse consequences that may be already visible during puberty as well as during later adult life. This occurs because endocrine disruptors often interfere in the d Read More

Over the past decade, zebrafish are being increasingly used in assessing the effects of chemical compounds. Especially, the embryos and larvae, due to their microscopically small size and optical transparency, are compatible with multi-well microtiter plates for high throughput screening. Being transparent, they allow for non-invasive visualization of internal organs during early development. The organization of the genom Read More

Glucocorticoids are important regulators of cell differentiation and mesenchymal cell lineage commitment during skeletogenesis. In clinical practice, it has been difficult to study the effects of glucocorticoids on target tissues because patients taking glucocorticoids often suffer from adverse skeletal effects. Dexamethasone (Dex) is a long-acting synthetic corticosteroid hormone that ranks amongst the most widely us Read More

Modification of the terminal tails of histones is considered one of the documented mechanisms for epigenetic control of gene expression. Histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACi) lead to a state of hyperacetylation of histone, a condition that can affect normal gene transcription. Furthermore, HDACi have many other protein targets involved in regulation of gene expression, cell proliferation and cell death. For these properties s Read More

Nitric oxide (NO), generated by NO synthase (NOS) enzymes, is an important bioactive molecule involved in the regulation of several biological phenomena that are crucial for organogenesis, including gene expression, cell growth, matrix remolding, proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis. The expression of NOS isoforms in embryonic tissues is temporally and spatially regulated, and disruption of endogenous NO Read More

The possibility of achieving organ protection by the perioperative administration of different drugs opens up a new field of research in preoperative medicine, anesthesia, and critical care surgery. In this study we review the current situation in perioperative management of various diseases and assess the benefits of different drugs for organ preservation, in order to evaluate the current evidence on the organ protection offered Read More

Tissue injury secondary to surgical lesion produces profound changes in endocrine-metabolic function and defence mechanisms in the patient (inflammatory, immunological), leading to an increase in catabolism, immunosuppression and postoperative morbidity. The best anaesthetic and surgical technique should be capable of modulating this response, especially in major surgery, where it can be most harmful and increas Read More

Perioperative cerebral damage can result in various clinical sequela ranging from minor neurocognitive deficits to catastrophic neurological morbidity with permanent impairment and death. The goal of neuroprotective treatments is to reduce the clinical effects of cerebral damage through two major mechanisms: increased tolerance of neurological tissue to ischemia and changes in intra-cellular responses to energ Read More

Preoperative use of levosimendan in cardiac surgery patients is one of the most attractive therapeutic alternatives in subjects with left or right ventricular dysfunction. Our review explores the pharmacological bases and clinical evidence for the use of levosimendan, with the intention of making a series of recommendations regarding its use in preoperative optimization prior to cardiac surgery. We carried out a survey of Read More

Context: Post cardiac surgery acute kidney injury (AKI) is common, poorly understood and associated with a significant increase in morbidity and mortality. Objectives: An overview of systematic reviews that have evaluated pharmacological agents for the prevention of AKI post cardiac surgery. Data Sources: We searched electronic databases (PubMed and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews) from inception t Read More

Remifentanil is a selective mu-opioid receptor agonist characterized by a rapid onset and ultrashort predictable duration of action providing intense analgesia without prolonged respiratory depression. Remifentanil has been implicated in the causation of intraoperative bradyarrhythmias and asystole both in adults and in pediatric patients. Electrophysiological studies in humans and animals show that remifentanil provokes a d Read More

There is initial evidence, at least in cardiac surgery, that total intra-venous anesthesia (usually a propofol-based total intravenous anesthesia) is associated with an increased mortality when compared to an anesthetic plan including a halogenated anesthetics. The cardiac protective properties of halogenated agents (desflurane, isoflurane and sevoflurane) have not been confirmed in non-cardiac surgery and mixed r Read More