Endocrine, Metabolic & Immune Disorders-Drug Targets (Formerly Current Drug Targets - Immune, Endocrine & Metabolic Disorders) - Volume 21, Issue 7, 2021

This study summarized the benefits of oxytocin in the attenuation of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pathogenesis. The recent outbreak of COVID-19 has become a pandemic with 7,323,761 infected patients and has created a health emergency worldwide. On the basis of the clinical study, COVID-19 shows homology with other coronavirus pathogenesis, i.e., inflammation, oxidative stress, and hyperactivation of the immune Read More

Pharmacological therapy targeting the HER2 protein is one of the major breakthroughs in the treatment of cancer patients overexpressing HER2 who have increased survival rates. Despite improved survival, it is important to determine the less frequent adverse effects in order to tailor treatments more personalized to the patients’ features. The possible impact of cancer treatments on cognitive functions is huge, and th Read More

Dietary habits strongly influence our health status, mostly in terms of maintenance of the inflammatory/anti-inflammatory homeostasis. High fat and high sugar diets account for the development of a low-grade inflammation, which is the pathogenic common denominator of various chronic diseases. Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (SARS)-CoV2 (COVID-19) infection affects all ages and especially frail elderly Read More

Despite the evidence that plants do not possess sessile cells, they are able to mount a vigorous immune response against invaders or under stressful conditions. Plants are endowed with pattern recognition receptors (PPRs) which perceive damage-associated molecular patterns and microbe- associated molecular patterns or pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs), respectively. PPR activation leads to either Read More

Platelets are cellular fragments derived from bone-marrow megacaryocytes and they are mostly involved in the haemostasis and coagulation. However, according to recent data, platelets are able to perform novel immune functions. In fact, they possess a receptorial armamentarium on their membrane for interacting with innate and adaptive immune cells. In addition, platelets also secrete granules which contain cytokin Read More

Hormonal contraceptives contain an Estrogen and/or a Progestin, which are the substrates of the CYP3A4 enzyme and the drugs inducing the CYP3A4 enzyme can decrease the plasma concentrations and thereby therapeutic efficacy of Hormonal contraceptives resulting in unintended pregnancy. Moreover, the hormonal contraceptives associated risk of thrombotic events are further exacerbated by the simultaneous a Read More

Hyperhomocysteinemia (HHcy) has been considered a risk factor for different diseases, including cardiovascular disease (CVD), inflammation, neurological diseases, cancer, and many other pathological conditions. Likewise, arachidonic acid (AA) metabolism is implicated in both vascular homeostasis and inflammation, as shown by the development of CVD, following the imbalance of its metabolites. This review summarize Read More

Coronaviruses are a big family of viruses that can infect mammalians and birds. In humans they mainly cause respiratory tract infections, with a large spectrum of severity, from mild, self-limited infections to highly lethal forms as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV), Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) and Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). Scanty data are reported for the i Read More

Background: Probiotics can improve immune function leading to the prevention and management of viral infections like SARS-CoV-2 infection (COVID-19 disease). Methods: We searched PubMed, EMBASE, Google Scholar, Science Direct, Scopus, and Web of Science up to May 2020 to identify interventional & observational studies documenting the effects of probiotics on incidence, severity, duration, and other clinical m Read More

Background: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a chronic metabolic disease that has turned out to be a pandemic all over the world. In China, some traditional Chinese herbal formulas have enjoyed a high reputation in T2DM treatment for centuries. Methods: In this study, ShenQi compound (SQC) is proposed, a formula that has been performed on T2DM clinical therapeutics in China for many years. The efficacy of SQC in a di Read More

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the effect of berberine on diabetes mellitus in vivo and in vitro, and elucidate the underlying mechanisms. Methods: Rat models of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) were established and were treated with berberine. Pathological changes in the thoracic aorta, and inflammatory factor and adiponectin levels were investigated. Vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) of the thor Read More

Background: Cardiovascular-diseases (CVD) are caused by different metabolic-anomalies related to hypertension/sedentary lifestyle/drug-addiction/dyslipidemia and diabetes. The scanty report suggests that metabolic-rate regulating thyroid hormones are linked to CVD. Methods: A total of 59 individuals (male, >45 yrs) were involved in this study. Blood-samples from diagnosed cardiac-patients troponin (N=13, trop-T Read More

Aims The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of aqueous aerial part extract of Mentha pulegium L. (Pennyrile) (MPAE) on arterial pressure parameters in rats. Background: Mentha pulegium is a medicinal plant used to treat hypertension in the Moroccon population. Methods: In the current study, MPAE was prepared and its antihypertensive activity was pharmacologically investigated. L-NAME-hypertensive and norm Read More

Background and Aims: This study aimed to assess the changes in platelet counts of patients with liver cirrhosis due to chronic HCV, who achieved sustained virological response (SVR) after taking direct acting antivirals (DAAs) in a large cohort study in Egypt. Methods: This multicenter observational retrospective study was carried out on 2500 chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infected patients who achieved (SVR) after tre Read More

Background: Multiple sclerosis (MS), a disease of the central nervous system (CNS), is associated with damage to the myelin sheath of neurons. It is demonstrated that vitamin D deficiency plays an important role in the development of the disease. Binding of vitamin D to its specific nuclear receptors is a way to exert its function. Objective: Possible correlation between the vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene and MS was evaluate Read More

Background: Osteosarcoma (OS) is the basic bone neoplasm with lower survival and poor prognosis. It is distinguished by its offensive nature and metastatic potential. The fundamental death source in OS patients is lung metastasis. In addition, the proliferation and cell migration are thus essential for cancer progression, especially for intrusion and transformation. Several studies have illustrated that 1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin Read More

Aim: We evaluated cardiovascular (CV) risk stratification for nonfunctioning adrenal incidentalomas (NFAIs) via the coronary-artery-calcium (CAC) score. Materials and Methods: The participants were patients with NFAI (n = 55). They were compared to patients with chest pain, a low-intermediate Framingham-risk score, and a non-diagnostic treadmill- exercise test, which served as the control group (n = 49). Subsequ Read More

Background: Fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) is characterized by widespread musculoskeletal pain. It is more common in women than in men, and sex hormones may play a role in this predominance. Therefore, this research investigated the clinical findings among Turkish females and whether Estrogen-α (ESR1) gene variants are associated with FMS. Methods: A total of 219 individuals were enrolled in this study. ESR1 variants ( Read More

Background: Metabolic syndrome has been associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus, and neurodegenerative disorders. Known side-effects of currently- available drugs necessitate the search for possibly better treatment options. Objective: This study examined the effects of dietary lepidium meyenii (MACA) supplementation on neurobehaviour, metabolic profile, levels of inflammatory Read More

Background: Benfotiamine is a synthetic liposoluble derivative of vitamin B1 that has been shown to have anti-inflammatory properties. Objective: To study the effects of benfotiamine on dendritic cells. Methods: Dendritic cells were obtained from murine bone marrow precursor cells in the presence of GM-CSF. Benfotiamine was applied to the cell culture during the process of bone marrow cell differentiation into dendritic ce Read More