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  • Martens Lindsey posted an update 2 weeks, 2 days ago

    Individual differences in the development of uncontrollable fear in response to traumatic stressors have been observed in clinic, but the underlying mechanisms remain unknown. In the present study we first conducted a meta-analysis of published clinical data and found that malondialdehyde, an oxidative stress biomarker, was significantly elevated in the blood of patients with fear-related anxiety disorders. We then carried out experimental study in rats subjected to fear conditioning. We showed that reestablishing redox homeostasis in basolateral amygdale (BLA) after exposure to fear stressors determined the capacity of learned fear inhibition. Intra-BLA infusion of buthionine sulfoximine (BSO) to deplete the most important endogenous antioxidant glutathione (GSH) blocked fear extinction, whereas intra-BLA infusion of dithiothreitol or N-acetylcysteine (a precursor of GSH) facilitated extinction. In electrophysiological studies conducted on transverse slices, we showed that fear stressors induced redox-dependent inhibition of NMDAR-mediated synaptic function, which was rescued by extinction learning or reducing agents. Our results reveal a novel pharmacological strategy for reversing impaired fear inhibition and highlight the role of GSH in the treatment of psychiatric disorders.Furmonertinib was designed for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with EGFR T790M mutation. In this study, we investigated the metabolic disposition and mass balance in humans and tissue distribution in rats. After a single oral administration of 97.9 μCi/81.5 mg [14C]-furmonertinib mesylate to six healthy male volunteers, the absorption process of furmonertinib was fast with a tmax of total plasma radioactivity at 0.75 h. Afterward, furmonertinib was extensively metabolized, with the parent drug and active metabolite AST5902 accounting for 1.68% and 0.97% of total radioactivity in plasma. The terminal t1/2 of total radioactivity in plasma was as long as 333 h, suggesting that the covalent binding of drug-related substances to plasma proteins was irreversible to a great extent. The most abundant metabolites identified in feces were desmethyl metabolite (AST5902), cysteine conjugate (M19), and parent drug (M0), which accounted for 6.28%, 5.52%, and 1.38% of the dose, respectively. selleck chemicals llc After intragastric administration of 124 μCi/9.93 mg/kg [14C]-furmonertinib to rats, drug-related substances were widely and rapidly distributed in tissues within 4 h. The concentration of total radioactivity in the lung was 100-fold higher than that in rat plasma, which could be beneficial to the treatment of lung cancer. Mass balance in humans was achieved with 77.8% of the administered dose recovered in excretions within 35 days after administration, including 6.63% and 71.2% in urine and feces, respectively. In conclusion, [14C]-furmonertinib is completely absorbed and rapidly distributed into lung tissue, extensively metabolized in humans, presented mostly as covalent conjugates in plasma, and slowly eliminated mostly via fecal route.Chemotherapy-related fatigue (CRF) is increasingly being recognized as one of the severe symptoms in patients undergoing chemotherapy, which not only largely reduces the quality of life in patients, but also diminishes their physical and social function. At present, there is no effective drug for preventing and treating CRF. Ganoderic acid (GA), isolated from traditional Chinese medicine Ganoderma lucidum, has shown a variety of pharmacological activities such as anti-tumor, anti-inflammation, immunoregulation, etc. In this study, we investigated whether GA possessed anti-fatigue activity against CRF. CT26 tumor-bearing mice were treated with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU, 30 mg/kg) and GA (50 mg/kg) alone or in combination for 18 days. Peripheral and central fatigue-related behaviors, energy metabolism and inflammatory factors were assessed. We demonstrated that co-administration of GA ameliorated 5-FU-induced peripheral muscle fatigue-like behavior via improving muscle quality and mitochondria function, increasing glycogen content and ATP production, reducing lactic acid content and LDH activity, and inhibiting p-AMPK, IL-6 and TNF-α expression in skeletal muscle. Co-administration of GA also retarded the 5-FU-induced central fatigue-like behavior accompanied by down-regulating the expression of IL-6, iNOS and COX2 in the hippocampus through inhibiting TLR4/Myd88/NF-κB pathway. These results suggest that GA could attenuate 5-FU-induced peripheral and central fatigue in tumor-bearing mice, which provides evidence for GA as a potential drug for treatment of CRF in clinic.

    The debate over the association between vasectomy and prostate cancer has been lasted about 40 years and there is no sign of stopping. In the present study, we aimed to evaluate whether vasectomy is associated with prostate cancer based on the most comprehensive and up-to-date evidence available.

    The PubMed, Cochrane Library, and EMBASE databases were systematically searched inception to March 14, 2021 without year or language restriction. Multivariable adjusted risk ratios (RRs) were used to assess each endpoint. Risk of bias was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa scale.

    A total of 58 studies involving 16,989,237 participants fulfilled inclusion criteria. There was significant association of vasectomy with risk of any prostate cancer (risk ratio, 1.18, 95% CI, 1.07-1.31). Association between vasectomy and advanced prostate cancer (risk ratio, 1.06, 95% CI, 1.01-1.12), low-grade prostate cancer (risk ratio, 1.06, 95% CI, 1.02-1.10), and intermediate-grade prostate cancer (risk ratio, 1.12, 95% CI, 1.03-1.22) were significant. There was no significant association between vasectomy and prostate cancer-specific mortality (risk ratio, 1.01, 95% CI, 0.93-1.10).

    This study found that vasectomy was associated with the risk of any prostate cancer and advanced prostate cancer. From the current evidence, patients should be fully informed of the risk of prostate cancer before vasectomy.

    This study found that vasectomy was associated with the risk of any prostate cancer and advanced prostate cancer. From the current evidence, patients should be fully informed of the risk of prostate cancer before vasectomy.