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Therapeutic anticoagulation showed inconsistent results in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 and selection of the best patients to use this strategy still a challenge balancing the risk of thrombotic and hemorrhagic outcomes. The present post-hoc analysis of the ACTION trial evaluated the variables independently associated with both bleeding events (major bleeding or clinically relevant non-major bleeding) and the composite outcomes thrombotic events (venous thromboembolism, myocardial infarction, stroke, systemic embolism, or major adverse limb events). Variables were assessed one by one with independent logistic regressions and final models were chosen based on Akaike information criteria. The model for bleeding events showed an area under the curve of 0.63 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.53 to 0.73), while the model for thrombotic events had an area under the curve of 0.72 (95% CI 0.65 to 0.79). Non-invasive respiratory support was associated with thrombotic but not bleeding events, while invasive ventilation was associated with both outcomes (Odds Ratio of 7.03 [95 CI% 1.95 to 25.18] for thrombotic and 3.14 [95% CI 1.11 to 8.84] for bleeding events). Beyond respiratory support, creatinine level (Odds Ratio [OR] 1.01 95% CI 1.00 to 1.02 for every 1.0 mg/dL) and history of coronary disease (OR 3.67; 95% CI 1.32 to 10.29) were also independently associated to the risk of thrombotic events. Non-invasive respiratory support, history of coronary disease, and creatinine level may help to identify hospitalized COVID-19 patients at higher risk of thrombotic complications.ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT04394377., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that there were 247 million malaria cases in 2021 worldwide, representing an increase in 2 million cases compared to 2020. The urgent need for the development of new antimalarials is underscored by specific criteria, including the requirement of new modes of action that avoid cross-drug resistance, the ability to provide single-dose cures, and efficacy against both assexual and sexual blood stages. Motivated by the promising results obtained from our research group with [1,2,4]triazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidine and pyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidine derivatives, we selected these molecular scaffolds as the foundation for designing two new series of piperaquine analogs as potential antimalarial candidates. The initial series of hybrids was designed by substituting one quinolinic ring of piperaquine with the 1,2,4-triazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidine or pyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidine nucleus. To connect the heterocyclic systems, spacers with 3, 4, or 7 methylene carbons were introduced at the 4 position of the quinoline. In the second series, we used piperazine as a spacer to link the 1,2,4-triazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidine or pyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidine group to the quinoline core, effectively merging both pharmacophoric groups via a rigid spacer. Our research efforts yielded promising compounds characterized by low cytotoxicity and selectivity indices exceeding 1570. These compounds displayed potent in vitro inhibitory activity in the low nanomolar range against the erythrocytic form of the parasite, encompassing both susceptible and resistant strains. Notably, these compounds did not show cross-resistance with either chloroquine or established P. falciparum inhibitors. Even though they share a pyrazolo- or triazolo-pyrimidine core, enzymatic inhibition assays revealed that these compounds had minimal inhibitory effects on PfDHODH, indicating a distinct mode of action unrelated to targeting this enzyme. We further assessed the compounds' potential to interfere with gametocyte and ookinete infectivity using mature P. falciparum gametocytes cultured in vitro. Four compounds demonstrated significant gametocyte inhibition ranging from 58 % to 86 %, suggesting potential transmission blocking activity. Finally, we evaluated the druggability of these new compounds using in silico methods, and the results indicated that these analogs had favorable physicochemical and ADME (absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion) properties. In summary, our research has successfully identified and characterized new piperaquine analogs based on [1,2,4]triazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidine and pyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidine scaffolds and has demonstrated their potential as promising candidates for the development of antimalarial drugs with distinct mechanisms of action, considerable selectivity, and P. falciparum transmission blocking activity., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

This systematic review presents the potential of using feather waste as a β-keratin source, including the Brazilian scenario in the generation of this byproduct. The structure and properties of α- and β-keratin, the methods commonly reported to extract keratin from poultry feathers, and applications of feather keratin-based materials are also covered in this review. The literature search for poultry production data in Brazil was conducted for the last 2 years, for the period 2021-2022. A broad literature search for extraction methods and applications of feather keratin was done for the period 2001-2022. The poultry industry is one of the largest sectors of the food industry, and Brazil was the third-largest world producer of chicken meat with more than six billion chickens slaughtered in 2021. Poultry feathers constitute about 7% weight of broilers; thus, it can be estimated that about one million tons of poultry feathers were generated in Brazil in 2021, and the improper disposal of this byproduct contributes to environmental problems and disease transmission. The most common method of reusing feathers is the production of feather meal. From economic and environmental points of view, it is advantageous to develop processes to add value to this byproduct, including the extraction of keratin. Among natural biodegradable polymers, keratin-based materials have revolutionized the field of biomaterials due to their biocompatibility and biodegradability, allowing their application in biomedical, pharmaceutical, chemical, and engineering areas., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

The Zika virus (ZIKV) is a neurotropic arbovirus considered a global threat to public health. Although there have been several efforts in drug discovery projects for ZIKV in recent years, there are still no antiviral drugs approved to date. Here, we describe the results of a global collaborative crowdsourced open science project, the OpenZika project, from IBM's World Community Grid (WCG), which integrates different computational and experimental strategies for advancing a drug candidate for ZIKV. Initially, molecular docking protocols were developed to identify potential inhibitors of ZIKV NS5 RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (NS5 RdRp), NS3 protease (NS2B-NS3pro), and NS3 helicase (NS3hel). Then, a machine learning (ML) model was built to distinguish active vs inactive compounds for the cytoprotective effect against ZIKV infection. We performed three independent target-based virtual screening campaigns (NS5 RdRp, NS2B-NS3pro, and NS3hel), followed by predictions by the ML model and other filters, and prioritized a total of 61 compounds for further testing in enzymatic and phenotypic assays. This yielded five non-nucleoside compounds which showed inhibitory activity against ZIKV NS5 RdRp in enzymatic assays (IC 50 range from 0.61 to 17 μM). Two compounds thermally destabilized NS3hel and showed binding affinity in the micromolar range ( K d range from 9 to 35 μM). Moreover, the compounds LabMol-301 inhibited both NS5 RdRp and NS2B-NS3pro (IC 50 of 0.8 and 7.4 μM, respectively) and LabMol-212 thermally destabilized the ZIKV NS3hel (K d of 35 μM). Both also protected cells from death induced by ZIKV infection in in vitro cell-based assays. However, while eight compounds (including LabMol-301 and LabMol-212) showed a cytoprotective effect and prevented ZIKV-induced cell death, agreeing with our ML model for prediction of this cytoprotective effect, no compound showed a direct antiviral effect against ZIKV. Thus, the new scaffolds discovered here are promising hits for future structural optimization and for advancing the discovery of further drug candidates for ZIKV. Furthermore, this work has demonstrated the importance of the integration of computational and experimental approaches, as well as the potential of large-scale collaborative networks to advance drug discovery projects for neglected diseases and emerging viruses, despite the lack of available direct antiviral activity and cytoprotective effect data, that reflects on the assertiveness of the computational predictions. The importance of these efforts rests with the need to be prepared for future viral epidemic and pandemic outbreaks.

Malaria is an infectious illness, affecting vulnerable populations in Third World countries. Inspired by natural products, indole alkaloids have been used as a nucleus to design new antimalarial drugs. So, eighteen oxindole derivatives, aza analogues were obtained with moderate to excellent yields. Also, the saturated derivatives of oxindole and aza derivatives via H 2 /Pd/C reduction were obtained in good yields, leading to racemic mixtures of each compound. Next, the inhibitory activity against P. falciparum of 18 compounds were tested, founding six compounds with IC 50 < 20 µM. The most active of these compounds was 8c ; however, their unsaturated derivative 7c was inactive. Then, a structure-activity relationship analysis was done, founding that focused LUMO lobe on the specific molecular zone is related to inhibitory activity against P. falciparum . Finally, we found a potential inhibition of lactate dehydrogenase by oxindole derivatives, using molecular docking virtual screening.

Malaria is a parasitic disease caused by protozoan parasites from the genus Plasmodium . Plasmodium falciparum is the most prevalent species worldwide and the causative agent of severe malaria. The spread of resistance to the currently available antimalarial therapy is a major concern. Therefore, it is imperative to discover and develop new antimalarial drugs, which not only treat the disease but also control the emerging resistance. Brussonol is an icetexane derivative and a member of a family of diterpenoids that have been isolated from several terrestrial plants. Here, the synthesis and antiplasmodial profiling of a series of brussonol derivatives are reported. The compounds showed inhibitory activities in the low micromolar range against a panel of sensitive and resistant P. falciparum strains (IC 50 s = 5-16 μM). Moreover, brussonol showed fast-acting in vitro inhibition and an additive inhibitory behavior when combined with the antimalarial artesunate (FIC index ~1). The mode of action investigation indicated that brussonol increased the cytosolic calcium levels within the parasite. Hence, the discovery of brussonol as a new scaffold endowed with antiplasmodial activity will enable us to design derivatives with improved properties to deliver new lead candidates for malaria.

Malaria is an infectious disease caused by protozoan parasites of the genus Plasmodium and transmitted by Anopheles spp. mosquitos. Due to the emerging resistance to currently available drugs, great efforts must be invested in discovering new molecular targets and drugs. N-myristoyltransferase (NMT) is an essential enzyme to parasites and has been validated as a chemically tractable target for the discovery of new drug candidates against malaria. In this work, 2D and 3D quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) studies were conducted on a series of benzothiophene derivatives as P. falciparum NMT (PfNMT) and human NMT (HsNMT) inhibitors to shed light on the molecular requirements for inhibitor affinity and selectivity. A combination of Quantitative Structure-activity Relationship (QSAR) methods, including the hologram quantitative structure-activity relationship (HQSAR), comparative molecular field analysis (CoMFA), and comparative molecular similarity index analysis (CoMSIA) models, were used, and the impacts of the molecular alignment strategies (maximum common substructure and flexible ligand alignment) and atomic partial charge methods (Gasteiger-Hückel, MMFF94, AM1-BCC, CHELPG, and Mulliken) on the quality and reliability of the models were assessed. The best models exhibited internal consistency and could reasonably predict the inhibitory activity against both PfNMT (HQSAR: q 2 /r 2 /r 2 pred = 0.83/0.98/0.81; CoMFA: q 2 /r 2 /r 2 pred = 0.78/0.97/0.86; CoMSIA: q 2 /r 2 /r 2 pred = 0.74/0.95/0.82) and HsNMT (HQSAR: q 2 /r 2 /r 2 pred = 0.79/0.93/0.74; CoMFA: q 2 /r 2 /r 2 pred = 0.82/0.98/0.60; CoMSIA: q 2 /r 2 /r 2 pred = 0.62/0.95/0.56). The results enabled the identification of the polar interactions (electrostatic and hydrogen-bonding properties) as the major molecular features that affected the inhibitory activity and selectivity. These findings should be useful for the design of PfNMT inhibitors with high affinities and selectivities as antimalarial lead candidates., (© 2020 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

During the last years, the progression to control malaria disease seems to be slowed and WHO (World Health Organization) reported a modeling analysis with the prediction of the increase in malaria morbidity and mortality in sub-Saharan Africa during the COVID-19 pandemic. A rapid way to the discovery of new drugs could be carried out by performing investigations to identify drugs based on repurposing of "old" drugs. The 5-nitrothiazole drug, Nitazoxanide was shown to be active against intestinal protozoa, human helminths, anaerobic bacteria, viruses, etc. In this work, Nitazoxanide and analogs were prepared using two methodologies and evaluated against P. falciparum 3D7. A bithiazole analog, showed attractive inhibitory activity with an EC 50 value of 5.9 μM, low propensity to show toxic effect against HepG2 cells at 25 μM, and no cross-resistance with standard antimalarials., Competing Interests: Conflict of interestThe authors declare no competing interests., (© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2021.)

Introduction: Osteosarcopenia is defined as the concomitant occurrence of sarcopenia and osteopenia or osteoporosis. Older adults with this syndrome have a greater fragility and mortality risk compared with those without these conditions. Based on separate interventions with individuals with sarcopenia and osteoporosis, exercise has been recommended as a treatment for osteosarcopenia. However, there is no evidence of its efficacy. Our objective is to identify whether physical exercise can improve osteosarcopenia in older adults and lead to good health outcomes., Methods and Analysis: We will perform a systematic review in the following databases: PubMed, Embase, Cochrane and Scopus. The criterion of inclusion will be clinical trials involving physical exercise interventions in older adults diagnosed with osteosarcopenia. To assess the risk of bias, the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation and Downs and Black tools will be used. For each search result, the quality of the evidence will ultimately receive one of four grades: high, moderate, low or very low. The outcome of this study is to demonstrate the effectiveness of physical exercise in improving the parameters that lead to the diagnosis of osteosarcopenia (bone mineral density, quality of muscle mass, muscle strength and physical function) in older adults. The possibility of meta-analysis will be assessed according to the homogeneity of the studies, using the methods of fixed or random effects. Sensitivity analyses will be performed, and the funnel plot will be used to assess publication bias. The proposed statistical analyses will be performed using STATA software, V.14.0., Ethics and Dissemination: The results of the systematic review will be disseminated via publication in a peer-reviewed journal and presented at a relevant conference. As we will not use individual patient data, ethical approval is not required., Trial Registration Number: CRD42020215659., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2021. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Background: COVID-19 is associated with a prothrombotic state leading to adverse clinical outcomes. Whether therapeutic anticoagulation improves outcomes in patients hospitalised with COVID-19 is unknown. We aimed to compare the efficacy and safety of therapeutic versus prophylactic anticoagulation in this population., Methods: We did a pragmatic, open-label (with blinded adjudication), multicentre, randomised, controlled trial, at 31 sites in Brazil. Patients (aged ≥18 years) hospitalised with COVID-19 and elevated D-dimer concentration, and who had COVID-19 symptoms for up to 14 days before randomisation, were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive either therapeutic or prophylactic anticoagulation. Therapeutic anticoagulation was in-hospital oral rivaroxaban (20 mg or 15 mg daily) for stable patients, or initial subcutaneous enoxaparin (1 mg/kg twice per day) or intravenous unfractionated heparin (to achieve a 0·3-0·7 IU/mL anti-Xa concentration) for clinically unstable patients, followed by rivaroxaban to day 30. Prophylactic anticoagulation was standard in-hospital enoxaparin or unfractionated heparin. The primary efficacy outcome was a hierarchical analysis of time to death, duration of hospitalisation, or duration of supplemental oxygen to day 30, analysed with the win ratio method (a ratio >1 reflects a better outcome in the therapeutic anticoagulation group) in the intention-to-treat population. The primary safety outcome was major or clinically relevant non-major bleeding through 30 days. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT04394377) and is completed., Findings: From June 24, 2020, to Feb 26, 2021, 3331 patients were screened and 615 were randomly allocated (311 [50%] to the therapeutic anticoagulation group and 304 [50%] to the prophylactic anticoagulation group). 576 (94%) were clinically stable and 39 (6%) clinically unstable. One patient, in the therapeutic group, was lost to follow-up because of withdrawal of consent and was not included in the primary analysis. The primary efficacy outcome was not different between patients assigned therapeutic or prophylactic anticoagulation, with 28 899 (34·8%) wins in the therapeutic group and 34 288 (41·3%) in the prophylactic group (win ratio 0·86 [95% CI 0·59-1·22], p=0·40). Consistent results were seen in clinically stable and clinically unstable patients. The primary safety outcome of major or clinically relevant non-major bleeding occurred in 26 (8%) patients assigned therapeutic anticoagulation and seven (2%) assigned prophylactic anticoagulation (relative risk 3·64 [95% CI 1·61-8·27], p=0·0010). Allergic reaction to the study medication occurred in two (1%) patients in the therapeutic anticoagulation group and three (1%) in the prophylactic anticoagulation group., Interpretation: In patients hospitalised with COVID-19 and elevated D-dimer concentration, in-hospital therapeutic anticoagulation with rivaroxaban or enoxaparin followed by rivaroxaban to day 30 did not improve clinical outcomes and increased bleeding compared with prophylactic anticoagulation. Therefore, use of therapeutic-dose rivaroxaban, and other direct oral anticoagulants, should be avoided in these patients in the absence of an evidence-based indication for oral anticoagulation., Funding: Coalition COVID-19 Brazil, Bayer SA., Competing Interests: Declaration of interests JHA reports grants and personal fees from Bristol-Myers Squibb and CSL Behring; grants from AstraZeneca, CryoLife, US Food & Drug Administration, US National Institutes of Health, Sanofi, VoluMetrix, and Boehringer Ingelheim; personal fees from Pfizer, AbbVie Pharmaceuticals, Portola Pharmaceuticals, Quantum Genetics, Teikoku Pharmaceuticals, VA Cooperative Studies Program, and Zafgen, outside of the submitted work. AA reports consultant and lecture fees from Bayer, NovoNordisk, and LillyBaxter; lecture fees from Daichii-Sankyo; and research grants from Bayer, EMS Pharma, and the Population Health Research Institute, outside of the submitted work. LCPA reports personal fees from Baxter, Pfizer, and Halex-Istar; and grants from Ache Laboratorios Farmaceuticos, outside of the submitted work. OB reports grants from AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Servier, and Amgen, and advisory board and personal fees from Novartis, outside of the submitted work. ABC reports grants from Bayer outside of the submitted work. GEC-S reports grants from Novartis and Air Liquide, outside of the submitted work. PGMdBeS reports grants from Bayer, Roche, and Pfizer, outside of the submitted work. MDAD reports personal fees, non-financial support, and other (advisory board participation) from Pfizer; personal fees and non-financial support from Bayer; personal fees and other (advisory board participation) from Servier; and personal fees from Boehringer Ingelheim, Daiichi Sankyo, and AstraZeneca, outside of the submitted work. RHMF reports grants from Bayer during the conduct of the study; and grants and personal fees from AstraZeneca and Servier, personal fees and non-financial support from Bayer, grants and non-financial support from EMS Pharma, and grants from Aché, Health Canada, and the Brazilian Ministry of Health, outside of the submitted work. MBG reports personal fees from COALITION COVID-19 Brazil and Bayer during the conduct of the study. RDL reports grants and personal fees from Bristol-Myers Squibb, Pfizer, GlaxoSmithKline, Medtronic PLC, and Sanofi; and personal fees from Amgen, Bayer, and Boehringer Ingelheim, outside of the submitted work. AVSM reports personal fees, non-financial support, and other (advisory board participation) from Bayer and Pfizer; personal fees and other (advisory board participation) from Novartis; personal fees and non-financial support from Zodiac; and personal fees from Ferring, Janssen, Sanofi, and AstraZeneca, outside of the submitted work. FCN reports grants and personal fees from Boehringer Ingelheim; and personal fees from Bayer and Pfizer, outside of the submitted work. ER reports grants and consulting fees from Bayer and Pfizer; grants from the Brazilian Ministry of Science and Technology; and personal fees from Aspen Pharma, Biomm Pharma, and Daiichi Sankyo, outside of the submitted work. ATR reports personal fees from Sanofi and Bayer, outside of the submitted work. VCV reports grants from Aspen Pharma, Pfizer, and Cristalia, outside of the submitted work. All other authors declare no competing interests., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The natural compound ravenelin was isolated from the biomass extracts of Exserohilum rostratum fungus, and its antimicrobial, antiplasmodial, and trypanocidal activities were evaluated. Ravenelin was isolated by column chromatography and HPLC and identified by NMR and MS. The susceptibility of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria strains to ravenelin was determined by microbroth dilution assay. Cytotoxicity was evaluated in hepatocarcinoma cells (HepG2) and BALB/c peritoneal macrophages by using MTT. SYBR Green I-based assay was used in the asexual stages of Plasmodium falciparum . Trypanocidal activity was tested against the epimastigote and intracellular amastigote forms of Trypanosoma cruzi . Ravenelin was active against Gram-positive bacteria strains, with emphasis on Bacillus subtilis (MIC value of 7.5 µM). Ravenelin's antiparasitic activities were assessed against both the epimastigote (IC 50 value of 5 ± 1 µM) and the intracellular amastigote forms of T. cruzi (IC 50 value of 9 ± 2 µM), as well as against P. falciparum (IC 50 value of 3.4 ± 0.4 µM). Ravenelin showed low cytotoxic effects on both HepG2 (CC 50 > 50 µM) and peritoneal macrophage (CC 50 = 185 ± 1 µM) cells with attractive selectivity for the parasites (SI values > 15). These findings indicate that ravenelin is a natural compound with both antibacterial and antiparasitic activities, and considerable selectivity indexes. Therefore, ravenelin is an attractive candidate for hit-to-lead development.

Background: Microsomal prostaglandin E synthase-1 (mPGES-1) catalyzes the terminal step of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) production, which plays an important role in the regulation of febrile response. In our previous work, ligand-based pharmacophore models, built with mPGES-1 inhibitors, were employed to identify a novel series of compounds that reduce the febrile response in rats., Objectives: The study aimed to evaluate the mechanism of action of the most active compound (1)., Methods: For in vivo assays, rats were pretreated with the antipyretic compounds 1-8, 30 min before LPS injection. For in vitro assays, RAW 264.7 macrophage cells were incubated with the antipyretic compounds 1-8 for 1 hour before LPS stimulus. After 16 h, quantitative real-time PCR was carried out. Additionally, the PGE 2 concentration in the hypothalamus was quantified by ELISA and the inhibitory effect of N-cyclopentyl-N'-[3-(3-cyclopropyl-1H-1,2,4-triazol- 5-yl)phenyl]ethanediamide (1) over human COX-2 enzymatic activity was determined with a COX Colorimetric Inhibitor Screening Assay Kit., Results: Compound 1 and CAY10526 showed comparable efficacy to reduce the febrile response when injected i.v. (compound 1: 63.10%, CAY10526: 70.20%). Moreover, compound 1 significantly reduced the mPGES-1 mRNA levels, in RAW264.7 cells, under inflammatory conditions. A chemically-similar compound (8-) also significantly reduced the mRNA levels of the gene target. On the other hand, compounds 6 and 7, which are also somewhat similar to compound 1, did not significantly impact mPGES-1 mRNA levels., Conclusions: PGE2 concentration reduction in the hypothalamus, due to compound 1 central injection, is related to decreased mPGES-1 mRNA levels but not to COX-2 inhibition (IC50> 50 μM). Therefore, compound 1 is a promising lead for innovative antipyretic drug development., (Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.net.)

Background: Artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) is used as the first-line treatment of uncomplicated malaria caused by the Plasmodium falciparum parasite and chloroquine-resistant Plasmodium vivax parasites. Evidence of resistance to ACT has been reported in Cambodia, and without new and effective anti-malarial agents, malaria burden and mortality will rise., Methods: The used MolPrint 2D fingerprints and the Tanimoto similarity index were used to perform a structural similarity search within the Malaria Box collection to select diverse molecular scaffolds that are different from artesunate. Next, the inhibitory potency against the P. falciparum 3D7 strain (SYBR Green I inhibition assay) and the cytotoxicity against HepG2 cells (MTT and neutral red assays) were evaluated. Then, the speed of action, the combination profile of selected inhibitors with artesunate, and the P. berghei in vivo activity of the best compounds were assessed., Results: A set of 11 structurally diverse compounds from the Malaria Box with a similarity threshold of less than 0.05 was selected and compared with artesunate. The in vitro inhibitory activity of each compound confirmed the reported potencies (IC 50 values ranging from 0.005 to 1 µM). The cytotoxicity of each selected compound was evaluated and used to calculate the selectivity index (SI values ranging from 15.1 to 6100). Next, both the speed of action and the combination profile of each compound with artesunate was assessed. Acridine, thiazolopyrimidine, quinoxaline, benzimidazole, thiophene, benzodiazepine, isoxazole and pyrimidoindole derivatives showed fast in vitro inhibitory activity of parasite growth, whereas hydrazinobenzimidazole, indenopyridazinone and naphthalenone derivatives were slow-acting in vitro inhibitors. Combinatory profile evaluation indicated that thiazolopyrimidinone and benzodiazepine derivatives have an additive profile, suggesting that the combination of these inhibitors with artesunate is favourable for in vitro inhibitory activity. The remaining compounds showed an antagonistic combinatory profile with artesunate. The collected data indicated that the indenopyridazinone derivative, a bc 1 complex inhibitor, had a similar association profile in combination with proguanil when compared to atovaquone combined with proguanil, thereby corroborating the correlation between the molecular target and the combination profile. Lastly, the in vivo activity of the thiazolopyrimidinone and benzodiazepine derivatives were assessed. Both compounds showed oral efficacy at 50 mg/kg in a mouse model of Plasmodium berghei malaria (64% and 40% reduction in parasitaemia on day 5 post-infection, respectively)., Conclusions: The findings in this paper shed light on the relationship among the speed of action, molecular target and combinatory profile and identified new hits with in vivo activity as candidates for anti-malarial combination therapy.

Introduction: Chagas disease is one of the most relevant endemic parasitic diseases in Latin America, affecting approximately 6 million people. Overt Chagas heart disease is an ominous condition, occurring in 20-30% of infected individuals, which has besides the persistent myocarditis a peculiar intracardiac ganglionic neuronal depletion and dysautonomy. This study aims to evaluate the safety and feasibility of renal denervation for patients with advanced symptomatic Chagas cardiomyopathy., Methods: Open-label prospective pilot study that randomized patients with Chagas heart disease to either renal denervation or conservative treatment (2:1 ratio). The primary endpoint was the incidence of major adverse events at 9 months, defined as a composite of all-cause death, myocardial infarction, stroke, need for renal artery invasive treatment, or worsening renal function., Results: A total of 17 patients were allocated for renal denervation (n = 11) or conservative treatment (n = 6). Included patients had severe symptomatic heart disease, with markedly depressed left ventricular function (average ejection fraction 26.7 ± 4.9%). For patients randomized to renal denervation, the procedure was performed successfully and uneventfully. After 9 months, the primary endpoint occurred in 36.4% of patients in the renal denervation group and 50.0% in the control arm (p = .6). After 9 months, clinical, laboratory, functional, echocardiographic, and quality of life parameters were similar between groups., Conclusions: This pilot study suggests that renal denervation is safe and feasible in patients with Chagas cardiomyopathy, warranting future studies to better evaluate the clinical efficacy of the interventional strategy in improving the prognosis of this high-risk population., (© 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Objectives: The prognostic significance of transient use of inotropes has been sufficiently studied in recent heart failure (HF) populations. We hypothesised that risk stratification in these patients could contribute to patient selection for advanced therapies., Methods: We analysed a prospective cohort of adult patients admitted with decompensated HF and ejection fraction (left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF)) less than 50%. We explored the outcomes of patients requiring inotropic therapy during hospital admission and after discharge., Results: The study included 737 patients, (64.0% male), with a median age of 58 years (IQR 48-66 years). Main aetiologies were dilated cardiomyopathy in 273 (37.0%) patients, ischaemic heart disease in 195 (26.5%) patients and Chagas disease in 163 (22.1%) patients. Median LVEF was 26 % (IQR 22%-35%). Inotropes were used in 518 (70.3%) patients. In 431 (83.2%) patients, a single inotrope was administered. Inotropic therapy was associated with higher risk of in-hospital death/urgent heart transplant (OR=10.628, 95% CI 5.055 to 22.344, p<0.001). At 180-day follow-up, of the 431 patients discharged home, 39 (9.0%) died, 21 (4.9%) underwent transplantation and 183 (42.4%) were readmitted. Inotropes were not associated with outcome (death, transplant and rehospitalisation) after discharge., Conclusions: Inotropic drugs are still widely used in patients with advanced decompensated HF and are associated with a worse in-hospital prognosis. In contrast with previous results, intermittent use of inotropes during hospitalisation did not determine a worse prognosis at 180-day follow-up. These data may add to prognostic evaluation in patients with advanced HF in centres where mechanical circulatory support is not broadly available., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared.

We describe herein the design and synthesis of N -phenyl phthalimide derivatives with inhibitory activities against Plasmodium falciparum (sensitive and resistant strains) in the low micromolar range and noticeable selectivity indices against human cells. The best inhibitor, 4-amino-2-(4-methoxyphenyl)isoindoline-1,3-dione ( 10 ), showed a slow-acting mechanism similar to that of atovaquone. Enzymatic assay indicated that 10 inhibited P. falciparum cytochrome bc 1 complex. Molecular docking studies suggested the binding mode of the best hit to Qo site of the cytochrome bc 1 complex. Our findings suggest that 10 is a promising candidate for hit-to-lead development., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing financial interest.

We report the discovery of marinoquinoline (3 H-pyrrolo[2,3- c]quinoline) derivatives as new chemotypes with antiplasmodial activity. We evaluated their inhibitory activities against P. falciparum and conducted a structure-activity relationship study, focusing on improving their potency and maintaining low cytotoxicity. Next, we devised quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) models, which we prospectively validated, to discover new analogues with enhanced potency. The most potent compound, 50 (IC 50 3d7 = 39 nM; IC 50 K1 = 41 nM), is a fast-acting inhibitor with dual-stage (blood and liver) activity. The compound showed considerable selectivity (SI > 6410), an additive effect when administered in combination with artesunate, excellent tolerability in mice (all mice survived after an oral treatment with a 1000 mg/kg dose), and oral efficacy at 50 mg/kg in a mouse model of P. berghei malaria (62% reduction in parasitemia on day 5 postinfection); thus, compound 50 was considered a lead compound for the discovery of new antimalarial agents.

Aims: Explore the association between clinical findings and prognosis in patients with acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) and analyze the influence of etiology on clinical presentation and prognosis., Methods and Results: Prospective cohort of 500 patients admitted with ADHF from Aug/2013-Feb/2016; patients were predominantly male (61.8%), median age was 58 (IQ25-75% 47-66 years); etiology was dilated cardiomyopathy in 141 (28.2%), ischemic heart disease in 137 (27.4%), and Chagas heart disease in 113 (22.6%). Patients who died (154 [30.8%]) or underwent heart transplantation (53[10.6%]) were younger (56 years [IQ25-75% 45-64 vs 60 years, IQ25-75% 49-67], P = 0.032), more frequently admitted for cardiogenic shock (20.3% vs 6.8%, P<0.001), had longer duration of symptoms (14 days [IQ25-75% 4-32.8 vs 7.5 days, IQ25-75% 2-31], P = 0.004), had signs of congestion (90.8% vs 76.5%, P<0.001) and inadequate perfusion more frequently (45.9% vs 28%, P<0.001), and had lower blood pressure (90 [IQ25-75% 80-100 vs 100, IQ25-75% 90-120], P<0.001). In a logistic regression model analysis, systolic blood pressure (P<0.001, OR 0.97 [95%CI 0.96-0.98] per mmHg) and jugular distention (P = 0.004, OR 1.923 [95%CI 1.232-3.001]) were significant. Chagas patients were more frequently admitted for cardiogenic shock (15%) and syncope/arrhythmia (20.4%). Pulmonary congestion was rare among Chagas patients and blood pressure was lower. The rate of in-hospital death or heart transplant was higher among patients with Chagas (50.5%)., Conclusions: A physical exam may identify patients at higher risk in a contemporaneous population. Our findings support specific therapies targeted at Chagas patients in the setting of ADHF.

The isolation and identification of a series of new pseudoceratidine (1) derivatives from the sponge Tedania brasiliensis enabled the evaluation of their antiparasitic activity against Plasmodium falciparum, Leishmania (Leishmania) amazonensis, Leishmania (Leishmania) infantum, and Trypanosoma cruzi, the causative agents of malaria, cutaneous leishmaniasis, visceral leishmaniasis, and Chagas disease, respectively. The new 3-debromopseudoceratidine (4), 20-debromopseudoceratidine (5), 4-bromopseudoceratidine (6), 19-bromopseudoceratidine (7), and 4,19-dibromopseudoceratidine (8) are reported. New tedamides A-D (9-12), with an unprecedented 4-bromo-4-methoxy-5-oxo-4,5-dihydro-1H-pyrrole-2-carboxamide moiety, are also described. Compounds 4 and 5, 6 and 7, 9 and 10, and 11 and 12 have been isolated as pairs of inseparable structural isomers differing in their sites of bromination or oxidation. Tedamides 9+10 and 11+12 were obtained as optically active pairs, indicating an enzymatic formation rather than an artifactual origin. N 12 -Acetylpseudoceratidine (2) and N 12 -formylpseudoceratidine (3) were obtained by derivatization of pseudoceratidine (1). The antiparasitic activity of pseudoceratidine (1) led us to synthesize 23 derivatives (16, 17, 20, 21, 23, 25, 27-29, 31, 33, 35, 38, 39, 42, 43, 46, 47, 50, and 51) with variations in the polyamine chain and aromatic moiety in sufficient amounts for biological evaluation in antiparasitic assays. The measured antimalarial activity of pseudoceratidine (1) and derivatives 4, 5, 16, 23, 25, 31, and 50 provided an initial SAR evaluation of these compounds as potential leads for antiparasitics against Leishmania amastigotes and against P. falciparum. The results obtained indicate that pseudoceratidine represents a promising scaffold for the development of new antimalarial drugs.

This work aimed at improving the solubility of curcumin by the preparation of spray-dried ternary solid dispersions containing Gelucire®50/13-Aerosil® and quantifying the resulting in vivo oral bioavailability and anti-inflammatory activity. The solid dispersion containing 40% of curcumin was characterised by calorimetry, infrared spectroscopy and X-ray powder diffraction. The solubility and dissolution rate of curcumin in aqueous HCl or phosphate buffer improved up to 3600- and 7.3-fold, respectively. Accelerated stability test demonstrated that the solid dispersion was stable for 9 months. The pharmacokinetic study showed a 5.5-fold increase in curcumin in rat blood plasma when compared to unprocessed curcumin. The solid dispersion also provided enhanced anti-inflammatory activity in rat paw oedema. Finally, the solid dispersion proposed here is a promising way to enhance curcumin bioavailability at an industrial pharmaceutical perspective, since its preparation applies the spray drying, which is an easy to scale up technique. The findings herein stimulate further in vivo evaluations and clinical tests as a cancer and Alzheimer chemoprevention agent.

Eugenia dysenterica DC (cagaiteira) is a native tree from Cerrado biome. Cagaita fruits are known and consumed in natura, mainly by inhabitants from Cerrado. In this study, we evaluated the antioxidant activity of leaves of this plant. For this evaluation we used four methods, the reduction of phosphomolybdenum, scanning by hydrogen peroxide, DPPH radical scavenging assay and determination of electrochemical parameters by differential pulse voltammetry. The results indicate that all extracts from leaves of this species have significant antioxidant potential, following the order: crude ethanol extract CEE) >crude aqueous extract (CAE) >crude hexane extract (CHE). The voltammetric approaches were also applied in order to evaluate the redox behavior of the hydrophilic extracts, as well as of their sub-extracts. Thus, the results suggest the presence of catechol-like polyphenols, which were confirmed by chromatography and phytochemical methods. Voltammetric analysis showed to be a reliable and fast method to determine redox behavior of E. dysenterica extracts.

Fever is a complex signal of inflammatory and infectious diseases. It is generally initiated when peripherally produced endogenous pyrogens reach areas that surround the hypothalamus. These peripheral endogenous pyrogens are cytokines that are produced by leukocytes and other cells, the most known of which are interleukin-1β, tumor necrosis factor-α, and interleukin-6. Because of the capacity of these molecules to induce their own synthesis and the synthesis of other cytokines, they can also be synthesized in the central nervous system. However, these pyrogens are not the final mediators of the febrile response. These cytokines can induce the synthesis of cyclooxygenase-2, which produces prostaglandins. These prostanoids alter hypothalamic temperature control, leading to an increase in heat production, the conservation of heat, and ultimately fever. The effect of antipyretics is based on blocking prostaglandin synthesis. In this review, we discuss recent data on the importance of prostaglandins in the febrile response, and we show that some endogenous mediators can still induce the febrile response even when known antipyretics reduce the levels of prostaglandins in the central nervous system. These studies suggest that centrally produced mediators other than prostaglandins participate in the genesis of fever. Among the most studied central mediators of fever are corticotropin-releasing factor, endothelins, chemokines, endogenous opioids, and substance P, which are discussed herein. Additionally, recent evidence suggests that these different pathways of fever induction may be activated during different pathological conditions.

Snake venom metalloproteinases have been described as responsible for several inflammatory effects. In this study, we investigated the edema and hyperalgesia induced in rats by Batroxase, a P-I metalloproteinase from Bothrops atrox venom, along with possible inflammatory mediators involved in these responses. Batroxase or sterile saline was injected into rat paws and the edema and hyperalgesic effects were evaluated for 6h by using a plethysmometer and a Von Frey system, respectively. Batroxase induced significant edematogenic and hyperalgesic peak responses in the first hours after administration. The inflammatory mediators involved in these responses were assayed by pretreatment of animals with synthesis inhibitors or receptor antagonists. Peak responses were significantly reduced by administration of the glucocorticoid dexamethasone, the H1 receptor antagonist diphenhydramine and the FLAP inhibitor MK-886. Rat paws injected with compound 48/80, a mast cell degranulating agent, followed by Batroxase injection resulted in significant reduction of the edema and hyperalgesia. However, Batroxase itself induced minor degranulation of RBL-2H3 mast cells in vitro. Additionally, the inflammatory responses did not seem to be related to prostaglandins, bradykinin or nitric oxide. Our results indicate a major involvement of histamine and leukotrienes in the edema and hyperalgesia induced by Batroxase, which could be related, at least in part, to mast cell degranulation., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Recent literature has revealed that centrally generated prostaglandins participate in the febrile response in zymosan-induced arthritis in rats. However, it is not clear whether other centrally acting pyrogenic mediators such as cytokines, endothelins (ETs), and the corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) contribute to the febrile response in this model. In the present study, rats were pretreated with intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) injections of soluble TNF receptor I (sTNFRI), recombinant IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1ra), anti-rat IL-6 monoclonal antibody (AbIL-6), α-helical CRF9-41 (a nonselective CRF1/CRF2 receptor antagonist), BQ-123 (an ETA receptor antagonist), BQ-788 (an ETB receptor antagonist), and artificial cerebrospinal fluid (aCSF, control) prior to an intra-articular zymosan (4 mg) injection. Rectal temperatures were measured with a telethermometer. The administration of IL-1ra (200 µg), sTNFRI (500 ng), and AbIL-6 (5 µg) attenuated body temperature elevations after a zymosan injection. The administration of BQ-788 (3 pmol), BQ-123 (3 pmol), and α-helical CRF9-41 (25 µg) did not affect the zymosan-induced febrile response. All the compounds used to pretreat the animals did not significantly alter their basal body temperatures. Together, the results here demonstrate that the febrile response in zymosan-induced arthritis in rats depends on the centrally acting pyrogenic cytokines TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6, but does not depend on either CRF or ET-1., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Clinical and experimental conflicting data have questioned the relationship between infectious agents, inflammation and dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM)., Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of infectious agents and inflammation in endomyocardial biopsy (EMB) specimens from patients with idiopathic DCM, explanted hearts from different etiologies, including Chagas' disease, compared to donated hearts., Methods: From 2008 to 2011, myocardial samples from 29 heart donors and 55 patients with DCMs from different etiologies were studied (32 idiopathic, 9 chagasic, 6 ischemic and 8 other specific etiologies). Inflammation was investigated by immunohistochemistry and infectious agents by immunohistochemistry, molecular biology, in situ hybridization and electron microscopy., Results: There were no differences regarding the presence of macrophages, expression of HLA class II and ICAM-I in donors and DCM. Inflammation in Chagas' disease was predominant. By immunohistochemistry, in donors, there was a higher expression of antigens of enterovirus and Borrelia, hepatitis B and C in DCMs. By molecular biology, in all groups, the positivity was elevated to microorganisms, including co-infections, with a higher positivity to adenovirus and HHV6 in donors towards DCMs. This study was the first to demonstrate the presence of virus in the heart tissue of chagasic DCM., Conclusions: The presence of inflammation and infectious agents is frequent in donated hearts, in the myocardium of patients with idiopathic DCM, myocardial dysfunction related to cardiovascular diseases, and primary and secondary cardiomyopathies, including Chagas' disease. The role of co-infection in Chagas' heart disease physiopathology deserves to be investigated in future studies., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The synthesis of calcium phosphate nanoparticles may include modifying agents to tailor particle size, reduce agglomeration and add specific functionalities. This study describes the synthesis of dicalcium phosphate dihydrate (DCPD) nanoparticles functionalized with triethylene glycol dimethacrylate (TEGDMA), added to one of the reacting solutions, with the purpose of reducing agglomeration and improving the compatibility with vinyl-based resin matrices. The nanoparticles were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), elemental analysis, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), transmission electronic microscopy (TEM), dynamic light scattering (DLS), and surface area (BET). As controls, proprietary DCPD nanoparticles and nanoparticles synthesized without the addition of TEGDMA ("bare") were subjected to the same analytical methods. XRD revealed a similar crystalline structure of the synthesized materials in comparison to the proprietary nanoparticles. The presence of a TEGDMA layer was confirmed by elemental analysis and TGA, corresponding to a mass fraction of 8.5%. FTIR analysis of the functionalized nanoparticles revealed the suppression of some absorbance bands found in the neat TEGDMA. A chemisorption mechanism between TEGDMA and the surface of primary particles by ion-dipole interaction involving TEGDMA oxyethylene, and also an interaction mechanism between the particle surface and terminal-CH3 groups are proposed. Functionalized nanoparticles showed 3 to 11 times higher surface area than the controls, in agreement with DLS data, indicating lower agglomeration., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background and Purpose: The antipyretic and hypothermic prodrug dipyrone prevents PGE2 -dependent and -independent fever induced by LPS from Escherichia coli and Tityus serrulatus venom (Tsv) respectively. We aimed to identify the dipyrone metabolites responsible for the antipyretic and hypothermic effects., Experimental Approach: Male Wistar rats were treated i.p. with indomethacin (2 mg·kg(-1) ), dipyrone, 4-methylaminoantipyrine (4-MAA), 4-aminoantipyrine (4-AA) (60-360 mg·kg(-1) ), 4-formylaminoantipyrine, 4-acethylaminoantipyrine (120-360 mg·kg(-1) ) or vehicle 30 min before i.p. injection of LPS (50 μg·kg(-1) ), Tsv (150 μg·kg(-1) ) or saline. Rectal temperatures were measured by tele-thermometry and dipyrone metabolite concentrations determined in the plasma, CSF and hypothalamus by LC-MS/MS. PGE2 concentrations were determined in the CSF and hypothalamus by elisa., Key Results: In contrast to LPS, Tsv-induced fever was not followed by increased PGE2 in the CSF or hypothalamus. The antipyretic time-course of 4-MAA and 4-AA on LPS-induced fever overlapped with the period of the highest concentrations of 4-MAA and 4-AA in the hypothalamus, CSF and plasma. These metabolites reduced LPS-induced fever and the PGE2 increase in the plasma, CSF and hypothalamus. Only 4-MAA inhibited Tsv-induced fever. The higher doses of dipyrone and 4-MAA also induced hypothermia., Conclusions and Implications: The presence of 4-MAA and 4-AA in the CSF and hypothalamus was associated with PGE2 synthesis inhibition and a decrease in LPS-induced fever. 4-MAA was also shown to be an antipyretic metabolite for PGE2 -independent fever induced by Tsv suggesting that it is responsible for the additional antipyretic mechanism of dipyrone. Moreover, 4-MAA is the hypothermic metabolite of dipyrone., (© 2014 The British Pharmacological Society.)

Background: Discrepancies between pre and post-mortem diagnoses are reported in the literature, ranging from 4.1 to 49.8 % in cases referred for necropsy, with important impact on patient treatment., Objective: To analyze patients who died after cardiac transplantation and to compare the pre- and post-mortem diagnoses., Methods: Perform a review of medical records and analyze clinical data, comorbidities, immunosuppression regimen, laboratory tests, clinical cause of death and cause of death at the necropsy. Then, the clinical and necroscopic causes of death of each patient were compared., Results: 48 deaths undergoing necropsy were analyzed during 2000-2010; 29 (60.4 %) had concordant clinical and necroscopic diagnoses, 16 (33.3%) had discordant diagnoses and three (6.3%) had unclear diagnoses. Among the discordant ones, 15 (31.3%) had possible impact on survival and one (2.1%) had no impact on survival. The main clinical misdiagnosis was infection, with five cases (26.7 % of discordant), followed by hyperacute rejection, with four cases (20 % of the discordant ones), and pulmonary thromboembolism, with three cases (13.3% of discordant ones)., Conclusion: Discrepancies between clinical diagnosis and necroscopic findings are commonly found in cardiac transplantation. New strategies to improve clinical diagnosis should be made, considering the results of the necropsy, to improve the treatment of heart failure by heart transplantation.

Aims: Heterocyclic pyrazole derivative has been described for the treatment of pain and inflammatory diseases. This study evaluated the in vivo, antinociceptive, anti-inflammatory and antipyretic effects of 1.5-diphenyl-1H-Pyrazole-3-carbohydrazide (1.5-DHP) and the in vivo or in vitro mechanism of action., Main Methods: Acetic acid-induced writhing, hot-plate and formalin-induced nociception tests were used to evaluate the antinociceptive effect, while the rota-rod test was used to assess the motor activity. Croton oil-induced ear edema and carrageenan-induced peritonitis tests were used to investigate the anti-inflammatory effect of 1.5-DHP. The antipyretic effect was assessed using the LPS-induced fever model. The mechanism of action was evaluated by PGE2 and TNF-α measurement and cyclooxygenase inhibition assay., Key Findings: Oral administration (p.o.) of 1.5-DHP (1, 3, 10 mg/kg) caused a dose-related inhibition of the acetic acid-induced writhing, however the highest dose was not effective on the hot-plate and rota-rod. In the formalin-induced nociception, 1.5-DHP (10mg/kg, p.o.) inhibited only the late phase of nociception. This same dose of 1.5-DHP also reduced the croton oil-induced ear edema. 1.5-DHP (3, 10, 30 mg/kg, p.o.) produced a dose-related reduction of leukocyte migration on the carrageenan-induced peritonitis. 1.5-DHP (60 mg/kg, p.o.) reduced the fever and the increase of PGE2 concentration in the cerebrospinal fluid induced by LPS. 1.5-DHP inhibited both COXs in vitro. Finally, 1.5-DHP (10 mg/kg, p.o.) reduced the TNF-α concentration in peritoneal exudates after carrageenan injection., Significance: These results indicate that 1.5-DHP produces anti-inflammatory, antinociceptive and antipyretic effects by PGE2 synthesis reduction through COX-1/COX-2 inhibition and by TNF-α synthesis/release inhibition., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: After oral administration dipyrone is rapidly hydrolyzed to 4-methylaminoantipyrine, which is absorbed and further metabolized to 4-formylaminoantipyrine and to 4-aminoantipyrine, which is acetylated by a polymorphic N-acetyltransferase system to 4-acetylaminoantipyrine. To evaluate the presence of dipyrone metabolites in different rat matrices after intraperitoneal administration, an analytical method was developed and validated., Methodology: The four main dipyrone metabolites were extracted from plasma, cerebrospinal fluid and hypothalamus samples by LLE prior to LC-MS/MS., Results: Standard calibration graphs for all metabolites were linear (r > 0.99). The intra- and inter-day precision and accuracy values were both inferior to 15%., Conclusion: This method is simple and specific for studying dipyrone metabolites after intraperitoneal administration.

Although studies have shown that chemokines are pyrogenic when injected into the brain, there are no data indicating which cell types and receptors in the CNS are employed by chemokines such as CCL3 (synonym: MIP-1α) to induce fever in rats. We aimed to study, whether CCL3 induces fever when injected directly into the thermoregulatory center within the pre-optic area (POA). Moreover, we investigated whether CCL3 activates cells from POA microcultures resulting in intracellular Ca++ mobilization and synthesis/release of TNF-α and IL-6. Microinjections of CCL3 into the POA induced a dose-dependent fever, which was accompanied by a decrease in tail skin temperature. The primary microcultures of the POA (from topographically excised rat pup brain tissue) were stimulated by bolus administrations of 100 μl CCL3 (0.1 or 0.01 μg) or sterile PBS as control. We evaluated the responses of 261 (30.89%) neurons, 346 (40.94%) astrocytes and 238 microglia cells (29.17%). Stimulation of rat POA microcultures with CCL3 was capable of inducing Ca++ signaling in 15.31% of all astrocytes and 5.75% of all neurons investigated. No cellular Ca++-signals were observed after overnight incubation of the cultures with antiCCR1 or antiCCR5 antibodies. CCL3 did not alter the release of the pyrogenic cytokines IL-6 or TNF-α into the supernatant of the cultures. In conclusion the present study shows for the first time that CCL-3 injected directly into the rat POA, evoked an integrated febrile response. In parallel this chemokine induces Ca++ signaling in astrocytes and neurons via both CCR1 and CCR5 receptors when administered to POA microcultures without stimulating the synthesis of TNF-α and IL-6. It is a possibility that CCL3-induced fever may occur via CCR1 and CCR5 receptors stimulation of astrocytes and neurons from POA., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Ethnopharmacology Relevance: Hydro alcoholic leaves extracts (HALE) of Lychnophora ericoides Mart. ("false arnica" or "arnica-da-serra") had been popularly used against pain and inflammatory process., Aim: The present work aimed to look for possible active volatile compounds that could be found in HALE of Lychnophora ericoides among the non volatile anti-inflammatory and analgesic compounds previously reported., Methods: Harvests were performed during the end of the wet summer season (April) when scented branches were instantly collected and frozen. HALE's were simulated at the lab by following the procedures lectured by the locals. Mass Spectrometry experiments suggested structural information when using both EI-MS and ESI-MS/MS. After isolation through classical thin layer chromatography (TLC) procedures, the NMR experiments and signals assignments were carried out. The effects on the cytokines or nitric oxide (NO) production were assessed at in vitro assays that had monitored the levels of these substances on the supernatant of LPS-stimulated macrophage primary cell culture., Results: The major metabolite from HALE was isolated from the essential oil and the major compound had its molecular formulae established by Mass Spectrometry (High Resolution) and its structure by NMR. Literature-based investigation enables us to define the structure of the new metabolite as 6-methyl-2-(4-methylcyclohex-4-enyl-2-acetyloxy) hept-5-en-2-ol and its name as orto-acetoxy-bisabolol. In vitro assay of interleukins release inhibition was carried out using rat peritoneal macrophages cultures. IL-1β and TNF-α levels were significantly reduced when cells were previously treated with low doses of orto-acetoxy-bisabolol, but neither IL-6 nor NO levels have their levels reduced. Results suggest that ethnical knowledge of anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects of the "arnica-da-serra" HALE may be associated to the orto-acetoxy-bisabolol ability on synthesis inhibition of the key inflammatory/hypernociceptive mediators., Conclusions: Phytochemical investigation of the volatile active compounds in Lychnophora ericoides HALE allows us to isolate a new bisabolane derivative (orto-acetoxy-bisabolol) and to infer that this compound inhibits the synthesis of TNF-α and IL-1β, two important inflammatory mediators in the hypernociception. Our present data, in addition to literature's data, furnish scientific support to folk's use of Lychnophora ericoides as an endemic wound healer., (Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.)

Background: Renal dysfunction is associated with increased mortality in patients with decompensated heart failure. However, interventions targeted to prevention in this setting have been disappointing. We investigated the effects of hypertonic saline solution (HSS) for prevention of renal dysfunction in decompensated heart failure., Methods: In a double-blind randomized trial, patients with decompensated heart failure were assigned to receive three-day course of 100mL HSS (NaCl 7.5%) twice daily or placebo. Primary end point was an increase in serum creatinine of 0.3mg/dL or more. Main secondary end point was change in biomarkers of renal function, including serum levels of creatinine, cystatin C, neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin-NGAL and the urinary excretion of aquaporin 2 (AQP2), urea transporter (UT-A1), and sodium/hydrogen exchanger 3 (NHE3)., Results: Twenty-two patients were assigned to HSS and 12 to placebo. Primary end point occurred in two (10%) patients in HSS group and six (50%) in placebo group (relative risk 0.3; 95% CI 0.09-0.98; P=0.01). Relative to baseline, serum creatinine and cystatin C levels were lower in HSS as compared to placebo (P=0.004 and 0.03, respectively). NGAL level was not statistically different between groups, however the urinary expression of AQP2, UT-A1 and NHE3 was significantly higher in HSS than in placebo., Conclusions: HSS administration attenuated heart failure-induced kidney dysfunction as indicated by improvement in both glomerular and tubular defects, a finding with important clinical implications. HSS modulated the expression of tubular proteins involved in regulation of water and electrolyte homeostasis., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Sudden death has been considered the main cause of death in patients with Chagas heart disease. Nevertheless, this information comes from a period before the introduction of drugs that changed the natural history of heart failure. We sought to study the mode of death of patients with heart failure caused by Chagas heart disease, comparing with non-Chagas cardiomyopathy., Methods and Results: We examined the REMADHE trial and grouped patients according to etiology (Chagas vs non-Chagas) and mode of death. The primary end-point was all-cause, heart failure and sudden death mortality; 342 patients were analyzed and 185 (54.1%) died. Death occurred in 56.4% Chagas patients and 53.7% non-Chagas patients. The cumulative incidence of all-cause mortality and heart failure mortality was significantly higher in Chagas patients compared to non-Chagas. There was no difference in the cumulative incidence of sudden death mortality between the two groups. In the Cox regression model, Chagas etiology (HR 2.76; CI 1.34-5.69; p = 0.006), LVEDD (left ventricular end diastolic diameter) (HR 1.07; CI 1.04-1.10; p<0.001), creatinine clearance (HR 0.98; CI 0.97-0.99; p = 0.006) and use of amiodarone (HR 3.05; CI 1.47-6.34; p = 0.003) were independently associated with heart failure mortality. LVEDD (HR 1.04; CI 1.01-1.07; p = 0.005) and use of beta-blocker (HR 0.52; CI 0.34-0.94; p = 0.014) were independently associated with sudden death mortality., Conclusions: In severe Chagas heart disease, progressive heart failure is the most important mode of death. These data challenge the current understanding of Chagas heart disease and may have implications in the selection of treatment choices, considering the mode of death., Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00505050 (REMADHE).

This study investigated the involvement of prostaglandins and regulated on activation, normal T cell expressed and secreted (RANTES), in fever induced by live Staphylococcus aureus (no. 25923, American Type Culture Collection) injection in rats. S. aureus was injected intraperitoneally at 10(9), 10(10), and 2 × 10(10) colony-forming units (CFU)/cavity, and body temperature (T(b)) was measured by radiotelemetry. The lowest dose of S. aureus induced a modest transient increase in T(b), whereas the two higher doses promoted similar long-lasting and sustained T(b) increases. Thus, the 10(10) CFU/cavity dose was chosen for the remaining experiments. The T(b) increase induced by S. aureus was accompanied by significant decreases in tail skin temperature and increases in PGE(2) levels in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and hypothalamus but not in the venous plasma. Celecoxib (selective cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitor, 2.5 mg/kg po) inhibited the fever and the increases in PGE(2) concentration in the CSF and hypothalamus induced by S. aureus. Dipyrone (120 mg/kg ip) reduced the fever from 2.5 to 4 h and the PGE(2) increase in the CSF but not in the hypothalamus. S. aureus increased RANTES in the peritoneal exudate but not in the CSF or hypothalamus. Met-RANTES (100 μg/kg iv), a chemokine (C-C motif) receptor (CCR)1/CCR5 antagonist, reduced the first 6 h of fever induced by S. aureus. This study suggests that peripheral (local) RANTES and central PGE(2) production are key events in the febrile response to live S. aureus injection. As dipyrone does not reduce PGE(2) synthesis in the hypothalamus, it is plausible that S. aureus induces fever, in part, via a dipyrone-sensitive PGE(2)-independent pathway.

The purpose of the present study was to better understand the events involved in the febrile response induced by cecal ligation and puncture (CLP), a complex infectious process. To this end, we conducted in vivo experiments in rats examining (1) fever development, (2) bacterial number in the infection focus and in blood, (3) peripheral and hypothalamic synthesis of cytokines, (4) hypothalamic and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) synthesis of prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2)), (5) the effect of anti-IL-6 antibody on fever, and (6) the effect of celecoxib on fever and hypothalamic synthesis of PGE(2) after CLP induction. We found that CLP promotes fever and animal death depending on the number of punctures. The peak of CLP-induced fever overlapped with the maximal increase in the number of bacteria in the infectious focus and blood, which occurred at 6 and 12 h. The peak of the febrile response also coincided with increased amounts of interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6 and IL-10 in the peritoneal exudate and serum; IL-6 in the hypothalamus and PGE(2) in the CSF and predominantly in the hypothalamus. Moreover, intracerebroventricularly injected anti-IL-6 antibody reduced the febrile response while celecoxib reduced the fever and PGE(2) amount in the hypothalamus induced by CLP. Tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α peaked at 3 h at all sites studied. Conversely, IL-10 concentration decreased in the hypothalamus. These findings show that the peak of CLP-induced fever is accompanied by an increase of bacteria in peritoneal fluid (local infection) and blood; local synthesis of pyrogenic (IL-1β, IL-6) and antipyretic (IL-10) cytokines and central production of IL-6 and PGE(2), suggesting that these last are the central mediators of this response.

Background: Performing a coronary angiography in patients with heart failure of unknown etiology is often justified by the diagnostic assessment of ischemic heart disease. However, the clinical benefit of this strategy is not known., Objective: To evaluate the prevalence of ischemic heart disease by angiographic criteria in patients with heart failure and reduced ejection fraction of unknown etiology, as well as its impact on therapy decisions., Methods: Consecutive outpatients with heart failure and systolic dysfunction, who had an indication for coronary angiography to clarify the etiology of heart disease were assessed from 1 January 2009 to December 31, 2010. Patients diagnosed with coronary artery disease, positive serology for Chagas disease, congenital heart disease, valve disease or patients undergoing cardiac transplantation were excluded from the analysis. The sample was divided into two groups according to the indication for catheterization. Group-1: Symptomatic due to angina or heart failure. Group-2: Presence of > 2 risk factors for coronary artery disease, Results: One hundred and seven patients were included in the analysis, with 51 (47.7%) patients in Group 1 and 56 (52.3%) in Group 2. The prevalence of ischemic heart disease was 9.3% (10 patients), and all belonged to Group 1 (p = 0.0001). During follow-up, only 4 (3.7%) were referred for CABG; 3 (2.8%) patients had procedure-related complications., Conclusion: In our study, coronary angiography in patients with heart failure and systolic dysfunction of unknown etiology, although supported by current guidelines, did not show benefits when performed only due to the presence of risk factors for coronary artery disease.

The fact that there is a complex and bidirectional communication between the immune and nervous systems has been well demonstrated. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS), a component of gram-negative bacteria, is widely used to systematically stimulate the immune system and generate profound physiological and behavioural changes, also known as 'sickness behaviour' (e.g. anhedonia, lethargy, loss of appetite, anxiety, sleepiness). Different ethological tools have been used to analyse the behavioural modifications induced by LPS; however, many researchers analysed only individual tests, a single LPS dose or a unique ethological parameter, thus leading to disagreements regarding the data. In the present study, we investigated the effects of different doses of LPS (10, 50, 200 and 500 μg/kg, i.p.) in young male Wistar rats (weighing 180-200 g; 8-9 weeks old) on the ethological and spatiotemporal parameters of the elevated plus maze, light-dark box, elevated T maze, open-field tests and emission of ultrasound vocalizations. There was a dose-dependent increase in anxiety-like behaviours caused by LPS, forming an inverted U curve peaked at LPS 200 μg/kg dose. However, these anxiety-like behaviours were detected only by complementary ethological analysis (stretching, grooming, immobility responses and alarm calls), and these reactions seem to be a very sensitive tool in assessing the first signs of sickness behaviour. In summary, the present work clearly showed that there are resting and alertness reactions induced by opposite neuroimmune mechanisms (neuroimmune bias) that could lead to anxiety behaviours, suggesting that misunderstanding data could occur when only few ethological variables or single doses of LPS are analysed. Finally, it is hypothesized that this bias is an evolutionary tool that increases animals' security while the body recovers from a systemic infection., (© 2011 The Authors. Basic & Clinical Pharmacology & Toxicology © 2011 Nordic Pharmacological Society.)

Interleukin (IL)-1β, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, and IL-6 have been established as important mediators of fever induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) from Gram-negative bacteria. Whether these pro-inflammatory cytokines are also important in mediating fever induced by live bacteria remains less certain. We therefore investigated the following: (1) the synthesis of TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6 during E. coli-induced fever and (2) the effect of blocking the action of cytokines within the brain on E. coli-induced fever. Body or tail skin temperature (bT or Tsk, respectively) was measured by biotelemetry or telethermometry, every 30 min, during 6 or 24 h. Depending on the number of colony-forming units (CFU) injected i.p., administration of E. coli induced a long-lasting increase in bT of male Wistar rats. The duration of fever did not correlate with the number of CFU found in peritoneal cavity or blood. Because 2.5 × 10(8) CFU induced a sustained fever without inducing a state of sepsis/severe infection, this dose was used in subsequent experiments. The E. coli-induced increase in bT was preceded by a decrease in Tsk, reflecting a thermoregulatory response. TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6 were detected at 3 h in serum of animals injected i.p. with E. coli. In the peritoneal exudates, TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6 were detected at 0.5 and 3 h after E. coli administration. Moreover, both IL-1β and IL-6, but not TNF-α, were found in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and hypothalamus of animals injected with E. coli. Although pre-treatment (i.c.v., 2 μl, 15 min before) with anti-IL-6 antibody (anti-IL-6, 5 μg) reduced E. coli-induced fever, pre-treatment with either IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1ra, 200 μg) or soluble TNF receptor I (sTNFRI, 500 ng) had no effect on the fever response. In conclusion, replicating E. coli promotes an integrated thermoregulatory response in which the central action of IL-6, but not IL-1 and TNF, appears to be important.

This study compared the antipyretic effects of ibuprofen and indomethacin regarding the efficacy in blocking fevers induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS from E. coli) or pyrogenic mediators that act on prostaglandin (PG)-dependent and PG-independent pathways. The content of PGE₂ in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and the dependence on central arginine vasopressin (AVP) release by both antipyretics were also compared during the reduction of LPS-induced fever. Finally, we investigated the effect of ibuprofen on hypothalamic cytokine content during LPS-induced fever. Ibuprofen (intraperitoneally, i.p.) dose-dependently inhibited the fever induced by LPS (intravenously, i.v.). Indomethacin (2 mg/kg) and ibuprofen (10 mg/kg) reduced the fever induced by i.c.v. injection of interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, or arachidonic acid (AA). Ibuprofen, but not indomethacin, inhibited i.c.v. endothelin-1- and pre-formed pyrogenic factor (PFPF)-induced fever. Neither ibuprofen nor indomethacin affected fever by PGE₂ , PGF(2α) , or corticotrophin-releasing factor (CRF); however, both reduced the CSF PGE₂ content after LPS. Bilateral injection of the AVP V(1) receptor antagonist d(CH2)₅ Tyr(Me)AVP into the ventral septal area blocked both ibuprofen- and indomethacin-induced antipyresis. Ibuprofen did not modify the hypothalamic increase in either IL-1β or IL-6 induced by LPS. In conclusion, although the antipyretic effect of ibuprofen involves the blockage of central production of PGE₂ and the endogenous release of AVP, differently from low dose of indomethacin, ibuprofen not only reduced the fever induced by PGE₂ -dependent, but also, that induced by PGE₂ -independent endogenous pyrogens. Moreover, ibuprofen does not affect the hypothalamic synthesis/release of IL-1β and IL-6., (2010 The Authors Fundamental and Clinical Pharmacology. 2010 Société Française de Pharmacologie et de Thérapeutique.)

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Peperomia serpens (Piperaceae), popularly known as "carrapatinho", is an epiphyte herbaceous liana grown wild on different host trees in the Amazon rainforest. Its leaves are largely used in Brazilian folk medicine to treat inflammation, pain and asthma., Aim of the Study: This study investigated the effects of essential oil of Peperomia serpens (EOPs) in standard rodent models of pain and inflammation., Materials and Methods: The antinociceptive activity was evaluated using chemical (acetic acid and formalin) and thermal (hot plate) models of nociception in mice whereas the anti-inflammatory activity was evaluated by carrageenan- and dextran-induced paw edema tests in rats croton oil-induced ear edema, as well as cell migration, rolling and adhesion induced by carrageenan in mice. Additionally, phytochemical analysis of the EOPs has been also performed., Results: Chemical composition of the EOPs was analyzed by gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Twenty-four compounds, representing 89.6% of total oil, were identified. (E)-Nerolidol (38.0%), ledol (27.1%), α-humulene (11.5%), (E)-caryophyllene (4.0%) and α-eudesmol (2.7%) were found to be the major constituents of the oil. Oral pretreatment with EOPs (62.5-500 mg/kg) significantly reduced the writhing number evoked by acetic acid injection, with an ED(50) value of 188.8 mg/kg that was used thereafter in all tests. EOPs had no significant effect on hot plate test but reduced the licking time in both phases of the formalin test, an effect that was not significantly altered by naloxone (0.4 mg/kg, s.c.). EOPs inhibited the edema formation induced by carrageenan and dextran in rats. In mice, EOPs inhibited the edema formation by croton oil as well as the leukocyte and neutrophil migration, the rolling and the adhesion of leukocytes., Conclusions: These data show for the first time that EOPs has a significant and peripheral antinociceptive effect that seems unrelated to interaction with the opioid system. EOPs also displays a significant anti-inflammatory effect in acute inflammation models. This effect seems to be related to components which inhibit the production of several inflammatory mediators. These results support the widespread use of Peperomia serpens in popular medicine to treat inflammation and pain., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background and Purpose: Bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induces fever through two parallel pathways; one, prostaglandin (PG)-dependent and the other, PG-independent and involving endothelin-1 (ET-1). For a better understanding of the mechanisms by which dipyrone exerts antipyresis, we have investigated its effects on fever and changes in PGE(2) content in plasma, CSF and hypothalamus induced by either LPS or ET-1., Experimental Approach: Rats were given (i.p.) dipyrone (120 mg·kg(-1)) or indomethacin (2 mg·kg(-1)) 30 min before injection of LPS (5 µg·kg(-1), i.v.) or ET-1 (1 pmol, i.c.v.). Rectal temperature was measured by tele-thermometry. PGE(2) levels were determined in the plasma, CSF and hypothalamus by elisa., Key Results: LPS or ET-1 induced fever and increased CSF and hypothalamic PGE(2) levels. Two hours after LPS, indomethacin reduced CSF and hypothalamic PGE(2) but did not inhibit fever, while at 3 h it reduced all three parameters. Three hours after ET-1, indomethacin inhibited the increase in CSF and hypothalamic PGE(2) levels but did not affect fever. Dipyrone abolished both the fever and the increased CSF PGE(2) levels induced by LPS or ET-1 but did not affect the increased hypothalamic PGE(2) levels. Dipyrone also reduced the increase in the venous plasma PGE(2) concentration induced by LPS., Conclusions and Implications: These findings confirm that PGE(2) does not play a relevant role in ET-1-induced fever. They also demonstrate for the first time that the antipyretic effect of dipyrone was not mechanistically linked to the inhibition of hypothalamic PGE(2) synthesis., (© 2011 The Authors. British Journal of Pharmacology © 2011 The British Pharmacological Society.)

Introduction: Advantages of the bicaval versus the biatrial technique have been reported, emphasizing atrial electrical stability and less tricuspid regurgitation., Objective: To analyze the impact of the surgical technique on long-term pulmonary pressures, contractility, and graft valvular behavior after heart transplantation., Methods: Among 400 orthotopic heart transplantation recipients from 1985 to 2010, we selected 30 consecutive patients who had survived beyond 3 years. The biatrial versus bicaval surgical technique groups included 15 patients each. Their preoperative clinical characteristics were similar. None of the patients displayed a pulmonary vascular resistance or pulmonary artery pressure over 6U Wood or 60 mm Hg, respectively. We evaluated invasive hemodynamic parameters during routine endomyocardial biopsies. Two-dimensional echocardiographic parameters were obtained from routine examinations., Results: There were no significant differences regarding right atrial pressure, systolic pulmonary artery pressure, pulmonary capillary wedge pressure, pulmonary vascular resistance, cardiac index, systolic blood pressure, left ventricular ejection fraction, and mitral regurgitation (P > .05). Tricuspid regurgitation increased significantly over the 3 years of observation only among the biatrial group (P = .0212). In both groups, the right atrial pressure, pulmonary wedge capillary pressure, transpulmonary gradient, and pulmonary vascular resistance decreased significantly (P < .05) from the pre- to the postoperative examination. In both groups cardiac index and systemic blood pressure increased significantly after transplantation (P < .05). Comparative analysis of the groups only showed significant differences regarding right atrial pressure and degree of tricuspid regurgitation; the bicaval group showing the best performance., Conclusions: Both surgical techniques ensure adequate left ventricular function in the long term; however, the bicaval technique provided better trends in hemodynamic performance, as well as a lower incidence and severity of tricuspid valve dysfunction., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Chagas' disease is endemic in South America., Objective: This research reviewed the experience with cardiac transplantation in Chagas' disease, emphasizing reactivation, immunosuppression, and mortality., Methods: Over 25 years from March 1985 to March 2010, 107/409 (26.2%) patients with Chagas' disease underwent heart transplantation, patients including 74 (71.1%) men and 72 (67.2%), in functional class IV with 33 (30.8%) on vasopressors and 17 (10.7%) on mechanical circulatory support., Results: The diagnosis of disease reactivation was performed by identifying the parasite in the myocardium (n = 23; 71.8%) in the subcutaneous tissue (n = 8; 25.0%), in blood (n = 11; 34.3%), or in central nervous tissue (n = 1; 3.1%). Hospital mortality was 17.7% (n = 19) due to infection (n = 6; 31.5%), graft dysfunction (n = 6; 31.5%), rejection (n = 4; 21.1%), or sudden death (n = 2; 10.5%). Late mortality was 27 (25.2%) cases, which were distributed as: rejection (n = 6; 22.2%), infection (n = 6; 22.2%), (n = lymphoma 4; 14.8%), sarcoma (n = 2; 7.4%), for constrictive pericarditis (n = 2; 7.4%) reactivation of Chagas' disease in the central nervous system (n = 1; 7.1%)., Conclusions: Transplantation in Chagas' disease has peculiar problems that differ from other etiologies due to the possibility of disease reactivation and the increased possibility of emergence of cancers. However, transplantation is the only treatment able to modify the natural progression of the disease in its terminal phase. Early diagnosis and rapid introduction of benzonidazole reverses the histological patterns. Immunosuppression, especially steroids, predisposes to the development of cancer and disease reactivation., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

This study compared the ability of CRF and UCN1 to induce a thermoregulatory response when centrally injected into rats. The effects of antipyretic drugs and CRF receptor antagonists (CRF₁ and CRF₂) on the temperature (T) changes induced by these peptides were also investigated. Rectal (rT) and tail skin (T(sk)) temperatures were measured with a thermistor probe while body (bT) temperature was measured with a battery-operated biotelemetry transmitter in male Wistar rats (200 g) every 30 min over a period of 6h, after intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) injection of 1 nmol of either CRF or UCN1. Rats were pre-treated with indomethacin (2 mg kg⁻¹, i.p.) or celecoxib (5 mg kg⁻¹, p.o.), dexamethasone (0.5 mg kg⁻¹, s.c.), astressin (a CRF₁/CRF₂ antagonist, 7 nmol, i.c.v.) or antalarmin (a CRF₁ antagonist, 20 mg kg⁻¹, i.p.). The increase in body temperature induced by CRF was accompanied by a reduction in T(sk) while the response induced by UCN1 was accompanied by an elevation in T(sk). Indomethacin or celecoxib did not change the increases in rT caused by either CRF or UCN1. Although dexamethasone attenuated the increase in rectal temperature in response to CRF, dexamethasone did not modify the response induced by UCN1. Astressin blocked the UCN1-induced hyperthermia and reduced CRF-induced fever. Antalarmin did not modify the hyperthermia in response to UCN1, but reduced the fever evoked by CRF. This study demonstrated that CRF by acting on the CRF₁ receptor induces a prostaglandin-independent fever which seems to depend, at least in part, on the synthesis of other mediators while UCN1 acts on the CRF₂ receptor, promoting a hyperthermic response which seems to be independent on synthesis/release of any mediator., (Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: The level of sympathetic nervous activity is a major determinant of prognosis in patients with heart failure., Objective: The purpose of this investigation was to perform a proof-of-principle trial of therapeutic endoscopic left thoracic sympathetic blockade in heart failure patients to assess safety and immediate effects., Methods: Fifteen patients with dilated cardiomyopathy and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) < 40%, New York Heart Association functional class II or III, and heart rate > 65 bpm, despite either adequate betablocker use or intolerant to it, were enrolled. Ten patients underwent left infra-stellate ganglion plus T3-T4 interspinal space clipping through videothoracoscopy, while the other five patients were randomized to a control group., Results: None of the treated patients had any procedure-related adverse cardiovascular events at the perioperative period. Two patients from the surgical group died due to pulmonary thromboembolism or myocardial infarction within 6 months of the initial follow-up, while three patients from the control group had heart failure progression and died or developed cardiogenic shock during the same period. Treated patients presented improvement in quality of life, level of physical activity and LVEF (from 25 ± 9% to 32 ± 8%, p=0.024) at 6 months of follow-up, whereas these parameters did not change in control patients., Conclusion: Endoscopic left thoracic sympathetic blockade is feasible and appears to be safe in severe heart failure patients. This initial study suggests that this procedure might be an effective alternative approach to sympathetic blockade in the treatment of dilated cardiomyopathies.