Control of (Multi)Drug Resistance and Tuberculosis Incidence Over 23 Years in the Context of a Well-Supported Tuberculosis Programme in Rural Malawi.

Control of (Multi)Drug Resistance and Tuberculosis Incidence over 23 Years in the Context of a Well-Supported Tuberculosis Programme in Rural Malawi.

PLoS One. 2013; 8(3): e58192
Mboma SM, Houben RM, Glynn JR, Sichali L, Drobniewski F, Mpunga J, Fine PE, French N, Crampin AC

The rise in tuberculosis (TB) incidence following generalized HIV epidemics can overwhelm TB control programmes in resource-limited settings, sometimes accompanied by rising rates of drug resistance. This has led to claims that DOTS-based TB control has failed in such settings. However, few studies have described the effect of a sustained and well-supported DOTS programme on TB incidence and drug resistance over a long period. We present long-term trends in incidence and drug resistance in rural Malawi.Karonga District in northern Malawi has an adult HIV prevalence of ?10%. A research group, the Karonga Prevention Study, collaborates with the National Tuberculosis Programme to support core TB control activities. Bacteriological, demographic and clinical (including HIV status) information from all patients starting TB treatment in the District have been recorded since 1988. During that period isolates from each culture-positive TB patient were exported for drug sensitivity testing. Antiretroviral therapy (ART) has been widely available since 2005.Incidence of new smear-positive adult TB peaked at 124/100,000/year in the mid-90s, but has since fallen to 87/100,000/year. Drug sensitivity information was available for 95% (3132/3307) of all culture-positive cases. Initial resistance to isoniazid was around 6% with no evidence of an increase. Fewer than 1% of episodes involved a multi-drug resistant strain.In this setting with a generalised HIV epidemic and medium TB burden, a well-supported DOTS programme enhanced by routine culture and drug sensitivity testing may well have reduced TB incidence and maintained drug resistance at low levels. HubMed – drug

An Integrative Genomic and Transcriptomic Analysis Reveals Potential Targets Associated with Cell Proliferation in Uterine Leiomyomas.

PLoS One. 2013; 8(3): e57901
Cirilo PD, Marchi FA, Barros Filho MD, Rocha RM, Domingues MA, Jurisica I, Pontes A, Rogatto SR

Uterine Leiomyomas (ULs) are the most common benign tumours affecting women of reproductive age. ULs represent a major problem in public health, as they are the main indication for hysterectomy. Approximately 40-50% of ULs have non-random cytogenetic abnormalities, and half of ULs may have copy number alterations (CNAs). Gene expression microarrays studies have demonstrated that cell proliferation genes act in response to growth factors and steroids. However, only a few genes mapping to CNAs regions were found to be associated with ULs.We applied an integrative analysis using genomic and transcriptomic data to identify the pathways and molecular markers associated with ULs. Fifty-one fresh frozen specimens were evaluated by array CGH (JISTIC) and gene expression microarrays (SAM). The CONEXIC algorithm was applied to integrate the data.The integrated analysis identified the top 30 significant genes (P<0.01), which comprised genes associated with cancer, whereas the protein-protein interaction analysis indicated a strong association between FANCA and BRCA1. Functional in silico analysis revealed target molecules for drugs involved in cell proliferation, including FGFR1 and IGFBP5. Transcriptional and protein analyses showed that FGFR1 (P?=?0.006 and P<0.01, respectively) and IGFBP5 (P?=?0.0002 and P?=?0.006, respectively) were up-regulated in the tumours when compared with the adjacent normal myometrium.The integrative genomic and transcriptomic approach indicated that FGFR1 and IGFBP5 amplification, as well as the consequent up-regulation of the protein products, plays an important role in the aetiology of ULs and thus provides data for potential drug therapies development to target genes associated with cellular proliferation in ULs. HubMed – drug

The Effects of Calcium Channel Blockers in the Prevention of Stroke in Adults with Hypertension: A Meta-Analysis of Data from 273,543 Participants in 31 Randomized Controlled Trials.

PLoS One. 2013; 8(3): e57854
Chen GJ, Yang MS

Hypertension is a major risk factor for the development of stroke. It is well known that lowering blood pressure decreases the risk of stroke in people with moderate to severe hypertension. However, the specific effects of calcium channel blockers (CCBs) against stroke in patients with hypertension as compared to no treatment and other antihypertensive drug classes are not known.This systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) evaluated CCBs effect on stroke in patients with hypertension in studies of CCBs versus placebo, angiotensin-converting-enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs), ?-adrenergic blockers, and diuretics. The PUBMED, MEDLINE, EMBASE, OVID, CNKI, MEDCH, and WANFANG databases were searched for trials published in English or Chinese during the period January 1, 1996 to July 31, 2012. A total of 177 reports were collected, among them 31 RCTs with 273,543 participants (including 130,466 experimental subjects and 143,077 controls) met the inclusion criteria. In these trials a total of 9,550 stroke events (4,145 in experimental group and 5,405 in control group) were reported. CCBs significantly decreased the incidence of stroke compared with placebo (OR?=?0.68, 95% CI 0.61-0.75, p<1×10-5), ?-adrenergic blockers combined with diuretics (OR?=?0.89, 95% CI 0.83-0.95, p?=?7×10-5) and ?-adrenergic blockers (OR?=?0.79, 95% CI 0.72-0.87, p<1×10-5), statistically significant difference was not found between CCBs and ACEIs (OR?=?0.92, 95% CI 0.8-1.02, p?=?0.12) or diuretics (OR?=?0.95, 95% CI 0.84-1.07, p?=?0.39).In a pooled analysis of data of 31 RCTs measuring the effect of CCBs on stroke, CCBs reduced stroke more than placebo and ?-adrenergic blockers, but were not different than ACEIs and diuretics. More head to head RCTs are warranted. HubMed – drug

Inhibiting the Growth of Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma In Vitro and In Vivo through Targeted Treatment with Designer Gold Nanotherapeutics.

PLoS One. 2013; 8(3): e57522
Kudgus RA, Szabolcs A, Khan JA, Walden CA, Reid JM, Robertson JD, Bhattacharya R, Mukherjee P

Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest of all human malignancies with limited options for therapy. Here, we report the development of an optimized targeted drug delivery system to inhibit advanced stage pancreatic tumor growth in an orthotopic mouse model.Targeting specificity in vitro was confirmed by preincubation of the pancreatic cancer cells with C225 as well as Nitrobenzylthioinosine (NBMPR – nucleoside transporter (NT) inhibitor). Upon nanoconjugation functional activity of gemcitabine was retained as tested using a thymidine incorporation assay. Significant stability of the nanoconjugates was maintained, with only 12% release of gemcitabine over a 24-hour period in mouse plasma. Finally, an in vivo study demonstrated the inhibition of tumor growth through targeted delivery of a low dose of gemcitabine in an orthotopic model of pancreatic cancer, mimicking an advanced stage of the disease.We demonstrated in this study that the gold nanoparticle-based therapeutic containing gemcitabine inhibited tumor growth in an advanced stage of the disease in an orthotopic model of pancreatic cancer. Future work would focus on understanding the pharmacokinetics and combining active targeting with passive targeting to further improve the therapeutic efficacy and increase survival. HubMed – drug