BioMed Research International
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Acceptance rate24%
Submission to final decision76 days
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Traditional Chinese Medicine Compound Preparations Are Associated with Low Disease-Related Complication Rates in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Retrospective Cohort Study of 11,074 Patients

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BioMed Research International publishes original research articles and review articles covering a wide range of subjects within the biomedical sciences. The journal will accept both basic and translational research.

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Research Article

Association between Elderly Sarcopenia and Inflammatory Cytokine Interleukin-17: A Cross-Sectional Study

Aging slows down the mechanisms behind skeletal muscle weakening and mobility. Increases in inflammation brought on by aging may contribute to some characteristics of sarcopenia. As a result of population aging worldwide, sarcopenia, an age-related disease, has become a huge burden on both individuals and society as a whole. The study of the morbidity mechanism and available sarcopenia treatments has received more attention. The inflammatory response may be one of the most important methods behind the pathophysiology of sarcopenia in the aged, according to the background of the study. This anti-inflammatory cytokine inhibits the ability of human monocytes and macrophages to induce inflammation as well as the production of cytokines like IL-6. Here, we investigate the association between sarcopenia and interleukin-17 (IL-17), an inflammatory cytokine in the aged. There were 262 subjects aged 61-90 years who were screened for sarcopenia in Hainan General Hospital. The subjects were divided into 45 males and 60 females aged 65-79 years (average age: years). 105 patients without sarcopenia were randomly selected among 157 participants. It included 50 males and 55 females, aged 61-76 years (mean age: years) as per the standard definition of the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia (AWGS). The “skeletal muscle index” (SMI), “hand grip strength” (HGS), “gait speed” (GS), “biochemical indexes,” “serum IL-17 level,” nutritional status, and past medical history of the two groups were evaluated and compared. Compared with the participants without sarcopenia, sarcopenia patients had higher average age; less physical exercise; lower total scores of BMI, pre-ALB, IL-17, and SPPB; and a higher proportion of malnutrition risk (all ). By “ROC curve analysis,” the best critical point was IL-17 in the growth of sarcopenia. The area that comes under ROC (AUROC) value was 0.627 (95% , 0.702, ). The ideal threshold value for IL-17 to estimate sarcopenia was 18.5 pg/mL. In the unadjusted model, IL-17 was considerably linked to sarcopenia (, 95% -1.215, ). After the covariate adjustment observed in the complete adjustment model (, 95% -1.229, ), this significance still exists. The results of this study suggest a strong relationship between sarcopenia and IL-17. This study will look at IL-17’s potential to serve as a key sarcopenia indicator. This trial is registered with ChiCTR2200022590.

Review Article

Ease to Challenges in Achieving Successful Synthesized Schiff Base, Chirality, and Application as Antibacterial Agent

This study reports how to overcome the challenges experienced in achieving successful synthesized Schiff base via types of Schiff base (chiral and achiral), synthesis, nature of products, and its antibacterial applications. Schiff base is a versatile ligand which is useful in asymmetric reactions to prepare chiral catalysts. It is also used in symmetric reactions to prepare achiral compounds. In line with the achiral compounds, conventional (room temperature and refluxing) and microwave irradiation methods are the two main types of methods to synthesize achiral Schiff base as reported in this review. Among various experimental approaches, this study supports the green chemistry microwave approach to synthesize Schiff base because of its benefits environmental sustainability. Problems relating to the nature of products formed from the synthesized Schiff bases were examined and resolved. Herein, the products could either be solid (crystals, powder, and precipitate), oily, or viscous (sticky) products. Some familiar characterization techniques used to identify and confirm the successful syntheses of Schiff bases, such as solubility test, melting point (MP), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis), and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR, 1H NMR, and 13C NMR), were discussed. In addition, the antibacterial studies on Schiff base and corresponding metal complexes confirmed their biological relevance to the human.

Research Article

Rapid Dantrolene Administration with Body Temperature Monitoring Is Associated with Decreased Mortality in Japanese Malignant Hyperthermia Events

Purpose. Malignant hyperthermia (MH) is a rare genetic disorder but one of the most severe complications of general anesthesia. The mortality rate of MH has dropped from 70% in the 1960s to 15% because of dantrolene, the only currently accepted specific treatment for MH. In this study, we retrospectively identified the optimal dantrolene administration conditions to reduce MH mortality further. Methods. Our database performed a retrospective analysis of patients with MH clinical grading scale (CGS) grade 5 (very likely) or 6 (almost certain) between 1995 and 2020. We examined whether dantrolene administration affected mortality and compared the clinical variables associated with improved prognosis. Furthermore, a multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to identify specific variables associated with improved prognosis. Results. 128 patients met the inclusion criteria. 115 patients were administered dantrolene; 104 survived, and 11 died. The mortality rate of patients who were not administered dantrolene was 30.8%, which was significantly higher than those of patients who were administered dantrolene (). Among patients administered dantrolene, the interval from the first sign of MH to the start of dantrolene administration was significantly longer in the deceased than in the survivors (100 min vs. 45.0 min, ), and the temperature at the start of dantrolene administration was also significantly higher in the deceased (41.6°C vs. 39.1°C, ). There was no significant difference in the rate of increase in temperature between the two, but there was a substantial difference in the maximum temperature (). The multivariable analysis also showed that the patient’s temperature at dantrolene administration and interval from the first MH sign to dantrolene administration was significantly associated with improved prognosis. Conclusions. Dantrolene should be given as rapidly as possible once MH has been diagnosed. Beginning treatment at a more normal body temperature can prevent critical elevations associated with a worse prognosis.

Research Article

Investigation on the Mechanisms of Zanthoxylum bungeanum for Treating Diabetes Mellitus Based on Network Pharmacology, Molecular Docking, and Experiment Verification

Objective. The aim of the study was to explore the potential mechanism of Zanthoxylum bungeanum in the treatment of diabetes mellitus (DM) using network pharmacology. Methods. The DrugBank database and TCMSP platform were used to search for the main chemical components and their targets of Zanthoxylum bungeanum, and the genes related to diabetes mellitus were obtained from the genecards database. Import the data into the Venny 2.1.0 platform for intersection analysis to obtain the Zanthoxylum bungeanum-DM-gene dataset. The protein-protein interaction (PPI) analysis of Zanthoxylum bungeanum-DM gene was performed using the String data platform, and the visualization and network topology analysis were performed using Cytoscape 3.8.2. The KEGG pathway enrichment and biological process of GO enrichment analysis were carried out using the David platform. The active ingredients and key targets of Zanthoxylum bungeanum were molecularly docked to verify their biological activities by using Discovery Studio 2019 software. Zanthoxylum bungeanum was extracted and isolated by ethanol and dichloromethane. HepG2 cells were cultured, and cell viability assay was utilized to choose the suitable concentration of Zanthoxylum bungeanum extract (ZBE). The western blot assay was used for measuring the expression of AKT1, IL6, HSP90AA1, FOS, and JUN proteins in HepG2 cells. Results. A total of 5 main compounds, 339 targets, and 16656 disease genes were obtained and retrieved, respectively. A total of 187 common genes were screened, and 20 core genes were finally obtained after further screening. The antidiabetic active ingredients of Zanthoxylum bungeanum are kokusaginin, skimmianin, diosmetin, beta-sitosterol, and quercetin, respectively. The main targets for its antidiabetic effect are AKT1, IL6, HSP90AA1, FOS, and JUN, respectively. GO enrichment analysis revealed that the biological process of Zanthoxylum bungeanum and DM is related to a positive regulation of gene expression, positive regulation of transcription, positive regulation of transcription from RNA polymerase II promoter, response to drug, positive regulation of apoptotic process, and positive regulation of cell proliferation, etc. KEGG enrichment analysis revealed that common biological pathways mainly including the phospholipase D signaling pathway, MAPK signaling pathway, beta-alanine metabolism, estrogen signaling pathway, PPAR signaling pathway, and TNF signaling pathway. Molecular docking results showed that AKT1 with beta-sitosterol and quercetin, IL-6 with diosmetin and skimmianin, HSP90AA1 with diosmetin and quercetin, FOS with beta-sitosterol and quercetin, and JUN with beta-sitosterol and diosmetin have relatively strong binding activity, respectively. Experiment verification results showed that DM could be significantly improved by downregulating the expression of AKT1, IL6, HSP90AA1, FOS, and JUN proteins after being treated at concentrations of 20 μmol/L and 40 μmol/L of ZBE. Conclusion. The active components of Zanthoxylum bungeanum mainly including kokusaginin, skimmianin, diosmetin, beta-sitosterol, and quercetin. The therapeutic effect of Zanthoxylum bungeanum on DM may be achieved by downregulating core target genes including AKT1, IL6, HSP90AA1, FOS, and JUN, respectively. Zanthoxylum bungeanum is an effective drug in treatment of DM related to the above targets.

Research Article

Synthesis, Anticancer, and Antimicrobial Evaluation of Integerrimide-A

Integerrimide-A (IG-A) is a cyclic heptapeptide that was recently synthesized after being recovered from the latex of the Jatropha integerrima tree. This was achieved by first coupling a tetrapeptide unit (Boc-Gly-L-Leu-L-Leu-L-Leu-OMe) with a tripeptide unit (L-Thr-L-Pro-L-Trp-OMe). The characterization was done by using spectral techniques like FT-IR, 1H-NMR, mass spectrometry, and elemental analysis of the newly synthesized cyclic molecule. Antimicrobial and anticancer properties of IG-A were tested using a biological screening. Gram +ve bacteria (B. subtilis and S. aureus) and Gram -ve bacteria (P. aeruginosa and E. coli) were used in the antibacterial testing. Fungal strains such as C. albicans, A. niger, T. mentagrophytes, and M. audouinii were used to test the antifungal activities. Antimicrobial activity analysis revealed that cyclic peptide—IG-A (8)—has modest antibacterial activity and antifungal activities, when compared with the standard drugs ciprofloxacin and griseofulvin, respectively. Comparable MTT assays were performed on HCT116 (human colon carcinoma) and B16F10 (melanoma cells) cell lines with doxorubicin as the standard drug to determine the cytotoxic activity of the synthesized cyclic peptide. Inhibition of growth of HCT116 and B16F10 cell lines was used to calculate the cytotoxic effect. At a dosage of 120 μg/mL, the cyclopeptide IG-A (8) inhibited cell proliferation by 87.5 and 72.5 percent, respectively. Cyclopeptide IG-A had CTC50 values of 77.65 μM and 68.63 μM against HCT116 and B16F10, respectively. The % growth inhibitions at lesser levels are 72.5 and 50 at 60 μg/mL, respectively. The standard drug inhibited growth by 100 percent with CTC50 values of 48.63 μM and 43.25 μM against HCT116 and B16F10, respectively. From the results, it is concluded that IG-A has considerable antimicrobial and cytotoxic effects. Internucleosomal DNA fragmentation may be the underlying mechanism in HCT116 cells, whereas the suppression of eumelanin synthesis in B16F10 cells is another possibility.

Research Article

The Function of Retinal Thickness and Microvascular Alterations in the Diagnosis of Systemic Sclerosis

In this study, we aim to investigate retinal thickness (RT) and superficial vascular density (SVD) differences between patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) and healthy controls (HCs) by optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA). Sixteen patients with a definitive SSc diagnosis without clinical signs of retinopathy and 16 normal control subjects were recruited. All individuals underwent OCTA scanning to assess macular RT and SVD. We divided each image into nine subregions as the early treatment diabetic retinopathy study (ETDRS). Visual acuity (VA) was considerably different between patients with SSc (32 eyes) and control subjects (32 eyes) (). Compared to the control group, individuals with SSc had decreased inner RT in inner superior, outer superior, outer temporal, inner temporal, center, and inner nasal regions (). Outer RT was decreased in the outer and inner temporal regions, and full RT was decreased in the regions of outer superior, inner superior, inner temporal, and outer temporal, in comparison to the control group (). Patients with SSc had significant reduction of SVD in the inner and outer of both superior and temporal, besides outer nasal regions than controls. (). Moreover, SVD was significantly associated with the outer temporal region of patients suffering from SSc (). Diagnostic Sensitivity of RT and SVD of Inner Superior Regions in SSc, as indicated by areas under curves of the Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC), were 0.874 (95% CI: 0.786–0.962) and 0.827 (95% CI: 0.704–0.950), respectively. In conclusion, VA may be affected by RT variations inside the macula in patients with SSc. Measuring RT with OCTA could be a useful predictor of early diagnosis.

BioMed Research International
 Journal metrics
See full report
Acceptance rate24%
Submission to final decision76 days
Acceptance to publication22 days
CiteScore5.000
Journal Citation Indicator-
Impact Factor-
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