Rejected

Ivabradine (IVA), a heart-rate reducing agent, is recognized as an inhibitor of hyperpolarization-activated cation current (I) and also reported to ameliorate inflammatory or neuropathic pain. However, to what extent this agent can perturb another types of membrane ion currents in neurons or endocrine cells remains to be largely unknown. Therefore, the I or other types of ionic currents in pituitary tumor (GH) cells and in hippocampal mHippoE-14 neurons was studied with or without the presence of IVA or other related compounds. The IVA addition caused a time- and concentration-dependent reduction in the amplitude of I with an IC value of 0.64 μM and a K value of 0.68 μM. IVA (0.3 μM) shifted the I activation curve to a more negative potential by approximately 8 mV, despite no concomitant change in the gating charge. Additionally, IVA was found to increase M-type K current (I) together with a rightward shift in the activation curve. In cell-attached current recordings, IVA (3 μM) applied to the bath increased the open probability of M-type K channels; however, it did not modify single-channel conductance of the channel. In current-clamp voltage recordings, IVA suppressed the firing of spontaneous action potentials in GH cells; and, further addition of linopirdine attenuated its suppression of firing. In hippocampal mHippoE-14 neurons, IVA also effectively increased I amplitude. In summary, both inhibition of I and activation of I caused by IVA can synergistically combine to influence electrical behaviors in different types of electrically excitable cells occurring in vivo.

 Pyogenic liver abscess (PLA) is a rare clinical entity, occurring in ∼2.3 per 100,000 patients. Perinatal PLA syndromes are exceedingly rare with just seven previously described cases in the literature and no prior Klebsiella-associated reports.  A 29-year-old gravida 2 para 1 woman at 11 weeks gestation reporting fever, body aches, and headache. Search for an infectious source identified a 4-cm liver abscess. Percutaneous drainage confirmed infection. The patient was treated with antibiotics until imaging verified complete resolution of the abscess.  PLA is an uncommon etiology of sepsis in pregnancy. A thorough workup until a source was identified resulted in accurate diagnosis. This allowed for directed therapy and prompt recovery, undoubtedly contributing to favorable pregnancy outcomes in this first report of Klebsiella-associated perinatal PLA.

Epidural steroid injection is a very common intervention in the treatment of low back pain and sciatic symptoms. The most common complication for epidural steroid injection is transient headache with or without identifiable dural puncture. Other complications have also been reported, including intravascular entry, local hematoma, bleeding, increased back pain, facial flushing, vasovagal reactions, nausea, and fever. We report a case of rhabdomyolysis following epidural steroid injection for lumbar radiculopathy.

The sympathetic nervous system plays an important role in arrhythmogenesis in arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC). Sudden cardiac death commonly occurs during exertion and beta-blockers are associated with reduction in arrhythmia burden. Bilateral cardiac sympathetic denervation (BCSD) has been shown to reduce implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) shocks in patients with structural heart disease and refractory ventricular tachycardia (VT), however data in ARVC are sparse.

Urinary tract infections are among the most common types of infections and give rise to inflammation with pain as one of the main symptoms. The herbal medicinal product Canephron N contains BNO 2103, a defined mixture of pulverized rosemary leaves, centaury herb, and lovage root, and has been used in the treatment of urinary tract infections for more than 25 years.

plants consist of more than 230 species that are largely distributed in the Sino-Himalayan region and the Western Pacific islands. species are being used in traditional medicine worldwide to treat various ailments such as cough, rheumatic pain, scorpion stings, sores, burns and scalds, intestinal fever, pain, specifically breast pain during child birth, to increase milk flow, as an antiparasitic, anthelmintic, and carminative. A deep look in the literature has revealed that species have been poorly investigated for their food preservative applications and and biological and phytochemical studies. However, some species have demonstrated antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antiproliferative and anti-HIV potential. (Doll.) Ching is the most investigated species and the biological activities of their extracts, such as they antioxidant properties, seem to be related to the sulfate contents of their polysaccharides. This review provides an update on the ethnopharmacology, phytochemistry and biological properties of plants that might be useful for further research. Of course, well-designed clinical trials will be required for some species to be used as therapy.

The identification of new indications for approved or failed drugs is a process called drug repositioning or drug repurposing. The motivation includes overcoming the productivity gap that exists in drug development, which is a high-cost-high-risk process. Repositioning also includes rescuing drugs that have safely entered the market but have failed to demonstrate sufficient efficiency for the initial clinical indication. Considering the high prevalence of chronic pain, the lack of sufficient efficacy and the safety issues of current analgesics, repositioning seems to be an attractive approach. This review presents example of drugs that already have been repositioned and highlights new technologies that are available for the identification of additional compounds to stimulate the curiosity of readers for further exploration.

Gas station workers are exposed to carcinogenic substances with impact on the hematologic and<br />immune systems. The aim was to apply the immunophenotyping as a tool in the biological monitoring.