The risk of food limitation and, ultimately, starvation dates back to the dawn of heterotrophy in animals, yet starvation remains a major factor in the regulation of modern animal populations. Researchers studying starvation more than a century ago suggested that animals subjected to sublethal periods of food limitation are somehow more tolerant of subsequent starvation events. This possibility has received little attention over the past decades, yet it is highly relevant to modern science for two reasons. First, animals in natural populations are likely to be exposed to bouts of food limitation once or more before they face prolonged starvation, during which the risk of mortality becomes imminent. Second, our current approach to studying starvation physiology in the laboratory focuses on nourished animals with no previous exposure to nutritional stress. We examined the relationship between previous exposure to food limitation and potentially adaptive physiological responses to starvation in adult rats and found several significant differences. On two occasions, rats were fasted until they lost 20% of their body mass maintained lower body temperatures, and had presumably lower energy requirements when subjected to prolonged starvation than their naive cohort that never experienced food limitation. These rats that were trained in starvation also had lower plasma glucose set -points and reduced their reliance on endogenous lipid oxidation. These findings underscore (1) the need for biologists to revisit the classic hypothesis that animals can become habituated to starvation, using a modern set of research tools; and (2) the need to design controlled experiments of starvation physiology that more closely resemble the dynamic nature of food availability.
Despite the rarity, breast cancer diagnosed during pregnancy implies multiple therapeutic dilemmas. The initial diagnostic process can be complicated by the physiological changes that occur in the breast during pregnancy, which can further lead to a delayed diagnosis. Moreover, treatment methods, as well as treatment onset and time of pregnancy termination, remain controversial. This case report highlights some of the inherent difficulties associated with breast cancer diagnosis and treatment in a pregnant patient. It also discusses how to optimize a multidisciplinary approach to improve health outcomes for both the mother and the infant.
Background Chronic wound infections continue to plague the U.S. healthcare system, especially in trauma scenarios. Multidrug resistance and the capacity to form biofilm enables pathogens to survive clinical regimens of antibiotics prompting the need to find antibiotic alternatives. In past years, the cholesterol lowering class of drugs, statins, were identified to have antibacterial effects on pathogens responsible for various wound infections. The objective of this study was to screen all available statins against a panel of pathogens ( S. aureus , P. aeruginosa , coagulase-negative staphylococcus (CoNS), E. coli , Klebsiella spp. , and A. baumannii ) associated with wound infections and their ability to inhibit biofilm formation. A top-drug candidate was identified and further characterized to determine potential for clinical application. Results Statins were most effective against S. aureus and A. baumannii with minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) ranging from 32 to 256 µg/mL. Simvastatin was the only statin to show efficacy against S. aureus , P. aeruginosa , CoNS, and A. baumannii with a MIC of 32 µg/mL. No statins were effective against E. coli and Klebsiella spp . Likewise, simvastatin had a relatively low minimum biofilm inhibition concentration (MBIC) of 8 µg/mL for both S. aureus and CoNS. Moving forward, simvastatin was chosen as the top drug candidate due to its broad spectrum MICs and MBICs. Due to its particular potency against S. aureus , an in depth characterization was performed against S. aureus . However, further testing revealed minimal effects against established S. aureus biofilm and persister cells, as well as cytotoxicity against osteoblasts. Conclusion Among the 9 available statins, simvastatin demonstrated the highest antimicrobial potential with broad-spectrum activity against S. aureus , P. aeruginosa , CoNS, and A. baumannii , as well as the ability to inhibit biofilm formation for S. aureus and CoNS. However, upon further in vitro characterization simvastatin was ineffective against established S. aureus biofilm, persister cells, and was found to be cytotoxic. This data demonstrates the small therapeutic window for simvastatin and the limited potential for direct application as an antimicrobial for orthopaedic-related infection.
Due to the lower rate of breast cancer in men compared to women, there are fewer studies on which to base the treatment of a male patient with breast cancer; and this is further complicated when the patient is part of the elderly population. We report the case of an 81year-old male who came in for imaging of pulmonary nodules and had an incidental finding of abnormal growth in the breast. Further imaging was performed, and biopsy was completed, confirming invasive ductal carcinoma. Eventually, the patient was treated with a modified radical mastectomy. In this report, we also engage in a discussion of the treatment considerations for patients of male sex and older age group.
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