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Hyaluronic acid (HA) is an active ingredient that has attracted the attention of pharmaceutical companies. There are expectations that the market for it will grow in the next few years. A technology roadmap for hyaluronic acid and its derivatives market was built and analyzed. A roadmap is a prospective tool that allows the visualization of the evolution of a product or technology through time, revealing opportunities and providing greater safety for companies’ and institutions’ resource allocation. A search was conducted for patents that were granted or applied for in the USPTO database and for scientific articles in Science Direct database. The information was presented in categories in such a way that the evolution of the categories over time could be predicted. Analysis of the roadmap showed that the market is diverse with local and global companies developing patents in this sector. The main highlight is in the medical area, in which HA and its derivatives are widely used in the treatment of osteoarthritis, wound healing, cell regeneration, and tissue engineering. Major drug companies, such as Alergan, Klox Technologies, Fidia Pharma USA, and Cormedix have focused on HA. The roadmap indicated that, in the long run, the market's focus will be on cancer treatments with the development of less aggressive medicines, which have already been the research focus of companies such as Holy Stone Healthcare and DKFZ. China stands out as the country with the highest number of scientific articles and the USA as the country with the highest number of patents. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

Little is known about age-related differences in short-term effects of estradiol on ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) insults. The present study was designed to evaluate the effects of short-term treatment with estradiol on reperfusion arrhythmias in isolated hearts of 6-7-week-old and 12-14-month-old female rats. Wistar rats were sham-operated, ovariectomized and treated with vehicle or ovariectomized and treated with 17β-estradiol (E2; 5 µg·100 g−1·day−1) for 4 days. Hearts were perfused by the Langendorff technique. Reperfusion arrhythmias, i.e., ventricular tachycardia and/or ventricular fibrillation, were induced by 15 min of left coronary artery ligation and 30 min of reperfusion. The duration and incidence of I/R arrhythmias were significantly higher in young rats compared to middle-aged rats (arrhythmia severity index: 9.4 ± 1.0 vs 3.0 ± 0.3 arbitrary units, respectively, P < 0.05). In addition, middle-aged rats showed lower heart rate, systolic tension and coronary flow. Four-day E2 treatment caused an increase in uterine weight. Although E2 administration had no significant effect on the duration of I/R arrhythmias in middle-aged rats, it induced a marked reduction in the rhythm disturbances of young rats accompanied by a decrease in heart rate of isolated hearts. Also, this reduction was associated with an increase in QT interval. No significant changes were observed in the QT interval of middle-aged E2-treated rats. These data demonstrate that short-term estradiol treatment protects against I/R arrhythmias in hearts of young female rats. The anti-arrhythmogenic effect of estradiol might be related to a lengthening of the QT interval.

Cardiac hypertrophy of healed infarction in rats is associated with lengthening of the action potential in both ventricles. The main alteration observed in ICa,L was a decrease in the current density. Thus, alteration of the calcium channel is not the determinant factor of APD increase.

AtualizaçãoCom a perspectiva do aumento crescente de missões espaciais tripuladas de curta e longa duração, torna-se cada vez mais importante o conhecimento dos efeitos do ambiente espacial modificado -notadamente o interior das naves espaciais -sobre o organismo humano. Não subestimando a importância dos outros fatores ambientais como as radiações cósmicas, a atmosfera artificial das espaçonaves (e das vestimentas para as atividades extraveiculares), a ausência de ciclo claro/escuro natural e o confinamento, a virtual ausência de gravidade é certamente a maior causa de alterações fisiológicas e doenças reconhecidas até hoje nos astronautas e animais de experimentação lançados ao espaço. Neste contexto, não é demais lembrar que as formas de vida na Terra evoluíram durante milhões de anos em presença de gravidade 1 (1G), de modo que sua morfologia e fisiologia se desenvolveram no sentido de melhor adequação possível a este valor.No que diz respeito ao aparelho cardiovascular, a abolição da gravidade manifesta-se principalmente pelo fim do peso da coluna líquida dentro dos vasos sangüíneos, ou seja, ausência da pressão hidrostática (P hid ), com importantes repercussões sobre a dinâmica dos sistemas venoso, capilar e arterial. Além disso, a função circulatória torna-se ainda mais alterada pela anulação da compressão extrínseca sobre os vasos normalmente exercida pelo peso dos tecidos e órgãos adjacentes. A longo prazo somam-se a estes fatores o descondicionamento físico e a atrofia muscular 1 , aumentando assim o número de variáveis que influenciam o comportamento do sistema cardiovascular. Finalmente, é importante lembrar que a mudança do ambiente terrestre para o microgravitacional tem repercussões sobre o comportamento intrínseco do sistema nervoso, onde fenôme-nos de sensibilização e habituação (processo de aprendizado) estão constantemente em curso, modificando as respostas autonômicas no sentido de melhor adaptação ao novo ambiente.O presente artigo tem por objetivo discutir os efeitos imediatos e a curto prazo da abolição da gravidade sobre o sistema cardiovascular humano, assim como as respostas adaptativas agudas do organismo, visando à homeostase circulatória. Este processo é denominado pelos fisiologistas de "aclimatação aguda" à microgravidade *. Na inexistência de uma periodização formal, por respostas agudas devem ser entendidos aqui os processos fisiológicos que tomam lugar no período compreendido entre a imediata instalação da gravidade zero (0G) até os primeiros dias de sua vigência. Estudo da função cardiovascular em microgravidadeOs efeitos da microgravidade sobre o sistema cardiovascular têm sido estudados em vôos espaciais de curta e longa duração, assim como em experimentos de simulação fora do ambiente espacial. No que se refere aos vôos, os experimentos têm sido realizados na presença de uma série de fatores limitantes, como as restrições de espaço físico, tempo e equipamentos, a ausência de condições controles ótimas em função, por exemplo, do estresse psicológico, da postura corporal na f...

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CASE: A 23-years-old man born in Rio de Janeiro with established ileocolonic Crohn’s disease (CD), eight years after the onset of symptoms. He started combination therapy (azathioprine and infliximab) after negative TB screening (negative PPD, normal chest x-ray). After six months, he was in clinical remission and presented with fever and headache lasting for one week. BMI was 16 kg/cm2. Laboratory findings showed an elevated ESR (90 mm/hr) and CRP level (23 mg/L), but white blood cells count was normal. Both drugs were discontinued and the patient was admitted. Cranial computed tomography (CT) was unremarkable. CT of the chest showed pleural thickening, fibro-atelectatic bands, and bronchiectasis in the upper left lobe, with calcified nodules, suggesting TB sequelae. CT of the abdomen showed splenomegaly and multiple small hypodense nodules. Abdominal MRI revealed that the lesions were isointense in T1, slightly hyperintense in T2, with a restricted-diffusion pattern, compatible with splenic abscesses. Echocardiogram was normal. HIV, EBV, CMV, HSV serology and serum latex-cryptococcus antigen test were negative. Hemoculture and urine cultures were negative. Sputum bacilloscopy and culture were also negative. Bronchoscopy with bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) showed culture and direct microscopic examination positives for cryptococcal infection. Due to the findings of splenic lesions, there was strong evidence of cryptococcal dissemination, and a lumbar puncture was performed. CSF analysis was normal, latex-cryptococcus antigen test, microscopic examination and culture were negative, excluding CNS involvement. He was discharged home with fluconazole 400 mg PO QD and his symptoms gradually subsided after 2 weeks. Three months after releasing azathioprine, it was necessary to be reintroduced due to a CD flare. After one month, he presented cough and pleuritic chest pain. Chest CT showed ground-glass opacification, and his symptoms improved with antibiotic therapy. Abdominal CT demonstrated an increase in the number and size of the spleen abscesses. A diagnostic laparoscopy with peritoneal lavage and biopsy was scheduled to investigate the etiology of splenic abscesses. However, as pleuritic chest pain and cough returned before that, he went to the emergency room where a new chest CT showed typical signs of pulmonary TB. Sputum culture confirmed the diagnosis. Hence, the abdominal findings were attributed to disseminated TB. He was discharged home with rifampin, isoniazid, pyrazinamide, and ethambutol, and will be followed up until clinical and radiologic response. This case illustrates two concomitant opportunistic infections associated with CD treatment with a clinical and radiological worsening related to an Immune Reconstitution Inflammatory Syndrome after azathioprine and infliximab withdrawal. Clinical reasoning was essential for definitive diagnosis. The possibility of two concomitant life-threatening infections with atypical manifestations in IBD patients should always be evaluated, mainly in Latin America.