Abstract:The liver, the largest organ of the human body, is a multifunctional organ with various metabolic activities that plays a fundamental role in maintaining the body and in sustaining life. Although the liver has great regenerative capacity and recovery, the damage caused by chronic diseases such as cancer or viral infections can lead to permanent loss of liver function. Studies on the mechanism of liver disease, have focused on the selection of cell and tissue culture techniques, including strategies based on in vitro models. The organ culture is a promising tool for the study of liver diseases, because it can mimic the complex of the microenvironment in vivo using a three-dimensional model of human liver tissue. These models allow a better study of the specific functions of the liver. In this context, we have analyzed the development of a hepatocarcinoma, obtained by inoculating a murine hepatocarcinoma cell line, Hepa 1/A1s, in the liver of 10 mice of the strain C57BL / 6. After 20 days from the inoculation, the portion of liver invaded by the tumor was removed from the animals and cultured. A group of 5 liver explants were used as a control and other 5 explants were cultured for 4 weeks in a complete medium containing 10% Citozym, a food supplement with reported antioxidant properties. The cancer-invaded hepatic lobes, treated with Citozym, showed a clear reduction of the weight and the volume of the hepatic tumors, when compared with the control explants.
Background The Alberta Infant Motor Scale (AIMS) is a standardized tool for assessing gross motor development from birth through independent walking (0–18 months). The AIMS was developed, validated and standardized in the Canadian population. Results of previous studies on the standardization of the AIMS have discerned differences in some samples in comparison with Canadian norms. This study aimed to establish reference values of the AIMS for the Polish population and compare them to Canadian norms. Methods The research involved 431 infants (219 girls, 212 boys, aged 0-<19 months), divided into nineteen age groups. The translated into Polish and validated version of the AIMS was used. The mean AIMS total scores and percentiles for every age group were calculated and compared with the Canadian reference values. Raw total AIMS scores were converted to 5th, 10th, 25th, 50th, 75th, and 90th percentiles. A one sample t-test was used to compare the AIMS total scores between Polish and Canadian infants (p-value < 0.05). A binomial test was performed to compare percentiles (p-value < 0.05). Results The mean AIMS total scores in the Polish population were significantly lower in the seven age groups: 0-<1, 1-<2, 4-<5, 5-<6, 6-<7, 13-<14, and 15-<16 months of age (with small to large effect size). A few significant differences were found in the comparison of percentile ranks, mostly in the 75th percentile. Conclusion Our study provides the norms for the Polish AIMS version. According to differences in the mean AIMS total scores and percentiles, the original Canadian reference values are not congruent for Polish infants. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov ID NCT05264064. URL https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05264064. Date of registration: 03/03/2022.
As the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic rages, there is an urgent need to identify clinical and laboratory predictors for progression to severe and fatal forms of this disease. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the potential ability of a nutritional supplement to normalize certain hematological, biochemical and immunological biomarkers in patients with and without symptoms of COVID-19. Micronutrients, such as nutritionally essential vitamins and minerals, influence and support every step of the immune response. This investigation was performed by administering a dietary supplement rich in calciferol (vitamin D3), ascorbic acid (vitamin C), folic acid (vitamin B9) and pantothenic acid (vitamin B5) to the enrolled patients for 120 days. All essential elements for a complete physiological enzymatic process. The reported results appear promising from the point of view of the experimental approach adopted. In particular, the scheduled administration of the nutritional supplement rich in micronutrients to asymptomatic and mild to moderate COVID-19 patients has led, in general, to the normalization of the values of some critical biochemical and immunological parameters found to be altered. This nutritional approach, although it does not resolve the disease and therefore does not represent a cure, can improve the quality of life of COVID-19 patients.
A commercial food supplement called Citozym (CIZ), was tested for antiproliferative activity against estrogen receptor (ER)-positive MCF-7 and (ER)-negative BT-20 human breast cancer cells, performing two independent experiments using SRB assay. A CIZ concentration of 100mg/mL, showed the most potent antiproliferative activity for cells in a potential range for further investigation on estrogen-insensitive breast cancer therapy.
A prospective trial was performed to assess coronary plaque regression following about 5 months of treatments with two dietary supplements, Citozym and Propulzym. Coronary segments that included the most diseased plaque of 20 selected patients were analyzed using carotid ultrasound (CDUS). Inclusion criteria were as follows: 20 subjects (10 of control group and 10 of test group) aged between 54 and 74 years with a clear diagnosis of carotid plaque and stenosis percentage of not less than 40% and not more than 70%. The data obtained showed a wide inter-individual variability, with a range of reduction from 4% to 27%. It is interesting to note that the plaque reduction in one patient reached a value of about 27% observable with the ultrasonic examination. Since it is clear that carotid plaque morphology/stability is one of the most important factor regarding the definition of cardiovascular risk, our preliminary results suggest the possibility of a non-invasive treatment of carotid plaque.
Abstract:In the pathogenesis of demyelinating diseases including multiple sclerosis (MS) an important role is played by oxidative stress. Increased energy requirements during remyelination of axons and mitochondria failure is one of the causes of axonal degeneration and disability in MS. In the presence of neurological diseases such as MS, F2-isoprostanes are concentrated in higher quantities. In this context, we analyzed the levels of F2-isoprostanes in the plasma and cerebrospinal fluid of mice of the strain C57BL6/N with an induced experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), orally treated with two concentrations of Citozym, a dietary supplement with evident antioxidant properties. Compared to the control group, Citozym-treated EAE-mouse had significantly lower levels of F2-isoprostanes both in plasma and in cerebrospinal fluid. Furthermore, according to the guidelines of IACUC, treatment with Citozym at higher concentrations drastically reduced neurological signs of induced EAE.
In a prospective, randomized and single-blinded clinical trial, we compared patients with Chronic hepatitis C (CHC) orally treated with sucrose diluted with water (1:2) twice a day for 56 days (control group), with patients orally treated with four antioxidant dietary supplements rich in vitamin B5, B9, C, D, citric, pyruvic, and tartaric acids and carbohydrates (CCEP: Citexivir, Citozym, Ergozym Plus and Propulzym). The efficacy of treatment was evaluated once a week for 8 weeks, by monitoring changes in the activities of circulating Alanine aminotransferase (ALT), Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and Gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) as markers of liver damage. After a treatment of 84 days the viral title was evaluated through the HCV-RNA compared with the levels of anti-C100-3. The security and tolerability of the treatment were evaluated on the basis of clinical adverse events and results of laboratory tests. The experimental data obtained showed that the oral treatment of patients suffering from HCV infection of genotype 1, with CCEP, markedly influenced the values of the three enzymatic markers of hepatic disease. The data presented also showed the reduction of viral replication evidenced by the rate of HCV-RNA levels. As reported by others, we confirmed the low reliability of the research of anti-C100-3. This research is not meant to suggest the treatment reported as a therapy for the treatment of HCV infection, but data obtained may tend towards the possibility of administration of a dietary supplement such as CCEP in support of the official drug therapy of CHC in the nutritional care of HCV patients.
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