Deciphering molecular pathways in urological cancers: A gateway to precision therapeutics.

Background: Urological cancers, including prostate, kidney, bladder, testicular, and penile cancers, pose a significant health challenge, particularly in their metastatic stages. Surgical interventions remain fundamental, but recent advancements in medical therapies like chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and targeted therapies have shown promise in improving patient outcomes.

Aim Of Review: This review aims to explore the current landscape of targeted therapies in urological cancers, focusing on the role of key signaling pathways such as phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/protein kinase B (PI3K/Akt), mechanistic (mammalian) target of rapamycin (mTOR), growth factor-related mechanisms, c-Mesenchymal-epithelial transition factor (c-Met)/hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), programmed cell death protein 1 and its ligand programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-1/PD-L1), and steroid hormone receptor pathways in tumor progression and therapeutic resistance.

Gene network changes after exposure to nanoliposomes containing antisense miR-21 and miR-373 in bladder cancer Cells: An model study.

Aims: This study aimed to examine the changes in gene expression profiles of the bladder cancer cell line (HTB-9) after exposure with nanoliposomes (NLs) containing antisense miR-21, antisense miR-373, or a combination of both antisense miR-21 and antisense miR-373 oligonucleotides.

Methods: The sequence of miR-21 and miR-373 was obtained from the NCBI, and the optimal corresponding antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) were selected and synthesized using the Oligowalk online server. After encapsulating the ASOs in liposomes and characterizing them, the liposomal ASOs were incubated with the target cells for 24 h at 37 °C.

Bispecific antibodies as powerful immunotherapeutic agents for urological cancers: Recent innovations based on preclinical and clinical evidence.

Conventional immunotherapy has emerged as a key option for cancer treatment. However, its efficacy has been limited in urological cancers, especially prostate cancer, because of the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME), difficulty in drug delivery, aberrant immune response, and damage to normal cells. Bispecific antibodies (BsAbs) are engineered proteins with two different antigen-binding domains, designed using different technologies and in various formats.

Evaluation of efficacy and safety of generic tacrolimus (Suprotac) compared to reference tacrolimus (Prograf) in kidney transplantation: a phase IV study.

Transplant recipients are given an immunosuppressive regimen such as tacrolimus to prevent organ rejection. Suprotac® is a generic tacrolimus that is utilized in kidney transplantation regimen in Iran. This post-market study was conducted to evaluate the safety and efficacy of Suprotac® in comparison with Prograf®.

Amino acid transporters within the solute carrier superfamily: Underappreciated proteins and novel opportunities for cancer therapy.

Background: Solute carrier (SLC) transporters, a diverse family of membrane proteins, are instrumental in orchestrating the intake and efflux of nutrients including amino acids, vitamins, ions, nutrients, etc, across cell membranes. This dynamic process is critical for sustaining the metabolic demands of cancer cells, promoting their survival, proliferation, and adaptation to the tumor microenvironment (TME). Amino acids are fundamental building blocks of cells and play essential roles in protein synthesis, nutrient sensing, and oncogenic signaling pathways.

Cytokine profile and antioxidants status in the moderate and severe COVID-19 patients: a trial of ozone therapy impact as a medicinal supplement.

Background: Complementary ozone therapy has been identified as a revolutionary medical technique for a number of goals and ailments. At the present, it has been shown that ozone has medicinal qualities, such as antibacterial, antifungal, and antiparasitic properties. Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) is quickly spread over the globe.

Efficacy of ozone therapy on visual evoked potentials in diabetic patients.

Background: The involvement of the central nervous system is a frequent yet underestimated complication of diabetes mellitus. Visual evoked potentials (VEP) are a simple, sensitive, and noninvasive method for detecting early alterations in central optic pathways. The objective of this paralleled randomized controlled trial was to evaluate the impact of ozone therapy on visual pathways in diabetic patients.

Fully understanding the efficacy profile of the COVID-19 vaccination and its associated factors in multiple real-world settings.

We performed a review study according to recent COVID-19 vaccines' real-world data to provide comparisons between COVID-19 vaccines regarding their relative efficacy. Although most vaccine platforms showed comparable effectiveness and efficacy, we highlight critical points and recent developments generated in studies that might affect vaccine efficacy including population-dependent effects of the vaccine (transplantation, adiposity, and specific comorbidities, as well as older age, male sex, ethnicity, and prior infection), vaccine type, variants of concern (VOC), and an extended vaccine schedule. Owing to these factors, community-based trials can be of great importance in determining vaccine effectiveness in a systematic manner; thus, uncertainty remains regarding vaccine efficacy.

A Prospective Study on Risk Factors for Acute Kidney Injury and All-Cause Mortality in Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients From Tehran (Iran).

Background: Several reports suggested that acute kidney injury (AKI) is a relatively common occurrence in hospitalized COVID-19 patients, but its prevalence is inconsistently reported across different populations. Moreover, it is unknown whether AKI results from a direct infection of the kidney by SARS-CoV-2 or it is a consequence of the physiologic disturbances and therapies used to treat COVID-19. We aimed to estimate the prevalence of AKI since it varies by geographical settings, time periods, and populations studied and to investigate whether clinical information and laboratory findings collected at hospital admission might influence AKI incidence (and mortality) in a particular point in time during hospitalization for COVID-19.

Iranian patients co-infected with COVID-19 and mucormycosis: the most common predisposing factor, clinical outcomes, laboratory markers and diagnosis, and drug therapies.

Background: The newly emerged pandemic of coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) is the world's main health challenge because infected patients become vulnerable to a variety of opportunistic diseases.

Objective: This study aimed to assess clinical outcomes, diagnosis, utilized drug therapies, and ongoing COVID-19 practices in Iranian cases co-infected with COVID-19 and mucormycosis.

Participants And Methods: A case-series analysis was conducted in the presence of 10 patients with COVID-19 and mucormycosis co-infection (two men and eight women; mean age of 48.

Renal function markers in single-kidney patients after percutaneous nephrolithotomy: A pilot study.

Background: The present study was performed to investigate and compare renal functions of single-kidney patients after 12 h of percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) surgery through assessing major markers of renal function with focus on serum level of cystatin that performs a consistent accuracy in various conditions.

Materials And Methods: This pilot quasi-experimental study was done on 92 patients with single kidney having staghorn calculus who had undergone PCNL and were referred to the Al-Zahra Hospital, Isfahan, Iran, during 2019-2021. Serum levels of cystatin C, creatinine, estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), and neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) urine level were evaluated before and 12 h after surgery.

On Therapeutic Plasma Exchange Against Severe COVID-19-Associated Pneumonia: An Observational Clinical Study.

Background: There is a risk of novel mutations of SARS-CoV-2 that may render COVID-19 resistant to most of the therapies, including antiviral drugs and vaccines. The evidence around the application of therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) for the management of critically ill patients with COVID-19 is still provisional, and further investigations are needed to confirm its eventual beneficial effects.

Aims: To assess the effect of TPE on the risk of mortality in patients with COVID-19-associated pneumonia, using three statistical procedures to rule out any threats to validity.

The relationship between T-cell infiltration in biopsy proven acute T-cell mediated rejection with allograft function and response to therapy: A retrospective study.

Aim: To evaluate the degree of CD3, CD20, Th17, and Tregs infiltration in kidney biopsy of the patients with acute cellular rejection and the possible relation with graft outcome.

Materials And Methods: In this retrospective study, fifty patients with Acute T Cell-Mediated Rejection (ATCMR) were enrolled. Previous and one year clinical follow-up data were collected.

Ozone therapy for the treatment of COVID-19 pneumonia: A scoping review.

Severe forms of COVID-19 can evolve into pneumonia, featured by acute respiratory failure due to acute lung injury (ALI) and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). In viral diseases, the replication of viruses is seemingly stimulated by an imbalance between pro-oxidant and antioxidant activity as well as by the deprivation of antioxidant mechanisms. In COVID-19 pneumonia, oxidative stress also appears to be highly detrimental to lung tissues.

A patient affected by critical COVID-19 pneumonia, successfully treated with convalescent plasma.

We present a critically ill patient affected by COVID-19, whose chest computed tomography (CT) scan featured lung consolidations and severe patchy ground-glass opacitie. On day 3 since hospital admission the patient was placed on convalescent plasma treatment. A combined treatment with supportive care, hemoperfusion and convalescent plasma successfully managed to save the patient's life.

Clinical efficacy of convalescent plasma for treatment of COVID-19 infections: Results of a multicenter clinical study.

Since Dec. 2019 the new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) has infected millions and claimed life of several hundred thousand worldwide. However, so far no approved vaccine or drug therapy is available for treatment of virus infection.

Early manifestation of ARDS in COVID-19 infection in a 51- year-old man affected by Mounier-Kuhn syndrome.

A 51-year-old man known to be affected by Mounier-Kuhn syndrome (MKS). presented to Accident & Emergecy (A&E) with fever, dyspnea and deterioration of his chronic coughs. Increased diameters of his trachea (39 mm), right (30 mm) and left (26 mm) main bronchi were revealed by chest computerized tomography (CT) scan.

Pulmonary endarteritis and endocarditis complicated with septic embolism: a case report and review of the literature.

Background: Pulmonary endarteritis is a rare clinical phenomenon with congenital heart that can potentially lead to major complications.

Case Presentation: We report a 47-year-old man with pulmonary endarteritis. This patient presented with hypertension, chest pain and a previous history of pulmonary valve disease during childhood.

Assessment of Short-term, Within Hospital Cardiovascular Complications After Renal Transplantation in Baqiyatallah Hospital.

Introduction: Several studies have looked at cardiac complications in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) after renal transplantation, but more attention has been paid to the long-term cardiovascular complications.

Aim: The present study was designed to investigate the short-term cardiovascular complications of intrahospital hospitalization in post-renal transplant patients and related factors.

Methods: In this retrospective cohort study, the medical records of all renal transplant patients in Baqiyatallah Hospital between 2015 and 2018 during the post-transplantation phase were investigated.

Detection of significant left renal artery stenosis caused by fibromuscular dysplasia with selective angiography.

A 22-year-old female, was referred with a history of a headache and elevated blood pressure without family history of hypertension or familial dyslipidemia. Initially, a spiral computed tomographic angiography of the renal arteries was conducted, demonstrating completely abnormal left renal artery at the medial portion of the vessel with suspicious stenosis, which was supposed to be due to fibromuscular dysplasia (FMD). Subsequently, the patient underwent selective renal angiography and balloon angioplasty.

Non-adherence to Treatment Among Iranian Dialysis Patients, A Systematic Review.

Non-adherence to treatment is a common problem among hemodialysis (HD) patients and was considered as a reliable factor in patients deteriorating, increasing admission chance and inappropriate responding to HD treatment. According to multiple factors related to Non-adherence with HD treatment and its importance in patients' quality of life, this study aims at a systematic reviewing of Non-adherence to treatment among Iranian dialysis patients. Treatment with adherence status is one of the problems that patients encounter during dialysis.