ABSTRACT
Although the number of women in the field of medicine continues to rise, the discrimination against women and the gender inequity in both leadership roles and salary remains persistent. The gender divide is particularly prominent in male-dominated specialties, such as cardiology. Social media help foster global connections and disseminate information quickly and worldwide. The rise of social media has influenced how female physicians communicate and has shown its benefits particularly within the field of cardiology. Virtual platforms are important avenues where female physicians have united for greater representation of gender issues and advocacy efforts. Social media further amplify gender-equality activism by facilitating the conversations surrounding gender equity and proposing solutions to self-identified issues by the virtual community of female physicians and their allies. In this review, we discuss the role of social media as tools for advancing women in the field of cardiology and fostering gender equality and diversity.
Bien que le nombre de femmes dans le domaine de la médecine continue d'augmenter, la discrimination à l'égard des femmes et l'inégalité entre les sexes, tant au niveau des rôles de direction que des salaires, persistent. L'écart entre les sexes est particulièrement marqué dans les spécialités à prédominance masculine, comme la cardiologie. Les médias sociaux contribuent à favoriser les liens à l'échelle mondiale et permettent de diffuser des renseignements rapidement dans le monde entier. L'essor des médias sociaux a influencé la manière dont les femmes médecins communiquent, et ces médias ont démontré des bienfaits, notamment dans le domaine de la cardiologie. Les plateformes virtuelles sont des moyens importants utilisés par les femmes médecins pour s'unir afin de mieux mettre de l'avant les questions de genre et d'améliorer les efforts de sensibilisation. Les médias sociaux amplifient encore davantage le militantisme en faveur de l'égalité des sexes en facilitant les conversations autour de l'égalité des sexes et en proposant des solutions aux problèmes ciblés par la communauté virtuelle des femmes médecins et de leurs alliés. Dans cet examen, nous discutons du rôle des médias sociaux à titre d'outils permettant de faire progresser les femmes dans le domaine de la cardiologie et de favoriser l'égalité des sexes et la diversité.
ABSTRACT
Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most aggressive and lethal form of brain cancer. Standard therapies are non-specific and often of limited effectiveness; thus, efforts are underway to uncover novel, unorthodox therapies against GBM. In previous studies, we investigated Withaferin A, a steroidal lactone from Ayurvedic medicine that inhibits proliferation in cancers including GBM. Another novel approach, tumor treating fields (TTFields), is thought to disrupt mitotic spindle formation and stymie proliferation of actively dividing cells. We hypothesized that combining TTFields with Withaferin A would synergistically inhibit proliferation in glioblastoma. Human glioblastoma cells (GBM2, GBM39, U87-MG) and human breast adenocarcinoma cells (MDA-MB-231) were isolated from primary tumors. The glioma cell lines were genetically engineered to express firefly luciferase. Proliferative potential was assessed either by bioluminescence imaging or cell counting via hemocytometer. TTFields (4 V/cm) significantly inhibited growth of the four cancer cell lines tested (n = 3 experiments per time point, four measurements per sample, p < 0.02 at least; 2-way ANOVA, control vs. treatment). The combination of Withaferin A (10-100 nM) with TTFields significantly inhibited the growth of the glioma cells to a degree beyond that of Withaferin A or TTFields alone. The interaction of the Withaferin A and TTFields on glioma cells was found to be synergistic in nature (p < 0.01, n = 3 experiments). These findings were validated by both bioluminescence and hemocytometric measurements. The combination of Withaferin A with TTFields represents a novel approach to treat GBM in a manner that is likely better than either treatment alone and that is synergistic.
