Busting the Breast Cancer with AstraZeneca's Gefitinib.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed in women, and in 2020, there were 684, 996 deaths due to this disease. Epidermal growth factor receptors (EGFRs) and their respective ligands have been blamed for the pathogenesis and resistance to treatment in specific breast cancer cases. With EGFR having four homologues: EGFR1, EGFR2, EGFR3, and EGFR4, in-depth understanding of EGFR biology led to the discovery of small-molecule inhibitors and antibodies against this receptor. Gefitinib (GEF), a tyrosine kinase inhibitor of EGFR1, possesses a vast potential for treatment against breast cancer and is supported by a multiplicity of experiments. Unfortunately, in clinical trials, GEF did not show the outcomes expected with complete response and disease progress. This is due to incomplete understanding of the molecular mechanisms involved in EGFR signaling and endocrine sensitivity. Hence, additional in-depth experiments are needed regarding various molecular pathways and crosstalk pathways to comprehend GEF's action mechanism thoroughly in breast cancer patients. In this review, the role of EGFR in the development and pathogenesis of breast cancer and the pharmacokinetics and pharmacotherapy of GEF for the treatment of breast cancer have been elaborated. Nanomedicines synthesized with GEF have shown positive experimental response, paving a promising path for GEF against breast cancer.

Phosphorylated neurofilament H (pNF-H) as a potential diagnostic marker for neurological disorders in horses.

The current study aimed at the investigating the potential use of phosphorylated neurofilament H (pNF-H) as a diagnostic biomarker for neurologic disorders in the horse. Paired serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples (n=88) and serum only (n=30) were obtained from horses diagnosed with neurologic disorders and clinically healthy horses as control. The neurologic horses consisted of equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM) (38 cases) and cervical vertebral malformation (CVM) (23 cases). Levels of pNF-H were determined using an ELISA. The correlation between CSF and serum concentrations of pNF-H was evaluated using Spearman's Rank test and the significance of the difference among the groups was assessed using a nonparametric test. Horses had higher pNF-H levels in the CSF than serum. Horses afflicted with EPM had significantly higher serum pNF-H levels in comparison to controls or CVM cases. The correlation between CSF and serum pNF-H levels was poor in both the whole study population and among subgroups of horses included in the study. There was significant association between the likelihood of EPM and the concentrations of pNF-H in either the serum or CSF. These data suggest that pNF-H could be detected in serum and CSF samples from neurologic and control horses. This study demonstrated that pNF-H levels in serum and CSF have the potential to provide objective information to help in the early diagnosis of horses afflicted with neurologic disorders.

The application of One Health concept to an outdoor problem-based learning activity for veterinary students.

BACKGROUND: The One Health (OH) approach, which seeks to bring together human and animal health, is particularly suited to the effective management of zoonotic diseases across both sectors. To overcome professional silos, OH needs to be taught at the undergraduate level. Here, we describe a problem-based learning activity using the OH approach that was conducted outdoors for 3rd-year veterinary students in Malaysia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 118 students, divided into two groups, completed the activity which spanned 1½ days at a deer park adjacent to a wilderness area. Students were asked to evaluate the activity using an online survey that had quantitative and qualitative components. RESULTS: Response rate was 69.5%. The activity was rated excellent by 69.5% and good by 30.4%. Levels of satisfaction were high on a range of criteria. 97.5% of students intended to take action in their studies as a result of what they had learned. CONCLUSIONS: Delivery of an outdoor problem-based learning activity using OH approach was very successful in terms of participation, knowledge delivery and understanding, and the willingness of students to integrate OH into their future practice. For the improvement of future programs, the involvement of other disciplines (such as Medical, Biology, Biotechnology, Biomedical, and Public Health) is being considered.