Stereotactic radiosurgery for intraventricular meningioma: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Intraventricular meningioma (IVM) is a rare subtype of intracranial meningioma, accounting for 9.8 to 14% of all intraventricular tumors. Currently, there is no clear consensus on which patients with IVM should receive conservative treatment, surgery, or stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS). This research aims to analyze the outcomes, including survival and recurrence rates of patients who undergo SRS for IVM as a primary or adjuvant treatment. METHODS: A systematic search was conducted in Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed, and Embase till June 5th 2023. Screening and data extraction were performed by two independent authors. Random-effect meta-analysis was performed to determine the tumor control proportion of IVM cases treated with SRS. Individual patient data (IPD) meta-analysis was performed for the progression-free survival (PFS) of the patients in the follow-up time. All analyses were performed using the R programming language. RESULTS: Out of the overall 132 records, 14 were included in our study, of which only 7 had enough data for the meta-analysis. The tumor control proportion was 0.92 (95% CI, 0.69-0.98) in patients who underwent SRS for primary IVM. The overall tumor control in both primary and adjuvant cases was 0.87 (95% CI, 0.34-0.99). the heterogeneity was not significant in both meta-analyses (P = 0.73 and P = 0.92, respectively). Post-SRS perifocal edema occurred in 16 out of 71 cases (0.16; 95% CI, 0.03-0.56), with no significant heterogeneity (P = 0.32). IPD meta-analysis showed a PFS of 94.70% in a 2-year follow-up. Log-rank test showed better PFS in primary SRS compared to adjuvant SRS (P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: According to this study, patients with IVM can achieve high rates of tumor control with a low risk of complications when treated with SRS, regardless of whether they have received prior treatment. Although SRS could be a promising first-line treatment option for asymptomatic IVM, its efficacy in symptomatic patients and its comparison with resection require further investigation.

Cell therapy for retinal degenerative disorders: a systematic review and three-level meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Retinal degenerative disorders (RDDs) cause vision loss by damaging retinal neurons and photoreceptors, affecting individuals of all ages. Cell-based therapy has emerged as an effective approach for the treatment of RDDs with promising results. This meta-analysis aims to comprehensively evaluate the efficacy of cell therapy in treating age-related macular degeneration (AMD), retinitis pigmentosa (RP), and Stargardt macular degeneration (SMD) as the most prevalent RDDs. METHODS: PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Embase were searched using keywords related to various retinal diseases and cell therapy treatments until November 25th, 2023. The studies' quality was evaluated using the Joanna Briggs Institute's (JBI) checklist for quasi-experimental studies. Visual acuity measured as LogMAR score was used as our main outcome. A three-level random-effect meta-analysis was used to explore the visual acuity in patients who received cell-based therapy. Heterogeneity among the included studies was evaluated using subgroup and sensitivity analyses. Moreover, meta-regression for the type of cells, year of publication, and mean age of participants were performed. RESULTS: Overall, 8345 studies were retrieved by the search, and 39 met the eligibility criteria, out of which 18 studies with a total of 224 eyes were included in the meta-analysis. There were 12 studies conducted on AMD, 7 on SMD, and 2 on RP. Cell therapy for AMD showed significant improvement in LogMAR (p < 0.05). Also, cell therapy decreased the LogMAR score in SMD and RP (p < 0.01 and p < 0.0001, respectively). Across all conditions, no substantial publication bias was detected (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The findings of the study highlight that the application of cell therapy can enhance the visual acuity in AMD, SMD, and RP.

Prognostic and diagnostic values of non-coding RNAs as biomarkers for breast cancer: An umbrella review and pan-cancer analysis.

Background: Breast cancer (BC) is the most common cancer in women. The incidence and morbidity of BC are expected to rise rapidly. The stage at which BC is diagnosed has a significant impact on clinical outcomes. When detected early, an overall 5-year survival rate of up to 90% is possible. Although numerous studies have been conducted to assess the prognostic and diagnostic values of non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) in breast cancer, their overall potential remains unclear. In this field of study, there are various systematic reviews and meta-analysis studies that report volumes of data. In this study, we tried to collect all these systematic reviews and meta-analysis studies in order to re-analyze their data without any restriction to breast cancer or non-coding RNA type, to make it as comprehensive as possible. Methods: Three databases, namely, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science (WoS), were searched to find any relevant meta-analysis studies. After thoroughly searching, the screening of titles, abstracts, and full-text and the quality of all included studies were assessed using the AMSTAR tool. All the required data including hazard ratios (HRs), sensitivity (SENS), and specificity (SPEC) were extracted for further analysis, and all analyses were carried out using Stata. Results: In the prognostic part, our initial search of three databases produced 10,548 articles, of which 58 studies were included in the current study. We assessed the correlation of non-coding RNA (ncRNA) expression with different survival outcomes in breast cancer patients: overall survival (OS) (HR = 1.521), disease-free survival (DFS) (HR = 1.33), recurrence-free survival (RFS) (HR = 1.66), progression-free survival (PFS) (HR = 1.71), metastasis-free survival (MFS) (HR = 0.90), and disease-specific survival (DSS) (HR = 0.37). After eliminating low-quality studies, the results did not change significantly. In the diagnostic part, 22 articles and 30 datasets were retrieved from 8,453 articles. The quality of all studies was determined. The bivariate and random-effects models were used to assess the diagnostic value of ncRNAs. The overall area under the curve (AUC) of ncRNAs in differentiated patients is 0.88 (SENS: 80% and SPEC: 82%). There was no difference in the potential of single and combined ncRNAs in differentiated BC patients. However, the overall potential of microRNAs (miRNAs) is higher than that of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs). No evidence of publication bias was found in the current study. Nine miRNAs, four lncRNAs, and five gene targets showed significant OS and RFS between normal and cancer patients based on pan-cancer data analysis, demonstrating their potential prognostic value. Conclusion: The present umbrella review showed that ncRNAs, including lncRNAs and miRNAs, can be used as prognostic and diagnostic biomarkers for breast cancer patients, regardless of the sample sources, ethnicity of patients, and subtype of breast cancer.

Kidney tissue engineering in preclinical models of renal failure: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Aim: This study aims to compare the efficacy of tissue engineering for kidney reconstruction. Materials & methods: We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE (May 2021), and reference lists of review articles. Results: 19 articles matched our inclusion criteria. A range of natural, synthetic and hybrid scaffolds with or without incorporating cells/growth factors was investigated in 937 animals. More favorable results were observed with a combination of two or more biomaterials, addition of bioactive moieties, and cell seeding. Creatinine concentration, PAX2, collagen type-1, α-SMA, vimentin, IL-1, IL-6 and TNF-α gene expressions were significantly increased compared with native control. Conclusion: Tissue engineering can improve renal function and regeneration; however, further research could benefit from using hybrid scaffolds, stem cells and large animal models.

Organ transplantation is limited by donor organ shortage throughout the world. Tissue engineering involves the use of biocompatible scaffold upon which cells can grow into functional tissues. Researchers have already experimented with kidney tissue engineering on several animal models. In this research, we systematically looked for all available studies in literature to collate and contrast the results of such studies. We found 19 relevant articles involving 937 animals. We learned that, in general, the use of biomaterial combinations, addition of specific biomolecules, and seeding of cells on scaffolds were associated with more favorable results. Quantitative analysis of several markers supported these conclusions. Despite advances in the field, kidney tissue engineering is still at its infancy, and more controlled animal experiments on more novel biomaterial are needed before we could translate this technique to humans.

Off-the-shelf acellular fetal skin scaffold as a novel alternative to buccal mucosa graft: the development and characterization of human tissue-engineered fetal matrix in rabbit model of hypospadiasis.

AIM: In this study, we aimed to develop a novel alternative to buccal mucosal graft from the acellular human fetal skin to manage hypospadias in a rabbit model. We optimized the decellularization protocol to develop and characterize the human tissue-engineered fetal dermal matrix as an "off-the-shelf" natural biomaterial. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Human fetal skin was obtained at 16-19 weeks gestational age with respect to a signed informed consent from parents under the university ethical committee approval. The dissected full-thickness fetal skin tissues were placed into SDS and Triton X-100 in different dosages to achieve the optimum decellularization protocol. Histopathology of the acellular fetal matrix was assessed by Hematoxylin & Eosin (H&E) and DAPI staining to confirm the removal of all cell materials, Masson's trichrome staining for collagen evaluation, DNA quantification for confirmation of DNA content, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) for evaluation of scaffold microstructure. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) staining was used to detect specific dermal markers, namely vimentin, type I collagen, cytokeratin (CK)19. The prepared dermal scaffolds were then grafted on the 8 rabbit models of hypospadias. The rabbits underwent evaluations at 1, 2, 3, and 6 months postoperatively. RESULTS: H&E, Masson's trichrome, DAPI staining, and SEM confirmed the significant removal of cells; meanwhile, the ECM was completely preserved. At the time of biopsy, after 2, 4, and 6 months, no evidence of inflammation, fibrosis, necrosis, or rejection was observed. The grafted dermal scaffolds appeared histologically and anatomically normal. It was observed that the scaffolds were recellularized by circulating CD 34 + bone marrow stem cells (BMSCs) inside the body, implicating the body as a natural bioreactor. CONCLUSION: The application of acellular fetal skin (AFS) is a safe and feasible method that can decrease surgical time in a complex hypospadias reconstruction. Moreover, AFS demonstrated excellent angiogenesis characteristics and migration of the stem cells to the scaffold observed during the course of treatment. Novel natural AFS scaffold without cell seeding is an excellent alternative to buccal mucosal graft; hence, it can overcome the limitations concerning the graft size and prevent the creation of wounds in oral mucosal tissue.

Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor and SARS-CoV-2: Potential therapeutic targeting.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a beta coronavirus that uses the human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor as a point of entry. The present review discusses the origin and structure of the virus and its mechanism of cell entry followed by the therapeutic potentials of strategies directed towards SARS-CoV2-ACE2 binding, the renin-angiotensin system, and the kinin-kallikrein system. SARS-CoV2-ACE2 binding-directed approaches mainly consist of targeting receptor binding domain, ACE2 blockers, soluble ACE2, and host protease inhibitors. In conclusion, blocking or manipulating the SARS-CoV2-ACE2 binding interface perhaps offers the best tactic against the virus that should be treated as a fundamental subject of future research.