ABSTRACT
Epilepsy is a neurological disorder that can produce brain injury and neuronal death. Several factors such as oxidative stress have been implicated in epileptogenesis. Valproic acid (VPA) is a widely used drug for the treatment of epilepsy, but the mechanisms underlying these benefits are complex and still not fully understood. The objective of this study was to evaluate, for the first time, the effects of VPA on the oxidant-antioxidant status in Mexican epileptic children before and after 6 or 12 months of treatment with VPA by determining the activities of several plasmatic antioxidant enzymes (glutathione reductase (GR), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and catalase (CAT)) and oxidant marker (malondialdehyde (MDA), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), 8-hydroxy-2-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG), and 3-nitrotyrosine (3-NT) levels) profiles. The possible relationships between these markers and some clinicopathological factors were also evaluated. Plasma samples were obtained from the peripheral blood of 16 healthy children and 32 patients diagnosed with epilepsy, and antioxidant/oxidant markers were measured spectrometrically. Significant decreases in all antioxidant enzyme activities, with the exception of GPx, and increases in all oxidant markers in epileptic subjects versus healthy children were observed. Interestingly, all these effects reverted after VPA monotherapy, although the results were different depending on the treatment period (6 or 12 months). These changes were contingent upon brain imaging findings, type of epilepsy, etiology of epilepsy, and the efficacy of 6 months of VPA monotherapy. Significant and positive correlations of GPx and SOD activities and H2O2 and 8-OHdG levels with the age of children at the beginning of treatment were observed. H2O2 levels were also positively correlated with number of seizures before VPA monotherapy. VPA showed significant antioxidant effects decreasing seizure activity, possibly depending on the presence of cerebral structural alterations, treatment time, and age.
Subject(s)
Epilepsy/drug therapy , Valproic Acid/therapeutic use , Adolescent , Antioxidants , Child , Child, Preschool , Female , Humans , Longitudinal Studies , Male , Mexico , Valproic Acid/pharmacologyABSTRACT
El Centro de Inmunología Molecular ha venido desarrollando biomoléculas para el tratamiento del cáncer. En la medida que se avanza en el desarrollo de estos productos, se avanza en las fases I, II, III y IV de los ensayos clínicos, lo que trae aparejado un incremento en el número de pacientes a tratar y en el número de hospitales involucrados. Se cuenta con diez productos diferentes, implicados en más de 50 ensayos clínicos, nacionales y multinacionales, con un pronóstico de inclusión de 2 500 pacientes nuevos por año. En este proceso están incluidos alrededor de 30 hospitales en 13 provincias del país. Para mejorar el acceso a la información de ensayos clínicos por parte de los investigadores comprometidos, se creó un sitio Web formado por cuatro secciones fundamentales, relacionadas con los productos y sus indicaciones, buenas prácticas clínicas, la entrada remota de datos y la gerencia de los ensayos clínicos. Todo lo anterior mejora fundamentalmente la calidad de la información brindada a los investigadores clínicos involucrados y redunda en una mayor organización de la compleja actividad de los ensayos clínicos en Cuba(AU)
The Molecular Immunology Center has been developing biomolecules for cancer treatment. As the development of such products continues, phases I, II, III and IV of clinical assays also advance, which leads to an increase of the number of patients to be treated and the number of involved hospitals. There are ten different products involved in over 50 national and multinational clinical assays in which 2 500 patients are predicted to be included every year. Approximately 30 hospitals from 13 provinces are included in this process. For the purpose of improving the access of committed researchers to the clinical assay information, a new Website with four sections was devised. Those sections are related to products and their indications, good clinical practice, remote data entry and clinical assay management. All the above-mentioned improves the quality of the information given to involved clinical researchers and results in better organization of the complex activity of clinical assays in Cuba(AU)
Subject(s)
Clinical Trials as Topic , Organization and Administration , Electronic Data ProcessingABSTRACT
El Centro de Inmunología Molecular ha venido desarrollando biomoléculas para el tratamiento del cáncer. En la medida que se avanza en el desarrollo de estos productos, se avanza en las fases I, II, III y IV de los ensayos clínicos, lo que trae aparejado un incremento en el número de pacientes a tratar y en el número de hospitales involucrados. Se cuenta con diez productos diferentes, implicados en más de 50 ensayos clínicos, nacionales y multinacionales, con un pronóstico de inclusión de 2 500 pacientes nuevos por año. En este proceso están incluidos alrededor de 30 hospitales en 13 provincias del país. Para mejorar el acceso a la información de ensayos clínicos por parte de los investigadores comprometidos, se creó un sitio Web formado por cuatro secciones fundamentales, relacionadas con los productos y sus indicaciones, buenas prácticas clínicas, la entrada remota de datos y la gerencia de los ensayos clínicos. Todo lo anterior mejora fundamentalmente la calidad de la información brindada a los investigadores clínicos involucrados y redunda en una mayor organización de la compleja actividad de los ensayos clínicos en Cuba
The Molecular Immunology Center has been developing biomolecules for cancer treatment. As the development of such products continues, phases I, II, III and IV of clinical assays also advance, which leads to an increase of the number of patients to be treated and the number of involved hospitals. There are ten different products involved in over 50 national and multinational clinical assays in which 2 500 patients are predicted to be included every year. Approximately 30 hospitals from 13 provinces are included in this process. For the purpose of improving the access of committed researchers to the clinical assay information, a new Website with four sections was devised. Those sections are related to products and their indications, good clinical practice, remote data entry and clinical assay management. All the above-mentioned improves the quality of the information given to involved clinical researchers and results in better organization of the complex activity of clinical assays in Cuba
Subject(s)
Electronic Data Processing , Clinical Trials as Topic , Organization and AdministrationABSTRACT
El riesgo de infección relacionada con catéteres es mayor en pacientes con cáncer. Los microorganismos grampositivos han sustituido a los gramnegativos como causantes principales de bacteremias en estos sujetos. Las infecciones micóticas nosocomiales han superado en algunos centros a las bacterias gramnegativas. El tipo de catéter y el tiempo de permanencia son los principales factores de riesgo en pacientes con neoplasias subyacentes