ABSTRACT
Pellagra is a disease of poverty that is treatable but easily overlooked. The disease is caused by a deficiency of niacin and is clinically characterized by the triad of dermatitis, diarrhoea and dementia. We describe two cases of pellagra in a Malawian district hospital and discuss the pathogenesis, clinical manifestations and treatment of the disease.
Subject(s)
Niacin/deficiency , Pellagra/etiology , Poverty , Adult , Aged , Dementia/complications , Dementia/drug therapy , Dermatitis/complications , Dermatitis/drug therapy , Diarrhea/complications , Diarrhea/drug therapy , Female , Humans , Malawi , Male , Niacin/therapeutic use , Pellagra/drug therapyABSTRACT
Cathepsin L, a cysteine protease, is considered to be a potential therapeutic target in cancer treatment. Proteases are involved in the development and progression of cancer. Inhibition of activity of specific proteases may slow down cancer progression. In this review, we evaluate recent studies on the inhibition of cathepsin L in cancer. The effects of cathepsin L inhibition as a monotherapy on apoptosis and angiogenesis in cancer are ambiguous. Cathepsin L inhibition seems to reduce invasion and metastasis, but there is concern that selective cathepsin L inhibition induces compensatory activity by other cathepsins. The combination of cathepsin L inhibition with conventional chemotherapy seems to be more promising and has yielded more consistent results. Future research should be focused on the mechanisms and effects of this combination therapy.
