Weight gain in HIV-infected patients.

Since its emergence, HIV has been linked to metabolic alterations with an impact on the distribution of fat and the weight of people living with HIV. While extreme weight loss and processes such as lipodystrophy were of concern at first, in recent years, and with the appearance of increasingly effective and better tolerated drugs, an abnormal weight gain is paradoxically taking place among people living with HIV. Although this weight gain is a multifactorial process in which lifestyle habits, physical exercise or diet have a great impact, antiretroviral treatment has been recently considered as one of the key causes of this increase according to different clinical trials and real-life cohorts. The use of integrase inhibitors, specifically dolutegravir or bictegravir, and being female and/or from African/American origin appear to contribute to weight gain. In contrast, drugs such as tenofovir disoproxil fumarate would be protective factors. Even though different mechanisms of action have been proposed by which these agents would cause weight gain, the exact processes remain unclarified. Efforts are currently focused on knowing not only these mechanisms, but, more importantly, on finding the clinical relevance that this abnormal weight gain could have in other pathologies such as diabetes or cardiovascular events.

Etidronic acid and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid associated with sodium hypochlorite have limited effect on the compressive fracture resistance of roots ex vivo.

AIMS: To assess the effect of etidronic acid (EA) mixed with sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) and two ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid-containing preparations (EDTA and SmearClear) alternated with NaOCl, as a final rinse, on root fracture resistance to a compressive force. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Seventy-two premolar roots were randomly allocated to the following groups according to the irrigant solutions. For the EA group, 9% EA + 2.5% NaOCl were used throughout the assays (n = 21). The remaining groups received 2.5% NaOCl during and immediately after chemo-mechanical instrumentation. Intermediately, the roots received 17% EDTA (n = 19), or SmearClear (n = 16), or no irrigation (control) (n = 16) plus a final rinse with 2.5% NaOCl. The specimens were subjected to a vertical compressive force loaded at a crosshead speed of 0.02 mm/s parallel to the long axis of the root until fracture occurred. The results were compared statistically using the one-way analysis of variance for intergroup comparisons. RESULTS: The negative control presented with the highest values, whereas the SmearClear presented with the lowest values, though no significant differences were found when comparing the different groups (P = 0.82). CONCLUSIONS: The use of EA + NaOCl or two EDTA formulations in association with NaOCl does not affect the fracture resistance of previously chemo-mechanically prepared roots.

In vivo potential antidiabetic activity of a novel zinc coordination compound based on 3-carboxy-pyrazole.

A novel Zn mononuclear complex with 3-carboxy-pyrazole ligand has been prepared using conventional routes and characterized by X-ray diffraction. The structure consists of discrete neutral [Zn(C6H3N2O2)2(H2O)2] molecules held together by hydrogen interactions. This compound exhibits a potential in vivo antidiabetic activity and the in vitro toxicity can be considered negligible.

Biospeciation of various antidiabetic V(IV)O compounds in serum.

The interactions of various insulin mimetic oxovanadium(IV) compounds with serum proteins were studied in model systems and in ex vivo samples. For the modeling study, an earlier in situ method was extended and applied to the formation of ternary complexes of apotransferrin (apoTf)-V(IV)O-maltol (mal) and 1,2-dimethyl-3-hydroxy-4(1H)-pyridinone (dhp). Both systems were evaluated via simultaneous CD and EPR measurements. Determination of the formation constants of the ternary complexes allowed the calculation of more accurate stability constants for the V(IV)O-apoTf parent complexes and establishment of a better model for drug speciation in serum. It was found that dhp and the synergistic carbonate are non-competitive binders. Based on the stability constants obtained for V(IV)O-apoTf complexes and estimated for V(IV)O-HSA (= human serum albumin), modeling calculations were performed on the distribution of V(IV)O among the components of blood serum. The results were confirmed by HPLC-ICP-MS (liquid chromatography-inductively coupled plasma spectroscopy-mass spectrometry) measurements. The ex vivo interactions of the V(IV)O complexes formed with mal, picolinic acid (pic) and dhp with serum protein standards and also with human serum samples were evaluated. The proteins were firstly separated by (HPLC), and the V content of each fraction was determined by ICP-MS. All the studied V(IV)O compounds displayed similar chromatographic profiles, associated almost exclusively with apotransferrin as predicted by the modeling calculations. Under physiological conditions, the interactions with HSA of all of the species under study were negligible. Therefore Tf seems to be the main V(IV)O transporter in the serum under in vitro conditions, and this association is practically independent of the chemical form in which V(IV)O is administered.