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Cisplatin is in a class of drugs known as platinum-containing compounds used to treat various types of cancers including metastatic testicular and ovarian tumors. The molecule was first discovered in 1845, but did not receive FDA approval until 1978. Today it is known as the "penicillin of cancer drugs," because it is so effective for many different cancers. There are three key players involved in Cisplatin's mechanism: (1) Cisplatin, (2) DNA (3) and an HMG Protein. Most Cisplatin enters the body through active transport, but some molecules are passively defused through the cell membrane. Once in the nucleus, Cisplatin can form an adduct with two consecutive guanine bases within a strand of DNA. The molecule loses its chlorine atoms in exchange for the nitrogen atoms of the target guanines. Cisplatin can bond more tightly with nitrogen because nitrogen balances the platinum charge more effectively than chlorine. It is this adduct-induced DNA bend that allows binding of proteins which contain the high mobility group, HMG domain. Once the protein is bound to the DNA, it inserts a wedge-like phenyl group of phenylalanine 37 into the widened minor groove created by the bend. The tightly bound HMG protein causes destacking of the nucleotide bases, resulting in the DNA helix becoming kinked. In this way, Cisplatin can be thought of as a monkey wrench in the DNA repair system. With the HMG protein bound to the DNA, the modified strand is not repaired properly and so the cell dies. The success of Cisplatin depends on its ratio of efficacy between cancerous and healthy cells.
Premature ventricular contractions (PVCs) are extra, abnormal heartbeats that begin in one of your heart's two lower pumping chambers (ventricles). These extra beats disrupt your regular heart rhythm, sometimes causing you to feel a flip-flop or skipped beat in your chest.
Cardiac cath is performed to find out if you have disease of the heart muscle, valves or coronary (heart) arteries. During the procedure, the pressure and blood flow in your heart can be measured. Coronary angiography is done during cardiac catheterization.
A new report analyzing FDA-approved monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) produced by a select group of leading biotechnology companies shows that clinical development times – specifically the duration of Phase II and Phase III trials – are lengthening, while FDA review times have remained constant. The average time from investigational new drug (IND) filing to market was 6.7 years for 11 mABs approved between 1994 and 2003 but shot up to 8.3 years for 12 mAbs approved between 2004 and March 9, 2011, according to Deloitte Recap LLC’s analysis, Therapeutic Monoclonal Antibodies – Insights, Strategies and Data.
A narrowing of the major artery (the aorta) that carries blood to the body. This narrowing affects blood flow where the arteries branch out to carry blood along separate vessels to the upper and lower parts of the body. CoA can cause high blood pressure or heart damage.
Blood enters the heart through two large veins, the inferior and superior vena cava, emptying oxygen-poor blood from the body into the right atrium. As the atrium contracts, blood flows from your right atrium into your right ventricle through the open tricuspid valve.
Sex easily falls to the wayside during pregnancy. Research shows that good sex has a significant impact upon not just the relationship, but also a woman’s ability to have an easeful and even joyful birth. Unfortunately, sex during pregnancy can be quite complicated for a variety of physical and emotional reasons. This week’s video will outline how to overcome these hurdles and make sure you continue to enjoy the wonders of sex as you embark on the first steps of parenthood.
Ehlers-Danlos syndrome is a group of disorders that affect the connective tissues that support the skin, bones, blood vessels, and many other organs and tissues. Defects in connective tissues cause the signs and symptoms of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, which vary from mildly loose joints to life-threatening complications. Previously, there were more than 10 recognized types of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, differentiated by Roman numerals. In 1997, researchers proposed a simpler classification that reduced the number of major types to six and gave them descriptive names: the classical type (formerly types I and II), the hypermobility type (formerly type III), the vascular type (formerly type IV), the kyphoscoliosis type (formerly type VIA), the arthrochalasia type (formerly types VIIA and VIIB), and the dermatosparaxis type (formerly type VIIC). This six-type classification, known as the Villefranche nomenclature, is still commonly used. The types are distinguished by their signs and symptoms, their underlying genetic causes, and their patterns of inheritance. Since 1997, several additional forms of the condition have been described. These additional forms appear to be rare, affecting a small number of families, and most have not been well characterized.
The menstrual cycle is the regular natural change that occurs in the female reproductive system like the uterus and ovaries that make pregnancy possible. The cycle is required for the production of ovocytes, and for the preparation of the uterus for pregnancy.
Adrenoleukodystrophy, or ALD, is a deadly genetic disease that affects 1 in 18 000 people. It most severely affects boys and men. This brain disorder destroys myelin, the protective sheath that surrounds the brain's neurons -- the nerve cells that allow us to think and to control our muscles.
A glucagonoma is a rare tumor of the alpha cells of the pancreas that results in the overproduction of the hormone glucagon. Alpha cell tumors are commonly associated with glucagonoma syndrome, though similar symptoms are present in cases of pseudoglucagonoma syndrome in the absence of a glucagon-secreting tumor.