Tajen University

Background: Alopecia areata (AA), a T cell-mediated autoimmune inflammatory disease with an increasing incidence, not only has cosmetic and psychosocial impacts but is also associated with significant psychiatric comorbidities. Aim: To investigate the therapeutic response of photobiomodulation therapy (PBMT) against AA. Method: This was a one-group pretest-posttest study in which PBMT (wavelength: 660 nm) was applied to the AA patients' scalps twice weekly for 12 weeks. Objective and subjective treatment responses were assessed with the Severity of Alopecia Tool (SALT) and the Chinese version of the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI), respectively. Results: Of the 30 adults initially recruited, five were excluded because of loss to follow-up. Finally, 25 individuals, including 11 males and 14 females, participated in the study. Comparison of the SALT scores on the four portions of the scalp (top, back, right side, and left side) demonstrated significant reductions following treatment (all p < 0.001), suggesting notable improvements in hair regrowth. Cohen's d values showed high therapeutic responses in all four scalp regions in the order of the back (1.56), left side (1.21), right side (1.10), and the top (0.82). The DLQI dropped significantly after treatment (p < 0.001), indicating remarkable improvements in the quality of life after PBMT. Conclusions: PBMT may be a promising noninvasive treatment option for patients with AA without systemic or local side effects.

Background/Objectives: Neurodegeneration associated with diabetes and metabolic dysfunction involves interconnected processes, including advanced glycation end product (AGE)-related signaling, RAGE/NOX4-dependent oxidative stress, dysregulated endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, and mitochondrial apoptosis. Phycocyanobilin (PCB), a tetrapyrrolic chromophore of C-phycocyanin, has been proposed to exert pleiotropic cytoprotective effects; however, its actions within glycation-associated neuronal stress pathways remain incompletely defined. Methods: Differentiated SH-SY5Y neurons were exposed to AGEs (300 μg/mL) for a 24 h period to examine whether PCB modulates neuronal injury along the RAGE-NOX4-oxidative-stress-ER-stress-mitochondrial axis. The selective RAGE antagonist TTP488 (100 μmol/L) was included as a pharmacological reference. Neuronal viability, neurite integrity, intracellular and mitochondrial reactive oxygen species, ER stress signaling, and apoptotic markers were assessed using complementary biochemical, molecular, and functional assays. Results: PCB pretreatment (10-50 μmol/L) significantly improved neuronal viability, preserved neurite structure, and reduced oxidative stress under the AGE challenge. These effects were accompanied by attenuation of AGEs-induced upregulation of RAGE and NOX4 expression, suppression of PERK-eIF2α-ATF4-CHOP signaling, restoration of mitochondrial apoptotic balance, inhibition of caspase activation, and reduced DNA fragmentation. The overall protective profile of PCB was comparable to that observed with TTP488 at the level of downstream pathway modulation. Conclusions: These findings suggest that PCB mitigates glycation-associated neuronal injury through coordinated regulation of oxidative, ER stress, and mitochondrial apoptotic pathways linked to RAGE/NOX4 signaling, supporting further investigation of PCB as a functional food-derived bioactive in metabolic stress-related neurodegeneration.

The genome editing technology using CRISPR-Cas9 has created a new trajectory for treating diverse human diseases. The approval of CRISPR-Cas9 therapeutics was first given to Casgevy for treating transfusion-dependent β-thalassemia (TDT) by the UK Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (UKMHRA) on November 16, 2023. Subsequently, UKMHRA approved Casgevy for the treatment of sickle cell disease (SCD), which was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on December 8, 2023. The approval has created a new era of gene editing medicine. Numerous clinical trials have been initiated to treat different human diseases. In this comprehensive review, we present an overview of the therapeutic development that includes the earliest days of research using CRISPR-Cas9 technology, clinical trials, UKMHRA/FDA-approved therapeutics (Casgevy), and the CRISPR-Cas9 technology approved for the therapy of SCD and TDT. We also present details on the role of biopharmaceutical industry-academia collaboration and patent landscape of the CRISPR-Cas9 technology. Finally, the therapeutics' challenges, safety concerns, and cost-effectiveness are illustrated to provide a complete understanding on the current landscape of CRISPR-Cas9-mediated therapeutics for countries' policymakers, biopharmaceutical companies, and next-generation researchers to formulate the future strategies.

OBJECTIVES:Aztreonam-avibactam (ATM-AVI) and cefiderocol (CFDC) are two next-generation antibiotics that exhibit promising in vitro activity against metallo-β-lactamase (MBL)-producing carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (CRE). However, differences in antibacterial spectra and resistance mechanisms among clinically important Gram-negative bacteria (GNB) between these two agents remain incompletely understood. METHODS:English-language publications indexed in PubMed (1990-2026), records retrieved from Google Scholar, and the 2018-2024 Antimicrobial Testing Leadership and Surveillance database were extensively reviewed to assess their potential clinical utility. RESULTS:ATM-AVI demonstrates broad activity against KPC-, MBL- and OXA-48/181-like-producing CRE. However, ATM-AVI non-susceptibility occurs in Escherichia coli and Providencia rettgeri isolates harboring blaCMY, penicillin-binding protein 3 (PBP3) modifications, and porin dysfunction or acrA efflux overexpression. In contrast, CFDC activity is primarily compromised by NDM production, reduced expression of iron transporters, and PBP3 alterations. Significant regional variation in CFDC susceptibility among MBL-producing CRE isolates collected in Asia and North America/Europe has been observed. Based on limited pooled real-world treatment experience, CFDC shows moderate efficacy (73%) for the treatment of infections caused by MBL-producing CRE. Both antibiotics also show potential in vitro activity against ceftazidime-avibactam-resistant, non-carbapenemase-producing CRE. Notably, CFDC exhibits excellent in vitro activity against contemporary CR-Pseudomonas aeruginosa, most CR-Acinetobacter baumannii harboring blaOXA-23/24/58 genes, Elizabethkingia anophelis, Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, Burkholderia cepacia and Burkholderia pseudomallei. Nevertheless, CFDC heteroresistance is most prevalent among CR-A. baumannii isolates. CONCLUSIONS:Continued assessment of clinical treatment experience with these two antibiotics against MBL-producing CRE and important non-fermenting GNB is warranted to accumulate further evidence regarding their therapeutic roles.

Conventional V2O5-WO3/TiO2 catalysts for the selective catalytic reduction of NOx with NH3 (NH3-SCR) suffer from poor activity at low temperatures (<300 degrees C). To address this, we report a high-performance, vanadium-free catalyst engineered from a ZIF-67 metal-organic framework (MOF) precursor. By controllably doping ZIF-67 with manganese via ion exchange followed by thermal decomposition, we synthesized a series of MnOx@Co3O4 catalysts with a hierarchical porous structure and highly exposed bimetallic active sites. The optimized catalyst, containing 0.05M Mn, exhibited exceptionally low-temperature activity, achieving 95.7% NO conversion at just 175 degrees C with an outstanding N-2 selectivity of 95-98%. This performance is attributed to a strong synergistic effect between Mn and Co, which enhances the catalyst's redox properties. The catalyst also demonstrated excellent operational durability, maintaining over 95% conversion during an 80-h stability test and showing good resistance to water vapor. This MOF-derived synthesis strategy offers a new paradigm for designing highly efficient catalysts, presenting a promising pathway toward next-generation systems for low-temperature environmental catalysis.