Leon V. Berhardt (Editor)

Series: Advances in Medicine and Biology
BISAC: MED000000

Discovered in 1961, amiodarone is a cationic amphiphilic molecule which belongs to class III antiarrhythmic drugs and therefore, it is used in the treatment of a wide range of cardiac arrhythmias. Advances in Medicine and Biology. Volume 136 begins by discussing state of the art formulations of amiodarone and outlooks for future dosage forms.

Though amiodarone hydrochloride has often been prescribed for patients with refractory or life-threatening arrhythmias, its clinical use is frequently limited because of a number of side effects such as corneal microdeposits, photosensitivity, pulmonary fibrosis, thyroid and liver dysfunction, and peripheral neuropathy. As such, the authors conduct a study wherein amiodarone hydrochloride dose-dependently induced cell death, lysosomal storage of phospholipids and neutral lipids, and oxidative stress in immortalized Schwann cells.

The following review presents scientific results and popular uses for plants from the Euphorbia genus. With nearly 2,000 species, Euphorbia is the third largest genus of blossoming plants, promptly discernable by their milky latex and particular inflorescences, called cyathia.

The laryngeal mask airway was introduced by Dr. Archie Brain in 1981 with the intent to develop a safe and effective alternative to orotracheal intubation. Since its first use in the early 90s, the laryngeal mask airway went through many structural changes and has greatly evolved. This compilation addresses this evolution and suggests that the laryngeal mask airway is a safe and easy to use device that can be considered an effective alternative to more invasive tools.

Also studied in this collection is the recent development and modern trends in the use of mesenchymal stem cells for the regeneration of damaged myocardium. Cardiovascular diseases are the main cause of death worldwide and there is no promising treatment available for cardiomyopathies except some pharmacological and surgical interventions including heart transplantation.

Obesity is associated with the chronic inflammatory condition, and a consequence of obesity is the development of cardiovascular diseases due to the presence of risk factors such as hypertension and dyslipidemia. The authors present a study is presented which analyzes recent literature data related to the link between obesity and development of cardiovascular diseases.

Following this, the authors discuss echinococcosis, a zoonotic infectious disease caused by the larval stages of four species of genus Echinococcosis, including, Echinococcus granulosus, E. multilocularis, E. oligarthrus and E. vogeli. Imaging methods for detecting space occupying lesions are the primary approaches for diagnosing of human Echinococcosis.

The clinical presentation, diagnosis and management of classical Kaposi’s sarcoma is also discussed. Classical Kaposi’s sarcoma predominantly develops in immunocompetent older males of Mediterranean or Jewish origin and is considered the most indolent of the four variants of the disease. Human herpes virus 8 is believed to be the etiological factor.

In the penultimate chapter, the authors suggest presenting experimental data in the form of hybridization energy isotherms. Theory has demonstrated a relationship between the free energy of oligo-target duplex interaction and the hybridization signal. Moreover, it has been found that target concentration changes are causing vertical shifts of hybridization energy isotherms.

Lastly, a short introduction to microphysiometry (the monitoring of energy metabolism of living cells) is given. An experiment with the mouse fibroblast cell line L929 is described, employing the intelligent mobile lab for in vitro diagnostics. The experimental conditions are described with a focus on the medium exchange and rest intervals which result in a metabolism frequency of the living cells. (Imprint: Nova Medicine and Health)