Metformin is a drug in the family of biguanide compounds that is widely used in the treatment of type 2 diabetes (T2D). Interestingly, the therapeutic potential of metformin expands its prescribed use as an anti-diabetic drug. In this sense, it has been described that metformin administration has beneficial effects on different neurological conditions. In this work, we review the beneficial effects of this drug as a neuroprotective agent in different neurological diseases, with a special focus on epileptic disorders and Lafora disease, a particular type of progressive myoclonus epilepsy. https://www.selleckchem.com/products/adavivint.html In addition, we review the different proposed mechanisms of action of metformin to understand its function at the neurological level.Recently, the biosynthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) from crude extracts and phytochemicals has attracted much attention. Green synthesis of NPs is cost-effective, eco-friendly, and is a promising alternative for chemical synthesis. This study involves ZnO NPs synthesis using Rubus fairholmianus root extract (RE) as an efficient reducing agent. The UV spectrum of RE-ZnO NPs exhibited a peak at 357 nm due to intrinsic bandgap absorption and an XRD pattern that matches the ZnO crystal structure (JCPDS card no 36-1451). The average particle size calculated from the Debye-Scherrer equation is 11.34 nm. SEM analysis showed that the RE-ZnO NPs spherical in shape with clusters (1-100 nm). The antibacterial activity of the NPs was tested against Staphylococcus aureus using agar well diffusion, minimum inhibitory concentration, and bacterial growth assay. The R. fairholmianus phytochemicals facilitate the synthesis of stable ZnO NPs and showed antibacterial activity. The COVID-19 pandemic has provided an opportunity to use low- and non-radiating chest imaging techniques on a large scale in the context of an infectious disease, which has never been done before. Previously, low-dose techniques were rarely used for infectious diseases, despite the recognised danger of ionising radiation. To evaluate the role of low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) and lung ultrasound (LUS) in managing COVID-19 pneumonia, we performed a review of the literature including our cases. Chest LDCT is now performed routinely when diagnosing and assessing the severity of COVID-19, allowing patients to be rapidly triaged. The extent of lung involvement assessed by LDCT is accurate in terms of predicting poor clinical outcomes in COVID-19-infected patients. Infectious disease specialists are less familiar with LUS, but this technique is also of great interest for a rapid diagnosis of patients with COVID-19 and is effective at assessing patient prognosis. COVID-19 is currently accelerating the transition to low-dose and "no-dose" imaging techniques to explore infectious pneumonia and their long-term consequences.COVID-19 is currently accelerating the transition to low-dose and "no-dose" imaging techniques to explore infectious pneumonia and their long-term consequences.Although transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) shows promise as a treatment for auditory verbal hallucinations in patients with schizophrenia, mechanisms through which tDCS may induce beneficial effects remain unclear. Evidence points to the involvement of neuronal plasticity mechanisms that are underpinned, amongst others, by brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in its two main forms pro and mature peptides. Here, we aimed to investigate whether tDCS modulates neural plasticity by measuring the acute effects of tDCS on peripheral mature BDNF levels in patients with schizophrenia. Blood samples were collected in 24 patients with schizophrenia before and after they received a single session of either active (20 min, 2 mA, n = 13) or sham (n = 11) frontotemporal tDCS with the anode over the left prefrontal cortex and the cathode over the left temporoparietal junction. We compared the tDCS-induced changes in serum mature BDNF (mBDNF) levels adjusted for baseline values between the two groups. The results showed that active tDCS was associated with a significantly larger decrease in mBDNF levels (mean -20% ± standard deviation 14) than sham tDCS (-8% ± 21) (F = 5.387; p = 0.030; η2 = 0.205). Thus, mature BDNF may be involved in the beneficial effects of frontotemporal tDCS observed in patients with schizophrenia.Background and Objectives Endovascular thrombectomy (EVT is an emerging gold standard treatment for acute cerebral infarction and may allow functional improvement after subacute cerebral infarction. However, the long-term functional benefits of EVT in patients with moderate to severe disability remain unclear. We investigated the effects of EVT on the activities of daily living (ADL), handicap, gait, and eating in patients with middle cerebral artery (MCA) occlusion who exhibited moderate to severe disability (score of 3-5 on the modified Rankin scale (mRS)) due to stroke, up to six months after onset. Materials and Methods This retrospective longitudinal case-control study assessed 45 patients with MCA occlusion who exhibited moderate to severe disability (mRS score ≥ 3) 15 underwent EVT and 30 served as controls. Clinical assessments were conducted at two weeks (12-16 days), four weeks (26-30 days), and six months (180-210 days) after stroke onset. Functional assessments comprised the Korean version of the modified Barthel index (MBI), mRS, functional ambulation category (FAC), and dysphagia outcome severity scale (DOSS) to assess disability, handicap, gait, and eating. Results The MBI, mRS, FAC, and DOSS scores all improved significantly (all p less then 0.05) in the EVT group, compared to the controls. Conclusions EVT has favorable effects on performing routine ADL, the handicap itself, walking, and eating. Therefore, EVT is recommended for patients with acute MCA occlusion, including those with severe disability at the initial assessment.Bone sarcomas, mesenchymal origin tumors, represent a substantial group of varying neoplasms of a distinct entity. Bone sarcoma patients show a limited response or do not respond to chemotherapy. Notably, developing efficient chemotherapy approaches, dealing with chemoresistance, and preventing metastasis pose unmet challenges in sarcoma therapy. Insulin-like growth factors 1 and 2 (IGF-1 and -2) and their respective receptors are a multifactorial system that significantly contributes to bone sarcoma pathogenesis. Whereas failures have been registered in creating novel targeted therapeutics aiming at the IGF pathway, new agent development should continue, evaluating combinatorial strategies for enhancing antitumor responses and better classifying the patients that could best benefit from these therapies. A plausible approach for developing a combinatorial strategy is to focus on the tumor microenvironment (TME) and processes executed therein. Herewith, we will discuss how the interplay between IGF-signaling and the TME constituents affects sarcomas' basal functions and their response to therapy.