In this study four quaternized derivatives of chitosan: trimethyl chitosan (TMC), dimethylethyl chitosan (DMEC), diethylmethyl chitosan (DEMC) and triethyl chitosan (TEC) with degree of substitution of approximately 50+/-5% were synthesized and their effect on the permeability of insulin across intestinal Caco-2 monolayers was studied and compared with chitosan both in free-soluble form and in ...

Abstract Background Mitral regurgitation (MR) is the second-most frequent valvular heart disease in Europe and frequently aggravates failure (HF) symptoms. transcatheter-edge-to-edge repair (TEER) can be considered eligible patients, for both primary (in inoperable cases) or secondary severe MR. However, intervention not advised comorbid patients whom it expected to prolong survival over 1 year...

Abstract Introduction Transcatheter Edge-to-Edge repair (TEER) for the therapy of mitral valve regurgitation (MR) is an alternative to surgery high risk patients. It a minimal invasive procedure but acute impact pre- and afterload decrease, due reduction both MR area (MVA), on left ventricle (LV) systolic function was never formally evaluated. Method Fifty patients with mixed etiologies from ou...

Disruption of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) results in cerebral edema formation, which is a major cause for high mortality after traumatic brain injury (TBI). As anesthetic care is mandatory in patients suffering from severe TBI it may be important to elucidate the effect of different anesthetics on cerebral edema formation. Tight junction proteins (TJ) such as zonula occludens-1 (ZO-1) and cla...

PURPOSE So far tear substitutes have demonstrated a limited role in restoring ocular surface damage in dry eye syndrome (DES). The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of a new ocular surface modulator in an in vitro model of human corneal epithelium (HCE) damaged by severe osmotic stress mirroring the features of dry eye conditions. METHODS A reconstructed HCE model challenged by the...

We previously reported that the time-dependent relative changes of transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER) after exposing four different chemicals to a human corneal epithelium (HCE) model were well correlated to the potential of ocular irritancy. Meanwhile, we recently developed a collagen vitrigel membrane (CVM) chamber possessing a scaffold composed of high-density collagen fibrils equi...

BACKGROUND Recent reports have demonstrated that impaired barrier function and local microinflammation in the duodenal mucosa contribute to the pathogeneses of functional dyspepsia (FD). Thus, restoring normal barrier integrity becomes a potential therapeutic strategy in the treatment of FD. Sini-San (SNS) is a traditional Chinese prescription that exhibits therapeutic effects in FD, but the un...

Good in vitro blood-brain barrier (BBB) models that mimic the in vivo BBB phenotype are essential for studies on BBB functionality and for initial screening in drug discovery programmes, as many potential therapeutic drug candidates have poor BBB permeation. Difficulties associated with the availability of human brain tissue, coupled with the time and cost associated with using animals for this...

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) can go undiagnosed for years, leading to a stage where chronic high blood sugar produces complications such as delayed wound healing. Reports have shown that BLT2 activation improves keratinocyte migration and wound healing, as well as protecting the epidermal barrier through the promotion of actin polymerization. The goal of this study was to elucidate the role of BLT2 ex...

Abstract Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: None. Introduction Transcatheter mitral edge-to-edge repair (TEER) represents a safe and effective alternative to surgery for high-risk patients suffering from symptomatic severe regurgitation (MR). New devices new device iterations are constantly developed their impact on the valve (MV) anatomy should be regularly evaluated provide bes...