The combined administration of baicalin and geniposide significantly reduced atherosclerotic lesions, and modulated the phenotype of dendritic cells in bone marrow and atherosclerotic plaque. Geniposide lowered both plasma lipid levels and DC numbers, while baicalin administered either alone or in combination with geniposide did not decrease plasma lipids. Our results suggest that baicalin and geniposide may have immune-regulatory effects and prevent the formation of atherosclerotic lesions by decreasing the DC numbers, and inhibit DC

maturation in bone marrow and infiltration Fer-1 into lesions. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.”
“Background. Recent reports indicated high miltefosine treatment failure rates for visceral leishmaniasis (VL) on the Indian subcontinent. To further explore the pharmacological factors associated with these treatment failures, a population pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic study was performed to examine the relationship

between miltefosine drug exposure and treatment failure in a cohort of Nepalese patients with VL. Methods. Miltefosine steady-state blood concentrations at the end of treatment were analyzed using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. A population pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic analysis was performed using nonlinear mixed-effects modeling and a logistic regression model.

Individual estimates of miltefosine exposure were explored for their relationship with treatment failure. Results. The overall probability of treatment failure Ro-3306 in vivo was 21%. The time that the blood concentration was bigger than 10 times the half maximal effective concentration of miltefosine (median, 30.2 days) was significantly associated with treatment failure: each 1-day decrease in miltefosine exposure was associated with a 1.08-fold (95% confidence interval, 1.01-1.17) increased odds of treatment failure. Conclusions. Achieving a sufficient exposure to miltefosine is a significant and critical factor for VL treatment success, find more suggesting an urgent need to evaluate the recently proposed optimal allometric miltefosine dosing regimen. This study establishes the first evidence for a drug exposure-effect relationship for miltefosine in the treatment of VL.”
“Objective: Previously, we reported that enhancer of polycomb1 (Epc1) induces skeletal muscle differentiation through the serum response factor (SRF). Considering that SRF plays a critical role in vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) differentiation, we expected that Epc1 also works in VSMCs. Here we examined the effect of Epc1 on neointima formation after arterial balloon injury and the underlying mechanism.\n\nMethods: Epc1 expression was examined in carotid artery injury or VSMC models.