INTRODUCTION: Worldwide, 10-15 % couples are infertile, and 50 % of the couples seeking assisted reproductive techniques do so because of defective sperm quality. The semen quality can be directly linked to oxidative stress (OS). Due to high metabolic rates and weak anti-oxidant systems, sperm cells are unable to defend against OS produced exogenously and endogenously. Vitamin C and/or vitamin E are ...

Doxorubicin, a widely used chemotherapeutic drug, has several potential high- risk side effects including cardiomyopathy. Furthermore, cellular resistance to this drug develops with time. By using liposomes as carrier vesicles both the side effects and drug resistance might be avoided. In this study we have investigated the cytotoxic effect of doxorubicin encapsulated in liposomes with and ...

In this controlled before-after study based on data from the Norwegian Prescription Database, we examine whether starting off-label use of Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN) is followed by changes in the consumption of psychotropic medicines including antiepileptics. Patients that collected LDN for the first time in 2013 (N = 11247) were included and stratified into three groups based on LDN exposure. We ...

Breast cancer is the leading cause in cancer deaths among woman worldwide, and one in ten women will experience the disease during their lifetime. Breast cancer accounted for 23% of the total new cancer incidences and 14% of the total cancer deaths in Norway in 2008. One way to potentially improve long-term cancer survival statistics is earlier detection. That includes the discovery and characterization ...

In prokaryotes, genetic variability contributes to the adaptation to novel environmental conditions, to resistance against threats such as antimicrobial agents and viruses, and ultimately to bacterial evolution through selection and drift. Genetic variability is mainly generated through mutations, e.g. point mutations, deletions, insertions, inversions, and duplications/amplifications. In addition, ...

Background: Clinical studies have reported overexpression of PDE5 and elevation of intracellular cyclic GMP in various types of cancer cells. ABCC5 transports intracellular cGMP out of the cells with high affinity, while PDE5 inhibitors prevent high affinity cGMP efflux by inhibiting ABCC5. Increasing intracellular cGMP levels through inhibition of PDE5 and PDE5 export activity is hypothesized ...

Background: Articular cartilage is an essential part of the skeletal system. It provides a frictionless surface for smooth pain-free articulation and limits the load applied to subchondral bone during joint movement. Articular cartilage is an avascular and aneural tissue without lymphatic vessels. Due to this unique nature, articular cartilage has poor self-repair capacity. Therefore, minor cartilage ...

Background: Understanding drivers of antibiotic resistance evolution is fundamental for designing optimal treatment strategies and interventions to reduce the spread of antibiotic resistance. Various cytotoxic drugs used in cancer chemotherapy have antibacterial properties, but how bacterial populations are affected by these selective pressures is unknown. Here we test the hypothesis that the widely ...

Chronic wounds are often colonized with biofilm-producing bacteria, such as Staphylococcus epidermidis, and these wounds often have high degree of complexity and are often challenging to treat. There is a high resistance to the traditional antimicrobial treatments and that is why these infections sometimes are persistent. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is proposed as a potential solution to the problems ...

Infected chronic skin wounds and other skin infections are increasingly putting pressure on the health care providers and patients. The pressure is especially concerning due to the rise of antimicrobial resistance and biofilm-producing bacteria that further impair treatment success. Therefore, innovative strategies for wound healing and bacterial eradication are urgently needed; utilization ...