WikiJournal of Medicine/Volume 10 Issue 1
WikiJournal of Medicine
Open access • Publication charge free • Public peer review • Wikipedia-integrated
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VOLUME 10 (2023)
ISSUE 1
Previous issue
Author: Piotr Konieczny
The following paper advances our understanding of online volunteering in the medical context, through the study of Wikipedia volunteers who edit medical topics. It employs the Volunteer Functions Inventory (VFI) model to study volunteers' motivations through a survey carried out in 2021 (N=74). It highlights the importance of the non-traditional VFI dimensions of "fun" and "ideology" which have not been adequately discussed in the context of medical volunteering. The findings also show that Wikipedia volunteers who edit medical topics are older, more gender-balanced, and better educated than typical Wikipedia volunteers from a decade ago. Many are medical professionals, and their significant involvement helps to explain the above-average quality of Wikipedia medical topics. Conversely, the study reveals the need for more experts to engage with Wikipedia. Lack of volunteers, in particular, experts, and inadequate support from professional institutions, are identified as main reasons for problems in Wikipedia's quality.
doi: 10.15347/WJM/2023.005
Authors: Vitalii Moskalov, Olena Koshova, Sabina Ali, Nataliia Filimonova
Objective. To determine such parameters of humoral immunity as the number of antibody-forming cells and the titer of antibodies in the blood under the action of the whole fraction of the secretome of xenogenic mesenchymal stem cells in mice with a normal immune status and mice with secondary immunodeficiency caused by the hydrocortisone acetate. [...] doi: 10.15347/WJM/2023.004
Authors: Maxim Masiutin, Maneesh Yadav
Steroidogenic routes to androgens have been discovered and characterized over the last two decades that fall outside the Δ4 and Δ5 "classical androgen pathways" to testosterone and 5α-dihydrotestosterone. There has been considerable investigation into these routes that has come with natural inconsistencies and overlap in naming that can make it difficult to discover information about them as might be needed in a clinical context. This expository review uses "alternative androgen pathways" to include what has been called the "backdoor" pathway to 5α-dihydrotestosterone, the 5α-dione pathway and pathways to 11-oxygenated steroids. A brief history of what led to the discovery of these pathways, basic information about the steroids and proteins involved in their biosynthesis as well as a summary of clinically significant findings is provided. PubChem CIDs for all steroids have been compiled to help authors avoid naming errors in their work. Modest suggestions for future work in these pathways are also given at the end. Patient comprehension and the clinical diagnosis of relevant conditions such as hyperandrogenism can be impaired by the lack of clear and consistent knowledge of alternative androgen pathways; the authors hope this review will accurately disseminate such knowledge to facilitate the beneficial treatment of such patients.
doi: 10.15347/WJM/2023.003
Authors: Robert A. Orlando, Natalie S. Correa
Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), including Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, are classified as chronic inflammatory disorders and typically require anti-inflammatory drug therapies, such as glucocorticoid regimens, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and biologics, aimed at reducing inflammation in the bowel wall. However, each of these therapies is accompanied by a list of possible serious side effects. Because of this, there remains an urgent need to identify new pharmacologic options to reduce or prevent the pro-inflammatory events of IBD while minimizing adverse side effects, and to make available more cost-effective treatment modalities. We have previously identified several herbal extracts that demonstrate potent bio-inhibitory activity of the innate immune response. In particular, Laurus nobilis (LN), or more commonly called bay laurel, demonstrated significant anti-inflammatory function by inhibiting nuclear factor-κB activation. Based upon our original in vitro findings, we have now examined the effects of this herbal extract on a murine dextran sodium sulfate (DSS) model of IBD. Hematoxylin and eosin-stained paraffin sections prepared from DSS treated animals show clear epithelial damage, including ulcerations, extensive neutrophil infiltration into the mucosal layer, and granuloma formation. Tissue from DSS treated animals that also received LN extract showed improved tissue morphology more closely resembling that from control animals. In addition, DSS treated mice with co-administration of LN extract showed a significant reduction in CD4+ antibody staining within the mucosal layer in colonic sections indicating reduced lymphocyte infiltration. Based on these findings, we believe that administration of LN extracts may be effective in reducing the intestinal epithelial damage seen in human IBD and warrants further investigation through clinical trials. [...] doi: 10.15347/WJM/2023.002
Authors: Emily Pender, Liana Kostak, Kelsey Sutton, Cody Naccarato, Angelina Tsai, Tammy Chung, Stacey Daughters
Substance Use Disorder (SUD) is understood as the persistent use of substances to the detriment of the individual's livelihood and wellness. SUD can have serious mental, physical, and social ramifications if not properly addressed. Though SUD can develop at any age, it is especially important to address in adolescents, given rising prevalence of certain substances (e.g. cannabis) in that age group and poor prognosis associated with early-onset SUD. Data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health show the lifetime use of illicit drugs in people ages 12-17 is 20.9%. The same survey found the rate of Substance Use Disorder in the past year for people ages 12-17 who used illicit drugs or alcohol to be 6.3% in 2020. [...] doi: 10.15347/WJM/2023.001
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