Leucine is an essential amino acid that cannot be produced endogenously in the human body and therefore needs to be obtained from dietary sources. Leucine plays a pivotal role in stimulating muscle protein synthesis, along with isoleucine and valine, as the group of branched-chain amino acids, making them one of the most popular dietary supplements for athletes and gym-goers. The individual effects of leucine, however, have not been fully clarified, as most of the studies so far have focused on the grouped effects of branched-chain amino acids. In recent years, leucine and its metabolites have been shown to stimulate muscle protein synthesis mainly via the mammalian target of the rapamycin complex 1 signaling pathway, thereby improving muscle atrophy in cancer cachexia. Interestingly, cancer research suggests that leucine may have either anti-cancer or pro-tumorigenic effects. In the current manuscript, we aim to review leucine’s roles in muscle protein synthesis, tumor suppression, and tumor progression, specifically summarizing the molecular mechanisms of leucine’s action. The role of leucine is controversial in hepatocellular carcinoma, whereas its pro-tumorigenic effects have been demonstrated in breast and pancreatic cancers. In summary, leucine being used as nutritional supplement for athletes needs more attention, as its pro-oncogenic effects may have been identified by recent studies. Anti-cancer or pro-tumorigenic effects of leucine in various cancers should be further investigated to achieve clear conclusions.

Leucine is an essential amino acid that cannot be produced endogenously in the human body and therefore needs to be obtained from dietary sources. Leucine plays a pivotal role in stimulating muscle protein synthesis along with isoleucine and valine as the group of branched-chain amino acids making them as one of the most popular dietary supplements for athletes and gym-goers. Individual effects of leucine, however, are not fully clarified, as most of the studies focused on the grouped effects of branched-chain amino acids. In recent years, leucine and its metabolites have been shown to stimulate muscle protein synthesis mainly via mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 signaling pathway, thereby improving muscle atrophy in cancer cachexia. Interestingly, cancer research suggests that leucine may have either anti-cancer or carcinogenic effects. In the current manuscript, we aim to review leucine's roles in muscle protein synthesis, tumor suppression, and tumor progression, specifically summarizing the molecular mechanisms of leucine's action. The role of leucine is controversial in hepatocellular carcinoma, whereas its carcinogenic effects have been demonstrated in breast and pancreatic cancers. In summary, leucine being used as nutritional supplement for athletes needs more attention, as its oncogenic effects may have been identified by recent studies. Anti-cancer or carcinogenic effects of leucine in various cancers should be further investigated to have clear conclusions.

Background: In people living with HIV (PLHIV), ongoing neuronal injury has shown a correlation with elevated levels of soluble markers of immune activation, such as sCD163. Additionally, various risk factors, such as injection drug use (IDU), can independently affect immune and cognitive functions, leading to neurocognitive impairment (NCI). However, the potential sCD163-IDU-NCI axis in ART-experienced PLHIV is not clear. This study aims to determine NCI prevalence and investigate the interplay between risk factors and sCD163 in Pakistani PLHIV. Methods: For this cross-sectional study, 150 PLHIV and 30 HIV-negative people who inject drugs (PWID) were recruited using a convenience sampling strategy. NCI screening was performed using the International HIV Dementia Scale (IHDS) tool. Blood samples from PLHIV were used to perform HIV recency testing using the Asante Rapid Recency Assay, and to evaluate sCD163 levels using ELISA. Sociodemographic and clinical data were collected from medical records. Subsequently, descriptive statistics were used to summarize data variables, while comparisons (two and multiple groups) between participants with and without NCI were conducted, respectively, using the Mann–Whitney test or Kruskal–Wallis test for continuous variables, and Fisher’s exact test for categorial variables. Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was performed to assess the discriminative ability of sCD163. Logistic regression was used to identify predictors of neurocognitive impairment. Results: The majority of PLHIV had IDU as a high-risk behavior. In PLHIV, the median age was 34.5 years (IQR: 30–41), ART duration was 35 months (IQR: 17–54), and median CD4 count was 326.5 cells/µL (IQR: 116–545.5). Long-term infections (>6 months post-seroconversion; median ART duration: 35 months; median CD4 counts: 326.5 cells/μL) were noted in 83.3% of PLHIV. IHDS-based screening showed that 83.33% (all PLHIV) and 50% (PLHIV with no IDU history) scored ≤ 9 on the IHDS, suggestive of NCI. IHDS-component analysis showed the memory recall to be significantly affected in PLHIV compared to controls (median score 3.2 versus 3.7, respectively, p < 0.001). Regression analysis showed only long-term infection (OR: 2.99, p = 0.03) to be significantly associated with neurocognitive impairment. sCD163 levels were significantly lower in PLHIV with NCI (mean = 7.48 ng/mL, SD = 7.05) compared to those without NCI (mean = 14.82 ng/mL, SD = 8.23; p < 0.0001), with an AUC of 0.803 (95% CI: 0.72–0.88). However, after adjusting for IDU history, the regression analysis showed an odds ratio for sCD163 of 0.998 (95% CI: 0.934, 1.067, p = 0.957), indicating no association between sCD163 levels and NCI. Conclusion: This study reports a high prevalence of NCI in Pakistani PLHIV, and no association between sCD163 and neurocognitive impairment in PLHIV after adjustment for a history of IDU. Long-term infection and IDU were significantly linked to NCI, while only IDU was associated with lower sCD163 levels, regardless of NCI.

Epilepsy is a chronic neuronal disorder characterized by periodic, unpredictable, and recurrent seizures due to either a genetically determined or an acquired brain disorder. Although many anti-epileptics drugs (AEDs) are developed to control epilepsy, 30% of patients still need additional drugs or experience recurrent seizures and psychiatric and behavioral side effects. Thus, the need for medical care for patients with uncontrolled epilepsy remains unmet. The Genus Artemisia L. is one of the largest genera in the Asteraceae family with more than 500 species widely distributed in Europe, Asia, and North America. Many Artemisia species have been used in various treatments since ancient times as folk remedies. They demonstrated strong antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antimalarial, and antitumor activity. Recent studies reveal that some species of Artemisia demonstrated a therapeutic benefit for epilepsy by its anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, neuroprotective, and anticonvulsant properties. In this review, we investigate the current state of the literature regarding the neuroprotective and antiepileptic potentials of the genus Artemisia and its possible underlying mechanisms.