Tag Archives: drug
Statins: Good for the heart, but do they impact the brain?
High cholesterol, termed hyperlipidemia, is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Therefore, keeping cholesterol levels low through diet and exercise has proven benefits for reducing heart disease risk. For adults who cannot meet their cholesterol targets through
Compounded medication for patients with rare diseases
Pharmaceutical compounding is the preparation of unlicensed medicines in order to meet specific patient needs that do not have a licensed (commercial) medicine available on the market. Especially for patients with rare diseases it is complementary when
A new strategy to drug development for neuromuscular disorder
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a neurodegenerative disease in which motor neuron (MN) loss in both the spinal cord and motor cortex causes progressive paralysis, muscle atrophy, and death. So far,
Estimating effects of new psychoactive substances (NPS) based on in vitro neurotoxicity data
The use of new psychoactive substances (NPS) is increasing and currently > 600 NPS have been reported. However, limited information on neuropharmacological and toxicological effects of NPS is available, hampering risk characterization. We reviewed the literature on
A new strategy to deliver anti-cancer nanodrugs and decrease their toxic side effects by temporarily blunting the RES uptake using Intralipid®
Nanodrugs, or nanotechnology-based therapeutics, show great promise for treating a number of diseases, including cancer. However, an analysis of the literature from the past 10 years finds that in studies of cancer nanodrugs, a very small fraction
Diving into the mucus – PEG micelles for oral delivery
Swallowing a pill of paracetamol for headache is fast and easy. The drug can be administrated at a desired time and location without any pain or assistance. Such is not the case for biological drugs like insulin,
Profiling biologics in circulating human whole blood
Functional and safety assessments of biologics prior to first-in-human (FIH) is key to understand the mode-of-action and safety profile. We have made use of an ex-vivo whole blood assay for its potential in assessment of antibody-based drug
A new drug to improve drug-eluting stents in coronary artery disease
Patients with symptomatic coronary artery disease often receive stent treatment in obstructed coronary arteries of the heart. Even though current generation drug-eluting stents perform very well in the short-term, concerns still exist about their long-term efficacy due
Cellular assay: bottleneck of the drug discovery process
Finding a needle in the haystack is not that difficult after all: Just use a strong magnet, and you have a good chance to get it. Picking up, among millions of different compounds, the right ones that
Electrifying drug delivery
Most patients with chronic illnesses are treated with oral drugs and injections. These delivery methods are plagued by low drug efficacy and nonspecific side effects. In addition, studies estimate that as high as 60% of the patients
Proline analogues present anti-Trypanosoma cruzi activity through inhibition of proline transporter
Trypanosoma cruzi is the protozoan parasite that causes Chagas disease, an illness that affects approximately 7 million people in Latin America. Nowadays there are only two drugs approved for Chagas treatment, benznidazole and nifurtimox. Both drugs were
Dilemma of a beneficial narcotic analgesic: Tramadol
Tramadol is a known opioid drug that is used worldwide to relieve moderate to severe pain. It is the sole over-the-counter narcotic drug, meaning that it can be purchased without a physician prescription. Most people can enjoy
Unmet clinical needs in the treatment of systemic fungal infections. Reformulating repurposed drugs such as amphotericin B
A recent increase in the frequency of fungal infections has led to a higher number of fungal species that can cause these pathologies, as well as a decrease in the number of effective treatments against them due
Biodegradable microparticles used to prolong drug release to inhibit inflammation in osteoarthritis
Articular cartilage is located on the surfaces of the bones in the synovial joint. It protects the underlying bones from damage and shock, but also functions as a lubricant for frictionless movements of the human body. Damage
How does phenobarbital, a therapeutic sedative, activate a nuclear receptor through phosphorylation?
Steroid hormones activate a family of nuclear proteins called nuclear receptors to regulate every aspect of human physiology, reproduction, development, differentiation, metabolism and immunity. A nuclear receptor molecule is comprised of two major structural domains; DNA-binding (DBD)
20th-century version of an old pathogen. Drug resistant tuberculosis
Mycobacterium tuberculosis the causative agent of human tuberculosis (TB) is consider the most successful pathogen that could infect (2 billion), induce (10.4 million) and kill (1.7 million) a large number of people around the world. Besides this
Electrically controlled insulin release
Stimuli responsive materials are promising for designing the next generation of drug delivery systems. Such materials would enable drugs to be released on-demand or in response to patient needs, specifically at the target site, minimizing side effects.
Hot or Not – The Heat Shock Factor1 (HSF1) is essential for Candida albicans cellular functioning
The opportunistic human pathogen, Candida albicans hinges on the heat shock factor-1 (HSF1), a client protein of the well-established heat shock chaperone (protein folding helper), HSP90 for proficiently modulating thermal stress response. In addition to its implications
Applying nanopharmacology to obstetrics: A novel targeted drug delivery system for the uterus
Pregnancy is a dangerous period for both the mother and foetus. Being born too early (preterm birth) is the leading cause of death and disease in children <5 years of age, while insufficient uterine contractions during or
Gold-silver nanoparticles instead of traditional diabetic drugs
Recently, we have published a pioneering work on green biosynthesis and complete characterization of gold and core shell silver-gold nanoparticles (AuNPs and Ag@AuNPs) via using green biopolymer in the influence of microwave radiation. These synthesized nanoparticles provide
