Cachexia, a severe multifactorial condition that is underestimated and unrecognized in patients, is characterized by continuous muscle mass loss that leads to progressive functional impairment, while ...nutritional support cannot completely reverse this clinical condition. There is a strong need for more effective and targeted therapies for cachexia patients. There is a need for drugs that act on cachexia as a distinct and treatable condition to prevent or reverse excess catabolism and inflammation. Due to ghrelin properties, it has been studied in the cachexia and other treatments in a growing number of works. However, in the body, exogenous ghrelin is subject to very rapid degradation. In this context, the intranasal release of ghrelin-loaded liposomes to cross the blood-brain barrier and the release of the drug into the central nervous system may be a promising alternative to improve its bioavailability. The administration of nose-to-brain liposomes for the management of cachexia was addressed only in a limited number of published works. This review focuses on the discussion of the pathophysiology of cachexia, synthesis and physiological effects of ghrelin and the potential treatment of the diseased using ghrelin-loaded liposomes through the nose-to-brain route.
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Curcumin (CUR) is a phenolic compound present in some herbs, including Curcuma longa Linn. (turmeric rhizome), with a high bioactive capacity and characteristic yellow color. It is ...mainly used as a spice, although it has been found that CUR has interesting pharmaceutical properties, acting as a natural antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and antitumoral agent. Nonetheless, CUR is a hydrophobic compound with low water solubility, poor chemical stability, and fast metabolism, limiting its use as a pharmacological compound. Smart drug delivery systems (DDS) have been used to overcome its low bioavailability and improve its stability. The current work overviews the literature from the past 10 years on the encapsulation of CUR in nanostructured systems, such as micelles, liposomes, niosomes, nanoemulsions, hydrogels, and nanocomplexes, emphasizing its use and ability in cancer therapy. The studies highlighted in this review have shown that these nanoformulations achieved higher solubility, improved tumor cytotoxicity, prolonged CUR release, and reduced side effects, among other interesting advantages.
Wound healing is known to be a complicated and intricate process and commonly classified as chronic or acute. Patients with chronic wounds are of public health concern, and require more attention ...onto skin lesions, including atopic dermatitis. Despite being a natural process, healing can be impaired by existing chronic de diseases such as diabetes, for example. Recently, wound dressings based in nanotechnology systems have emerged as a viable option to improve the healing process. Current advances in nanotechnology-based systems to release growth factors and bioactive agents represent a great opportunity to develop new therapies for wound treatments. It is essential that healthcare professionals understand the key processes involved in the healing cascade, to maximize care with these patients and minimize the undesirable outcomes of non-healing wounds. Therefore, this review aims to summarize the healing process phases and provide a general overview of dressings based in nanotechnology using biomaterials for the release of active agents in wound site.
► This paper analyzed pulping yield conditions of cane straw for cellulose production. ► Fiber, swelling, weight loss and morphological characteristics were reported. ► Tenacity of straw cellulose ...fibers obtained is similar to lyocell commercial fiber. ► Technical advantages of agricultural byproducts used for fiber textile development.
This paper reports the development of textile fibers from cellulose of sugar cane straw and commercial cellulose. Sugar cane straw pulps were obtained after alkaline pulping, using soda/anthraquinone (AQ). For the removal of residual lignin, pulps were submitted to chemical bleaching with hydrogen peroxide. Bleached pulps were used to obtain fibers with N-methylmorpholine-N-oxide (NMMO). Straw and pulps were characterized for their chemical composition (cellulose, polyoses and lignin). Fibers were analyzed to evaluate maximum water uptake or swelling, weight loss and mechanical properties. Microstructure was analyzed by a scanning electron microscope (SEM). Pulping yield was 30%, and fibers showed water uptake capacity around 60–73%. The mass loss profile was about 25–26% in 30 days. Fibers obtained from commercial cellulose and straw presented tenacity values in the range of 4.1–4.3cN/tex, which are compatible with commercial lyocell produced from wood pulp cellulose.
Endotoxins, also called lipopolysaccharides (LPS), are major contaminants found in commercially available proteins or biologically active substances, which often complicate study of the biological ...effects of the main ingredient. The presence of small amounts of endotoxin in recombinant protein preparations can cause side effects in host organism such as endotoxin shock, tissue injury, and even death. Due to these reactions, it is essential to remove endotoxins from drugs, injectables, and other biological and pharmaceutical products. An overview of this subject is provided by this article.
An extensive review of literature with regard to methods for removal of endotoxin from biotechnological preparations was carried out.
A short history of endotoxin is presented first. This is followed by a review of chemical and physical properties of endotoxin and its pathophysiological effects when the body is exposed to LPS excessively or systemically. The techniques of endotoxin determination and interaction of endotoxin with proteins is also presented, taking into consideration the established techniques as well as the state of the art technology in this field. A review of techniques of endotoxin removal from biotechnological preparations is described, emphasizing how endotoxin removal can be carried out in an economical way based on a number of processes discussed in the literature (e.g., adsorption, two-phase partitioning, ultrafiltration and chromatography). Different methods are mentioned with relatively high protein recoveries; however, special attention is given to two-phase aqueous micellar systems, which are valuable tools for endotoxin removal from pharmaceutical proteins on a small scale because they provide a mild environment for biological materials.
Efficient and cost-effective removal of endotoxins from pharmaceutical and biotechnology preparations is challenging. Despite development of novel methods, such as the two-phase aqueous micellar systems, in recent years, more research is needed in this field.
We generated stable amphiphilic copolymer-based polymeric micelles (PMs) with temperature-responsive properties utilizing Pluronic® L35 and a variety of ionic liquids (ILs) to generate different ...aqueous two-phase micellar systems (ATPMSs). The partitioning of the hydrophobic model compound curcumin (CCM) into the PM-rich phase and the drug delivery capabilities of the PMs were investigated. ATPMSs formed using more hydrophobic ILs (
i.e.
, ChHex ChBut > ChPro > ChAc ChCl) were the most effective in partitioning (
K
CCM
) and recovering (
REC
Rich
) CCM into the PM-rich phase (15.2 <
K
CCM
< 22.0 and 90% <
REC
Rich
< 95%, respectively). Moreover, using 1.2 M ChBut and 0.2 M ChHex ILs yielded higher encapsulation efficiency (
EE
) (94.1 and 96.0%, respectively) and drug loading (
DL
) capacity (14.8 and 16.2%, respectively), together with an increase in the average hydrodynamic diameter of the PMs (
D
H
) (42.5 and 45.6 nm, respectively). The CCM-PM formulations were stable at 4.0, 25.0, and 37.0 °C and the release of CCM was faster with the less hydrophobic ILs (
i.e.
, ChCl and ChAc). Furthermore, due to the lower critical solution temperature properties of Pluronic® L35, the PMs exhibit temperature responsiveness at 37.0 °C.
In vitro
cytotoxicity assays were also performed to determine the potency of CCM-PM formulations, and a 1.8-fold decrease in
IC
50
values was observed between the CCM-PMs/ChHex and CCM-PMs/ChCl formulations for PC3 cells. The lower
IC
50
value for the ChHex version corresponded to a greater potency compared to the ChCl version, since a lower concentration of CCM was required to achieve the same therapeutic effect. The ATPMSs investigated in this study serve as a novel platform for Pluronic® L35/PBS buffer (pH 7.4) + IL-based ATPMS development. The unique properties reported here may be useful in applications such as controlled-release drug delivery systems (DDS), encapsulation, and bioseparations.
We generated stable amphiphilic copolymer-based polymeric micelles (PMs) with temperature-responsive properties utilizing Pluronic® L35 and a variety of ionic liquids (ILs) for the encapsulation and release of curcumin.
The protective antioxidant activity of acetylcysteine (NAC) against toxicity due to cisplatin has been reported in experimental models; however, its efficacy in patients has not been elucidated. The ...aim of this study was to investigate the possible protective effect of NAC on cisplatin‐induced toxicity and the effect of NAC on clinical response and oxidative stress in patients treated for head and neck cancer. This was a randomized, double‐blind, placebo‐controlled trial conducted in patients receiving high‐dose cisplatin chemotherapy concomitant to radiotherapy. Patients were randomly assigned to groups and received: (a) 600 mg NAC syrup, orally once daily at night for 7 consecutive days or (b) placebo, administered similarly to NAC. Nephro‐, oto‐, hepato‐, myelo‐, and gastrointestinal toxicities, clinical responses, and plasma and cellular markers of oxidative stress were evaluated. Fifty‐seven patients were included (n = 28, NAC arm; and n = 29, placebo arm). A high prevalence of most types of toxicities was observed after cisplatin chemotherapy; however, the parameters were similar between the two groups. There was a predominance of partial response to treatment. In the cellular and plasmatic oxidative stress analyses, minor differences were observed. Overall, there was no statistically significant difference between the groups for all outcomes. These findings show that low‐dose oral NAC does not protect patients with head and neck cancer from cisplatin‐induced toxicities and oxidative stress. The antitumor efficacy of cisplatin was apparently not impaired by NAC.
The use of antioxidants, such as acetylcysteine, in patients receiving chemotherapy is currently a hot topic in the literature. There are no studies in humans to verify the effect of acetylcysteine on toxicity, oxidative stress, and clinical response to cisplatin. This is the first randomized, double‐blind, placebo‐controlled trial to investigate this issue.
Abstract
Objectives
The aim of this study was to report number, type and severity of prescribing errors and pharmacist interventions in high-risk pregnant and postpartum women.
Design
A prospective ...cross-sectional, observational study.
Setting
A high-risk obstetric inpatient unit of a Women’s Hospital in Brazil.
Participants
About 1826 electronic prescriptions for 549 women in the high-risk obstetrics inpatient unit were included.
Interventions
When the pharmacist detected potential prescribing errors, interventions were suggested.
Main Outcome Measures
Prescriptions were evaluated by clinical pharmacist to identify the type, frequency and severity of prescribing errors and rate of clinical pharmacist intervention acceptance in a high-risk obstetric inpatient.
Results
A total of 1826 prescriptions were reviewed with 128 errors (7.0%). The most frequent errors were drug interaction (43.8%), incorrect frequency (21.5%) and improper dose (13.1%). One-hundred and sixty-eight interventions were made by pharmacists, 98.8% of which were accepted by prescribers. Higher maternal age (OR 1.0 (95%CI 1.0–1.1)), higher number of prescribed medications (OR 1.2 (95%CI 1.1–1.3)), obstetric conditions (OR 2.2 (95%CI 1.4–3.3)) and non-breastfeeding postpartum women (OR 3.9 (95% CI 2.5–6.1)) were the independent factors associated with prescribing errors identified through multivariate analysis.
Conclusions
The most common prescription errors related to drug interactions, incorrect frequency and higher number of prescribed medications. The rate of pharmacist acceptance intervention was high.
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