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Topic Review
Interactions of Analgesics with Cisplatin
Cisplatin (CDDP), one of the most eminent cancer chemotherapeutic agents, has been successfully used to treat more than half of all known cancers worldwide. Despite its effectiveness, CDDP might cause severe toxic adverse effects on multiple body organs during cancer chemotherapy, including the kidneys, heart, liver, gastrointestinal tract, and auditory system, as well as peripheral nerves causing severely painful neuropathy. The latter, among other pains patients feel during chemotherapy, is an indication for the use of analgesics during treatment with CDDP. Different types of analgesics, such as acetaminophen, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS), and narcotic analgesics, could be used according to the severity of pain. Administered analgesics might modulate CDDP’s efficacy as an anticancer drug. NSAIDS, on one hand, might have cytotoxic effects on their own and few of them can potentiate CDDP’s anticancer effects via inhibiting the CDDP-induced cyclooxygenase (COX) enzyme, or through COX-independent mechanisms. On the other hand, some narcotic analgesics might ameliorate CDDP’s anti-neoplastic effects, causing chemotherapy to fail. Concerning safety, some analgesics share the same adverse effects on normal tissues as CDDP, augmenting its potentially hazardous effects on organ impairment.
  • 579
  • 14 Jan 2022
Topic Review
Nano-Formulations for Pulmonary Delivery
With the development of nanotechnology and confronting the problems of traditional pharmaceutical formulations in treating lung diseases, inhalable nano-formulations have attracted interest. Inhalable nano-formulations for treating lung diseases allow for precise pulmonary drug delivery, overcoming physiological barriers, improving aerosol lung deposition rates, and increasing drug bioavailability. They are expected to solve the difficulties faced in treating lung diseases. 
  • 578
  • 07 Feb 2024
Topic Review
Resveratrol and Gut Microbiota Synergy
Resveratrol (RSV) exerts beneficial properties in the modulation of cardiovascular, metabolic, and post-COVID-19-related disorders. In healthy individuals, it maintains an ergogenic capacity, prevents oxidative stress, and modulates the inflammatory response. Overall, it improves quality of life. The RSV–gut-microbiota interaction is beneficial in terms of maintaining human health. Along with physical activity, it is key for the prevention of chronic noncommunicable diseases.
  • 566
  • 22 Dec 2023
Topic Review
Secondary Metabolites from the Genus Acremonium
Acremonium fungi is one of the greatest and most complex genera in Hyphomycetes, comprising 130 species of marine and terrestrial sources. The past decades have witnessed substantial chemical and biological investigations on the diverse secondary metabolites from the Acremonium species. To date, over 600 compounds with abundant chemical types as well as a wide range of bioactivities have been obtained from this genus, attracting considerable attention from chemists and pharmacologists. 
  • 566
  • 18 Jan 2024
Topic Review
New Potential Heterocyclic Molecular Targeted Drugs
Heterocyclic compounds, which are made up of both carbon and non-carbon atoms, serve as a crucial structural foundation for numerous chemicals with pharmacological and biological value. The research on heterocyclic compounds is an important part of organic chemistry and is utilized extensively in many industries, especially medicine. Heterocyclic compounds serve as the main active ingredient in a variety of pharmaceuticals, including analgesics, anti-inflammatory drugs, anti-tubercular drugs, antihypertensives, antidepressants, and even anticancer drugs. Many novel heterocyclic targeted drugs have emerged.Molecular targeted therapy is a key element of the new era of comprehensive multidisciplinary cancer treatment. A considerable number of molecular targeted medications have been created as part of the development of targeted therapy. 
  • 559
  • 25 Jun 2023
Topic Review
Quercetin Particularities
Quercetin is a flavonoid with a low molecular weight that belongs to the human diet’s phenolic phytochemicals and nonenergy constituents. Quercetin has a potent antioxidant capacity, being able to capture reactive oxygen species (ROS), reactive nitrogen species (RNS), and reactive chlorine species (ROC), which act as reducing agents by chelating transition-metal ions.
  • 555
  • 14 Oct 2024
Topic Review
Benefits of Inclusion Complexes (Cyclodextrin–Antibiotic) in Anti-Bacterial Therapy
Cyclodextrins (CDs) are a family of carrier molecules used to improve the pharmacokinetic parameters of therapeutic molecules. These cyclic oligosaccharides have medical and pharmaceutical applications by being able to form inclusion complexes with molecules that are poorly soluble in water. The benefits of these complexes are directed towards improving the chemical and biological properties—i.e., solubility, bioavailability, stability, non-toxicity and shelf life of drug molecules.
  • 549
  • 26 Jul 2023
Topic Review
Blood Microsamples for Therapeutic Drug Monitoring
Therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) is a specialized area of laboratory medicine which involves the measurement of drug concentrations in biological fluids with the aim of optimizing efficacy and reducing side effects, possibly modifying the drug dose to keep the plasma concentration within the therapeutic range. Plasma and/or whole blood, usually obtained by venipuncture, are the “gold standard” matrices for TDM. Microsampling, commonly used for newborn screening, could also be a convenient alternative to traditional sampling techniques for pharmacokinetics (PK) studies and TDM, helping to overcome practical problems and offering less invasive options to patients.
  • 548
  • 21 Jul 2023
Topic Review
The Role of Endocannabinoid System
The endocannabinoid system (ECS) is one of the most relevant neurotransmitter systems in the brain and plays a pivotal role in the regulation of cognitive abilities, mood, stress, and sleep.
  • 537
  • 23 Feb 2023
Topic Review
The Rationale of Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy Treatment
Peritoneal metastases (PM) are observed in approximately 8% of patients diagnosed with colorectal cancer, either synchronously or metachronously during follow-up. PM often manifests as the sole site of metastasis. PM is associated with a poor prognosis and typically shows resistance to systemic chemotherapy. Consequently, there has been a search for alternative treatment strategies. For intraperitoneal (IP) therapy to exhibit promise, it either needed to be combined with the removal of larger tumor nodules during cytoreductive surgery or administered as repeated intermittent treatments over an extended duration to affect macroscopic tumor nodules. Cytoreductive surgery, with hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) treatment as an adjunct, emerged as a solution for the former situation.
  • 536
  • 31 Jan 2024
Topic Review
Cultivation and Pharmacological Activities of Taxus mairei
Taxus mairei (Lemée and H.Lév.) S.Y.Hu, indigenous to the southern regions of China, is an evergreen tree belonging to the genus Taxus of the Taxaceae family. Owing to its content of various bioactive compounds, it exhibits multiple pharmacological activities and has been widely applied in clinical medicine.
  • 535
  • 14 Mar 2024
Topic Review
Impact of Pharmacogenomics in Clinical Practice
Polymorphisms of genes encoding drug metabolizing enzymes and transporters can significantly modify pharmacokinetics, and this can be associated with significant differences in drug efficacy, safety, and tolerability. Moreover, genetic variants of some components of the immune system can explain clinically relevant drug-related adverse events. Knowledge of how genetic variations can modify the effectiveness, safety, and tolerability of a drug can lead to the adjustment of usually recommended drug dosages, improve effectiveness, and reduce drug-related adverse events. 
  • 529
  • 19 Jan 2024
Topic Review
Medical and Non-Medical USA Opioid Crisis
Drug overdose deaths in the USA rose from 16,849 in 1999 to nearly 110,000—of which an estimated 75,000 involved opioids—in 2022. On a yearly basis, the opioid casualty rate is higher than the combined number of victims of firearm violence and car accidents. The COVID-19 epidemic might have helped to worsen the addiction crisis in the USA by stimulating drug use among adolescents and diverting national attention to yet another public health crisis. So far, the failure to effectively respond to the opioid crisis is due to the gap between narcotic product regulation, regulation of marketing practices and the rise of a corporate-dominated health care system. 
  • 525
  • 12 Nov 2023
Topic Review
Therapies of the Immune-Mediated Kidney Diseases
Therapy of immune-mediated kidney diseases has evolved during recent decades from the non-specific use of corticosteroids and antiproliferative agents (like cyclophosphamide or azathioprine), towards the use of more specific drugs with measurable pharmacokinetics, like calcineurin inhibitors (cyclosporine A and tacrolimus) and mycophenolate mofetil, to the treatment with biologic drugs targeting detailed specific receptors, like rituximab, eculizumab or abatacept. Moreover, the data coming from a molecular science revealed that several drugs, which have been previously used exclusively to modify the upregulated adaptive immune system, may also exert a local effect on the kidney microstructure and ameliorate the functional instability of podocytes, reducing the leak of protein into the urinary space. The innate immune system also became a target of new therapies, as its specific role in different kidney diseases has been de novo defined. Current therapy of several immune kidney diseases may now be personalized, based on the detailed diagnostic procedures, including molecular tests. However, in most cases there is still a space for standard therapies based on variable protocols including usage of steroids with the steroid-sparing agents. They are used as a first-line treatment, while modern biologic agents are selected as further steps in cases of lack of the efficacy or toxicity of the basic therapies. In several clinical settings, the biologic drugs are effective as the add-on therapy. 
  • 524
  • 05 May 2022
Topic Review
The Use of Deferiprone against COVID-19
Deferiprone (L1) is an EMA- and FDA-approved drug used worldwide for the treatment of iron overload and also other conditions where there are no effective treatments. The multi-potent effects and high safety record of L1 in iron loaded and non-iron loaded categories of patients suggests that L1 could be developed as a “magic bullet” drug against COVID-19 and diseases of similar symptomatology.
  • 523
  • 21 Jun 2022
Topic Review
Polypharmacy in Older Adults with Alzheimer’s Disease
The number of patients with Alzheimer’s disease is increasing annually. Most of these patients are older adults with comorbid physical illnesses, which means that they are often treated with a combination of medications for the disease they have and those for Alzheimer’s disease. Thus, older adults with Alzheimer’s disease are potentially at risk for polypharmacy. In addition, the drug interactions between Alzheimer’s disease medications and those for the treatment of physical illnesses may reduce their efficacy and increase side effects.
  • 523
  • 27 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Characteristics of Mucosal Layer in Gastrointestinal Tract
The main constituents of mucus are water (90–95%), electrolytes, lipids (1–2%), and proteins. Owing to the presence of mucin, a large complex glycosylated protein, mucus can form mesh-like structured viscous gel layers on various mucosal tissues, such as the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, eyes, nose, and respiratory tract. In the GI tract, the mucus layer on the surface of the epithelial membrane can act as a smart physiological barrier not only for foreign substances with harmful potential and pathogens but also for orally dosed drugs. For effective and sufficient oral drug delivery, avoiding protective mechanisms and/or even turning barrier mechanisms should be considered. Therefore, several strategies have been developed to control the diffusive properties of drug nanoparticles within the mucus layer, including the mucopenetration and mucoadhesion of NCs.
  • 521
  • 19 Dec 2023
Topic Review
Flavonoids as CYP3A4 Inhibitors In Vitro
CYP enzymes are a group of heme-containing enzymes that play important roles in the metabolism of many drugs and other xenobiotics. They are located in the endoplasmic reticulum of cells throughout the body, but they are most abundant in the liver.
  • 514
  • 22 Mar 2024
Topic Review Peer Reviewed
HPV Vaccination for Cervical Cancer Prevention in Switzerland
Human papillomavirus (HPV) is responsible for almost all cases of cervical cancer worldwide. It is also responsible for a variety of other cancers including penile; vaginal; vulvar; anal; and oropharyngeal cancers at the base of the tongue and tonsils. There are a very large number of these HPVs, which are classified into groups from high to low risk based on their oncogenic potential. Every year in Switzerland, over 260 women develop cervical cancer, and nearly 90 of them will die from the disease. Cervical cancer affects young women and is the fourth most common cancer in women between the ages of 20 and 49 years. Among the high-risk HPV types, HPV-16 and -18 are the most common and most carcinogenic ones. Together, these two HPV types are responsible for approximately 70% of cervical cancer cases in developed countries. HPV-6 and -11 are directly responsible for 90% of genital warts. There are two effective public health interventions to prevent this cancer: screening and vaccination. The present entry provides an overview of current literature in order to present these preventative approaches and consider their use within a Swiss context. It is hoped that, going forward, this will encourage the implementation and uptake of such interventions.
  • 513
  • 19 Apr 2023
Topic Review
Bête Noire of Chemotherapy and Targeted Therapy
Tumor cells struggle to survive following treatment. The struggle ends in either of two ways. The drug combination used for the treatment blocks the proliferation of tumor cells and initiates apoptosis of cells, which is a win for the patient, or tumor cells resist the effect of the drug combination used for the treatment and continue to evade the effect of anti-tumor drugs, which is a bête noire of therapy. Cancer-associated fibroblasts are the most abundant non-transformed element of the microenvironment in solid tumors. Tumor cells play a direct role in establishing the cancer-associated fibroblasts’ population in its microenvironment.
  • 512
  • 31 Mar 2022
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