Topic Review
Plant-Derived Nutraceuticals in the Treatment of Tendinitis
In tendinitis, as a very common and painful condition disabling musculoskeletal functionality and still lacking sustainable treatment, various plant-derived compounds have been demonstrated to affect inflammation and promote tissue healing, thus representing promising bio-active treatment agents in tendinitis therapy.
  • 1.1K
  • 24 May 2022
Topic Review
Interleukin-4 and Interleukin-13 Induced Atopic Dermatitis
Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic inflammatory skin disease associated with widespread barrier dysfunction and T helper 2 (Th2) cytokines. AD is an imbalance in the Th2 immune response where there is an increase in the gene expression levels of major Th2 cytokines during the acute phase.
  • 1.1K
  • 07 Mar 2022
Topic Review
MIP-Based Drug Delivery Systems
Despite the tremendous efforts made in the past decades, severe side/toxic effects and poor bioavailability still represent the main challenges that hinder the clinical translation of drug molecules. This has turned the attention of investigators towards drug delivery vehicles that provide a localized and controlled drug delivery. Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) as novel and versatile drug delivery vehicles have been widely studied in recent years due to the advantages of selective recognition, enhanced drug loading, sustained release, and robustness in harsh conditions. This review highlights the design and development of strategies undertaken for MIPs used as drug delivery vehicles involving different drug delivery mechanisms, such as rate-programmed, stimuli-responsive and active targeting, published during the course of the past five years. 
  • 1.1K
  • 01 Jul 2021
Topic Review
Cellulose Derivatives-Based Dressings for Wound-Healing Management
Notwithstanding the progress regarding wound-healing management, the treatment of the majority of skin lesions still represents a serious challenge for biomedical and pharmaceutical industries. Thus, the attention of the researchers has turned to the development of novel materials based on cellulose derivatives. Cellulose derivatives are semi-synthetic biopolymers, which exhibit high solubility in water and represent an advantageous alternative to water-insoluble cellulose. These biopolymers possess excellent properties, such as biocompatibility, biodegradability, sustainability, non-toxicity, non-immunogenicity, thermo-gelling behavior, mechanical strength, abundance, low costs, antibacterial effect, and high hydrophilicity. They have an efficient ability to absorb and retain a large quantity of wound exudates in the interstitial sites of their networks and can maintain optimal local moisture. Cellulose derivatives also represent a proper scaffold to incorporate various bioactive agents with beneficial therapeutic effects on skin tissue restoration. Due to these suitable and versatile characteristics, cellulose derivatives are attractive and captivating materials for the development of multiple biomedical and pharmaceutical applications, such as wound dressings, drug delivery devices, and tissue engineering.
  • 1.1K
  • 29 Mar 2022
Topic Review
Sensory Neurons
Four sensory systems (vestibular, lateral line, electroreception, auditory) are unique and project exclusively to the brainstem of vertebrates. All sensory neurons depend on a common set of genes (Eya1, Sox2, Neurog1, Neurod1) that project to a dorsal nucleus and an intermediate nucleus, which differentiate into the vestibular ear, lateral line and electroreception in vertebrates. 
  • 1.0K
  • 23 Sep 2021
Topic Review
Microbes’ Roles in Wound Healing
Normal wound healing cascade is highly dynamic and has four distinct overlapping phases which involves several cellular and molecular interactions. It is known to be one of the most complicated processes in human body. The wound healing mechanism can be interrupted due to the involvement of several diseases that eventually develop to chronic wounds such as in diabetic foot ulcers. Infection is a common problem in chronic wound cause by microbes residing on the superficial layer of the skin. It is frequently resulting in impaired wound healing and patient morbidity and mortality. Antibiotic therapy and wound dressings are the main treatments to treat infected chronic wounds. However, the presence of polymicrobial infections, formation of bacterial biofilms and antibiotics resistance are the major challenges faced by healthcare providers to kill or eliminate the microbes from the wounds. Considering all the possible factors, more studies are needed to elucidate the role of microbes as well as the selection of suitable empirical antibiotics in reducing the infections and provide optimal healing in chronic wounds.  
  • 896
  • 23 Jul 2021
Topic Review
Pancreatic Cancer Organ-Chip Models
Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is an expeditiously fatal malignancy with a five-year survival rate of 6–8%. Conventional chemotherapeutics fail in many cases due to inadequate primary response and rapidly developing resistance. This treatment failure is particularly challenging in pancreatic cancer because of the high molecular heterogeneity across tumors. Additionally, a rich fibro-inflammatory component within the tumor microenvironment (TME) limits the delivery and effectiveness of anticancer drugs, further contributing to the lack of response or developing resistance to conventional approaches in this cancer. Patient-derived three-dimensional (3D) organoid technology has provided a unique opportunity to study patient-specific cancerous epithelium. Patient-derived organoids cultured with the TME components can more accurately reflect the in vivo tumor environment. A number of in vitro models have been developed to address the limitation of the lack of tumor extracellular matrix (ECM) in the conventional models of cancer and drug screening platforms. In this regard, microfluidic chips are cutting-edge devices that process fluids in micro-sized channels and allow the culture of multiple cell types within a matrix—so-called ‘organ-on-a-chip (OOC)’ technology. OOC allows us to recapitulate 3D multicellular architecture and microengineering of TME with the potential to bridge the gaps between bench and bedside by providing screening platforms for testing anticancer agents before reaching human clinical trials.
  • 882
  • 19 Oct 2021
Topic Review
Advances of Microneedles in Biomedical Applications
A microneedle (MN) is a painless and minimally invasive drug delivery device initially developed in 1976. As microneedle technology evolves, microneedles with different shapes (cone and pyramid) and forms (solid, drug-coated, hollow, dissolvable and hydrogel-based microneedles) have been developed. 
  • 873
  • 18 Oct 2021
Topic Review
Current Advances in Regeneration of Degenerated Articular Cartilage
Functional ability is the basis of healthy aging. Articular cartilage degeneration is amongst the most prevalent degenerative conditions that cause adverse impacts on the quality of life; moreover, it represents a key predisposing factor to osteoarthritis (OA). Both the poor capacity of articular cartilage for self-repair and the unsatisfactory outcomes of available clinical interventions make innovative tissue engineering a promising therapeutic strategy for articular cartilage repair. Significant progress was made in this field; however, a marked heterogeneity in the applied biomaterials, biofabrication, and assessments is nowadays evident by the huge number of research studies published to date. Accordingly, this entry assimilates the most recent advances in cell-based and cell-free tissue engineering of articular cartilage and also focuses on the assessments performed via various in vitro studies, ex vivo models, preclinical in vivo animal models, and clinical studies in order to provide a broad overview of the latest findings and clinical translation in the context of degenerated articular cartilage and OA.
  • 857
  • 11 Jan 2022
Topic Review
Bioelectricity in Living Organisms
Biomolecular recognition is approached within the establishment of coherent synchronizations among signaling players, whose physical nature can be equated to oscillators tending to the coherent synchronization of their vibrational modes. Cytoskeletal elements are now emerging as senders and receivers of physical signals, “shaping” biological identity from the cellular to the tissue/organ levels.
  • 837
  • 06 Apr 2022
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