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Topic Review
Natural Products as Novel Medications for Parkinson’s Disease
As the global population ages, the prevalence of Parkinson’s disease (PD) is steadily on the rise. PD demonstrates chronic and progressive characteristics, and many cases can transition into dementia. This increases societal and economic burdens, emphasizing the need to find effective treatments. Among the widely recognized causes of PD is the abnormal accumulation of proteins, and autophagy dysfunction accelerates this accumulation. The resultant Lewy bodies are also commonly found in Alzheimer’s disease patients, suggesting an increased potential for the onset of dementia. Additionally, the production of free radicals due to mitochondrial dysfunction contributes to neuronal damage and degeneration. The activation of astrocytes and the M1 phenotype of microglia promote damage to dopamine neurons. The drugs currently used for PD only delay the clinical progression and exacerbation of the disease without targeting its root cause, and come with various side effects. Thus, there is a demand for treatments with fewer side effects, with much potential offered by natural products. 
  • 157
  • 26 Jan 2024
Topic Review
Antibacterial Prodrugs to Overcome Bacterial Resistance
Prodrugs are pharmacologically inactive entities of active drugs that undergo biotransformation before eliciting their pharmacological effects. A prodrug strategy can be used to revive drugs discarded due to a lack of appropriate pharmacokinetic and drug-like properties, or high host toxicity. A special advantage of the use of the prodrug approach in the era of bacterial resistance is targeting resistant bacteria by developing prodrugs that require bacterium-specific enzymes to release the active drug. 
  • 157
  • 29 Feb 2024
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.
  • 156
  • 22 Mar 2024
Topic Review
Health-Promoting Effect of Lycopene
Lycopene is a compound of colored origin that shows strong antioxidant activity. The positive effect of lycopene is the result of its pleiotropic effect. The ability to neutralize free radicals via lycopene is one of the foundations of its pro-health effect, including the ability to inhibit the development of many civilization diseases.
  • 153
  • 15 Sep 2023
Topic Review
Second-Generation Lipophosphonoxins and Their Applications
Lipophosphonoxins (LPPOs) represent a new group of membrane-targeting antibiotics. Three generations of LPPOs have been described: First-generation LPPOs, second-generation LPPOs, and LEGO-LPPOs. All three generations have a similar mode of bactericidal action of targeting and disrupting the bacterial cytoplasmic membrane of prokaryotic cells, with limited effect on eukaryotic cells. Second-generation LPPOs broaden the antibiotic effect also against Gram-negative bacteria. However, both first- and second-generation LPPOs lose their antibacterial activity in the presence of serum albumin. Second-generation LPPOs have been studied as antimicrobial additives in bone cement and as nanofiber dressing components in the treatment of wound infections in mice. 
  • 152
  • 18 Oct 2023
Topic Review
Non-Dopaminergic Antipsychotic Mechanisms of Neuroleptic Drugs
In 1957, Arvid Carlsson discovered that dopamine, at the time believed to be nothing more than a norepinephrine precursor, was a brain neurotransmitter in and of itself. By 1963, postsynaptic dopamine blockade had become the cornerstone of psychiatric treatment as it appeared to have deciphered the “chlorpromazine enigma”, a 1950s term, denoting the action mechanism of antipsychotic drugs.
  • 152
  • 23 Jan 2024
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.
  • 150
  • 19 Dec 2023
Topic Review
Anticancer Effects of α-Linolenic Acid
α-linolenic acid (ALA) belongs to the family of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFAs) and contains a carbon–carbon double bond on the third carbon atom at the methyl end of the carbon chain. This family of essential fatty acids also includes eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). ALA has gradually attracted increased attention due to its nutritional and medicinal advantages. Studies have shown that ALA exerts beneficial effects on a variety of diseases, including cancer.
  • 145
  • 19 Mar 2024
Topic Review
Opioid-Induced Constipation in Cancer Patients
Opioid-induced constipation (OIC) is a disabling symptom which 60–90 percent of cancer patients with chronic opioid use experience. Peripherally acting μ-opioid receptor antagonists (PAMORAs) are a class of medications aiming to reverse opioids’ adverse effects on the gut by interacting with opioid receptors in the gastrointestinal tract without significantly crossing the blood–brain barrier, and therefore they are not affecting the analgesic opioid effects in the central nervous system.
  • 145
  • 22 Mar 2024
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.
  • 141
  • 31 Jan 2024
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