Topic Review
Childhood Asthma
Asthma is a complex and multifactorial respiratory disease with a high prevalence in the pediatric population. Variation in treatment response to asthma therapies has been described among patients, and difficult-to-treat asthma carries both high healthcare and socioeconomic burden to the patients and society. Omic studies can be used to discover the molecular mechanisms underlying asthma susceptibility and treatment response, contributing to a better knowledge and definition of asthma pathogenesis and therefore, to the development of precision medicine. This entry aims to summarize the recent findings of omic studies of treatment response in childhood asthma. Between 2018-2019 a total of 13 omic studies has been performed involving genomics, epigenomics, transcriptomics, metabolomics, and the microbiome. These have been focused on the response to three common asthma medications: short-acting beta agonists, inhaled corticosteroids, and leukotriene receptor antagonists. Novel associations of different biomarkers with asthma treatment response have been described. However, stronger evidence and more consistent results are required to implement these molecular biomarkers into clinical practice by establishing the most appropriate therapy for each patient.
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  • 29 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Chinese Herbal Medicines for Sepsis Treatment
Sepsis is a life-threatening organ dysfunction caused by a dysregulated host response to infection; the pathophysiology of sepsis is complex. The incidence of sepsis is steadily increasing, with worldwide mortality ranging between 30% and 50%. Current treatment approaches mainly rely on the timely and appropriate administration of antimicrobials and supportive therapies, but the search for pharmacotherapies modulating the host response has been unsuccessful. Chinese herbal medicines, i.e., Chinese patent medicines, Chinese herbal prescriptions, and single Chinese herbs, play an important role in the treatment of sepsis through multicomponent, multipathway, and multitargeting abilities and have been officially recommended for the management of COVID-19.
  • 1.1K
  • 01 Nov 2021
Topic Review
Chitosan in Lowering Cholesterol
Chitosan is one of the polymers containing acetyl glucosamine and glucosamine.
  • 1.3K
  • 28 Jan 2021
Topic Review
Chitosan-Based Nano-Smart Drug Delivery System in Breast Cancer
Chitosan nanoparticles (CSNPs) have prospects as a revolutionary delivery system capable of enhancing anticancer drug activity and reducing negative impacts on normal cells. The use of smart drug delivery systems (SDDs) as delivering materials to improve the bioactivity of NPs and to understand the intricacies of breast cancer has garnered significant interest. 
  • 426
  • 16 May 2023
Topic Review
Chitosan-Nanoparticles for Oral Insulin Delivery
Diabetes mellitus is a chronic endocrine disease, affecting more than 400 million people around the world. Patients with poorly controlled blood glucose levels are liable to suffer from life-threatening complications, such as cardiovascular, neuropathy, retinopathy and even premature death. Today, subcutaneous parenteral is still the most common route for insulin therapy. Oral insulin administration is favourable and convenient to the patients. In contrast to injection route, oral insulin delivery mimics the physiological pathway of endogenous insulin secretion. However, oral insulin has poor bioavailability (less than 2%) due to the harsh physiological environment through the gastrointestinal tract (GIT). Over the last few decades, many attempts have been made to achieve an effective oral insulin formulation with high bioavailability using insulin encapsulation into nanoparticles as advanced technology. Various natural polymers have been employed to fabricate nanoparticles as a delivery vehicle for insulin oral administration. Chitosan, a natural polymer, is extensively studied due to the attractive properties, such as biodegradability, biocompatibility, bioactivity, nontoxicity and polycationic nature. Numerous studies were conducted to evaluate chitosan and chitosan derivatives-based nanoparticles capabilities for oral insulin delivery. This review highlights strategies that have been applied in the recent five years to fabricate chitosan/chitosan derivatives-based nanoparticles for oral insulin delivery. A summary of the barriers hurdle insulin absorption rendering its low bioavailability such as physical, chemical and enzymatic barriers are highlighted with an emphasis on the most common methods of chitosan nanoparticles preparation. Nanocarriers are able to improve the absorption of insulin through GIT, deliver insulin to the blood circulation and lower blood glucose levels. In spite of some drawbacks encountered in this technology, chitosan and chitosan derivatives-based nanoparticles are greatly promising entities for oral insulin delivery.
  • 1.8K
  • 02 Nov 2020
Topic Review
Chromatographic Techniques in Pharmaceutical Analysis
High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) is an incredibly universal tool, especially when combined with different detectors, such as UV-Visible spectroscopy, mass spectrometry (MS), and fluorescence detection for numerous active ingredients in different pharmaceutical formulations without interferences from other excipients. TLC, in combination with densitometry, is a very efficient tool for the determination of biologically active substances present in pharmaceutical preparations. In addition, TLC coupled to densitometry and mass spectrometry could be suitable for preliminary screening and determination of the biological activity (e.g., antioxidant properties, thin layer chromatography (TLC) by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) method) of plant materials. Gas chromatography, coupled with a mass spectrometer (GC-MS, GC-MS/MS), is of particular importance in the testing of any volatile substances, such as essential oils. LC, coupled to NMR and MS, is the best solution for identifying and studying the structure of unknown components from plant extracts, as well as degradation products (DPs). Thanks to size-exclusion chromatography, coupled to multi-angle light scattering, the quality control of biological pharmaceuticals is possible.
  • 3.1K
  • 26 Apr 2022
Topic Review
Chromium
Chromium (Cr) is a common element in the Earth’s crust. It may exist in different oxidation states, Cr(0), Cr(III) and Cr(VI), with Cr(III) and Cr(VI) being relatively stable and largely predominant. Chromium’s peculiarity is that its behavior relies on its valence state. Cr(III) is a trace element in humans and plays a major role in glucose and fat metabolism. The beneficial effects of Cr(III) in obesity and types 2 diabetes are known. It has been long considered an essential element, but now it has been reclassified as a nutritional supplement. On the other hand, Cr(VI) is a human carcinogen and exposure to it occurs both in occupational and environmental contexts. It induces also epigenetic effects on DNA, histone tails and microRNA; its toxicity seems to be related to its higher mobility in soil and swifter penetration through cell membranes than Cr(III). The microorganisms Acinetobacter sp. Cr1 and Pseudomonas sp. Cr13 have been suggested as a promising agent for bioremediation of Cr(VI).
  • 1.7K
  • 22 Feb 2021
Topic Review
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a lung disease primarily characterized by the presence of airflow limitation and inflammation, due to elevated inflammatory cells, especially neutrophils, in the lungs.
  • 549
  • 26 May 2021
Topic Review
Chronic Oral Methylphenidate Behavioral, Neurochemical and Developmental Effects
The majority of animal studies on methylphenidate (MP) use intraperitoneal (IP) injections, subcutaneous (SC) injections, or the oral gavage route of administration. While all these methods allow for delivery of MP, it is the oral route that is clinically relevant. IP injections commonly deliver an immediate and maximum dose of MP due to their quick absorption. This quick-localized effect can give timely results but will only display a small window of the psychostimulant’s effects on the animal model. On the opposite side of the spectrum, a SC injection does not accurately represent the pathophysiology of an oral exposure because the metabolic rate of the drug would be much slower. The oral-gavage method, while providing an oral route, possesses some adverse effects such as potential animal injury and can be stressful to the animal compared to voluntary drinking. It is thus important to allow the animal to have free consumption of MP, and drinking it to more accurately mirror human treatment. The use of a two-bottle drinking method allows for this. Rodents typically have a faster metabolism than humans, which means this needs to be considered when administering MP orally while reaching target pharmacokinetic levels in plasma.
  • 253
  • 31 Mar 2023
Topic Review
Chronicles of Nanoerythrosomes
Nanoerythrosomes (NERs) are the carrier erythrocytes (C-ERs) which are recognized as modern day, novel, and smart drug delivery systems associated with increased bioavailability, improved pharmacokinetics, and low toxicity.
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  • 30 Apr 2021
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