Topic Review
Phospholipids
Phospholipids are unique and versatile molecules. They are of natural occurrence and the main components in cellular membranes. Arranged as a lipid bilayer, phospholipids play a significant role in the structure and functionality of biological membranes. They are amphiphilic and consist of a hydrophilic headgroup and a lipophilic/hydrophobic tail.
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  • 04 Feb 2021
Topic Review
The Mechanisms of Clozapine-Induced Neutropenia
Despite its severe adverse effects, such as agranulocytosis, clozapine is the primary treatment for treatment-resistant schizophrenia. Clozapine is the gold standard for treatment-resistant schizophrenia. It was discovered over a half-century ago by researchers at Wander AG, a Swiss pharmaceutical company. After a decade, the use of clozapine began to fade away due to its alarming side effect but was re-introduced in the year 1989 for the treatment of refractory psychosis. Numerous comparative studies between clozapine and other antipsychotics have reported superior efficacy of clozapine in treatment-resistant schizophrenia.
  • 2.1K
  • 10 Nov 2021
Topic Review
Medicinal Value of Dandelion
The genus Taraxacum is part of the Asteraceae family of the Cichorioideae subfamily, Lactuceae tribe. This plant's geographical distribution is usually around the warm areas of the Northern Hemisphere and its users have been cherishing it for its curative properties since ancient times. Reports show that traditional medicine practitioners used Taraxacum officinale L. for treating dyspepsia, spleen, liver disorders, hepatitis, and anorexia. Aqueous extracts of dandelion were also used traditionally through Asia, Europe, and North America for treating different types of cancer like leukemia and breast cancer, even if their working mechanisms were unknown. The main reported components of dandelions consist of phenolic acids (chicoric, caffeic, and chlorogenic acids), terpenes (taraxacoside, ainslioside, taraxinic acid), and storage carbohydrates (inulin), which are thought to be accountable for the plant’s health-related properties. This entry is based on a literature review and highlights the beneficial and therapeutic action of dandelion extracts and their confirmed or hypothesized mechanism of action in diabetes, hepatic disorders, and cardiovascular disease, as indicated by the results of in vivo an in vitro studies, on cell lines, human and animal models.
  • 2.1K
  • 10 May 2021
Topic Review
Medicinal Value of Chicory
Cichorium intybus L., commonly named chicory, is a perennial herbal plant of the dandelion family Asteraceae, mainly seen with bright blue flowers, and seldom pink or white. Generally distributed in Asia and Europe, all the plants’ parts were traditionally used in medicinal preparations due to their considerable contents of antioxidant phytochemicals thought to have a beneficial impact in preventing and treating various illnesses such as fever, diarrhea, jaundice, and gallstones. Different chicory types are grown for their salad leaves, chicons, or roots, and regularly used for inulin extraction, for preparing coffee substitutes, or for feeding livestock. This entry is based on a literature review and highlights the beneficial and therapeutic action of chicory extracts and their confirmed or hypothesized mechanism of action in diabetes, hepatic disorders, and cardiovascular disease, as indicated by the results of in vivo and in vitro studies, on cell lines, human and animal models.
  • 2.1K
  • 10 May 2021
Topic Review
WHO Critical Priority Pathogens
The rise of multidrug-resistant (MDR) pathogens has become a global health threat and an economic burden in providing adequate and effective treatment for many infections. This large-scale concern has emerged mainly due to mishandling of antibiotics (ABs) and has resulted in the rapid expansion of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Nowadays, there is an urgent need for more potent, non-toxic and effective antimicrobial agents against MDR strains. In this regard, clinicians, pharmacists, microbiologists and the entire scientific community are encouraged to find alternative solutions in treating infectious diseases cause by these strains. In its “10 global issues to track in 2021”, the World Health Organization (WHO) has made fighting drug resistance a priority. 
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  • 21 Jul 2022
Topic Review
Natural Compounds and Autophagy Modulation
Autophagy is a vacuolar, lysosomal degradation pathway for injured and damaged protein molecules and organelles in eukaryotic cells, which is controlled by nutrients and stress responses. Dysregulation of cellular autophagy may lead to various diseases such as neurodegenerative disease, obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and malignancies. Recently, natural compounds have come to attention for being able to modulate the autophagy pathway in cancer prevention, although the prospective role of autophagy in cancer treatment is very complex and not yet clearly elucidated. Numerous synthetic chemicals have been identified that modulate autophagy and are favorable candidates for cancer treatment, but they have adverse side effects. Therefore, different phytochemicals, which include natural compounds and their derivatives, have attracted significant attention for use as autophagy modulators in cancer treatment with minimal side effects.
  • 2.0K
  • 30 Nov 2020
Topic Review
Nanomaterials Combined with Bacteriocins
Bacteriocins are antimicrobial peptides or proteinaceous materials produced by bacteria against pathogens. These molecules have high efficiency and specificity and are equipped with many properties useful in food-related applications, such as food preservatives and additives, as well as biomedical applications, such as serving as alternatives to current antibacterial, antiviral, anti-cancer, and antibiofilm agents. Despite their advantages as alternative therapeutics over existing strategies, several limitations of bacteriocins, such as the high cost of isolation and purification, narrow spectrum of activity, low stability and solubility, and easy enzymatic degradation, need to be improved. Nanomaterials are promising agents in many biological applications. They are widely used in the conjugation or decoration of bacteriocins to augment the activity of bacterioc-ins or reduce problems related to their use in biomedical applications. Therefore, bacteriocins combined with nanomaterials have emerged as promising molecules that can be used in various biomedical applications.
  • 2.0K
  • 11 Oct 2021
Topic Review
Lipid Metabolism in COVID-19
The current Coronavirus disease 2019 or COVID-19 pandemic has infected over two million people and resulted in the death of over one hundred thousand people at the time of writing this review. The disease is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV2). Even though multiple vaccines and treatments are under development so far, the disease is only slowing down under extreme social distancing measures that are difficult to maintain. SARS-COV2 is an enveloped virus that is surrounded by a lipid bilayer. Lipids are fundamental cell components that play various biological roles ranging from being a structural building block to a signaling molecule as well as a central energy store. The role lipids play in viral infection involves the fusion of the viral membrane to the host cell, viral replication, and viral endocytosis and exocytosis. Since lipids play a crucial function in the viral life cycle, we asked whether drugs targeting lipid metabolism, such as statins, can be utilized against SARS-CoV-2 and other viruses. In this review, we discuss the role of lipid metabolism in viral infection as well as the possibility of targeting lipid metabolism to interfere with the viral life cycle.
  • 2.0K
  • 28 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Phenobarbital Pharmacokinetics in Neonates
Phenobarbital is a first-line treatment of various seizure types in newborns. Dosage individualization maximizing the proportion of patients with drug levels in therapeutic range or sufficient treatment response is still challenging. The available evidence on phenobarbital pharmacokinetics in neonates and its possible covariates suitable for individualization of initial drug dosing was therefore summarized.
  • 1.9K
  • 22 Apr 2021
Topic Review
Ketamine and Driving, Cognitive, and Motor Ability
Ketamine is a medication that has many medical purposes but also has been used illicitly by people for its dissociative properties. While driving under the influence of drugs, drivers are more likely to be involved in and cause more accidents than drivers who do not drive under the influence.  A study with ketamine and a ketamine-like medication, rapasitnel, showed that those who were given ketamine experienced more sleepiness and had decreased self-reported motivation and confidence in their driving abilities. Moreover, there seem to be significant differences in the acute versus persistent effects of ketamine, as well as the anesthetic versus subanesthetic doses, both in terms of effects and outcomes. These divergent effects complicate the clinical uses of ketamine, specifically involving driving, drowsiness, and cognitive abilities. 
  • 1.9K
  • 16 Mar 2023
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