Author(s): Vivek K Chaturvedi, Anshuman Singh, Vinay K. Singh, Mohan P. Singh*.
Background: Nanotechnology is gaining significant attention worldwide for cancer treatment. Nanobiotechnology encourages the combination of diagnostics with therapeutics, which is a vital component of a customized way to deal with the malignancy. Nanoparticles are being used as Nanomedicine which participates in diagnosis and treatment of various diseases including cancer. The unique characteristic of Nanomedicine i.e. their high surface to volume ratio enables them to tie, absorb, and convey small biomolecule like DNA, RNA, drugs, proteins, and other molecules to targeted site and thus enhances the efficacy of therapeutic agents.
Objective: The objective of the present article is to provide an insight of several aspect of nanotechnology in cancer therapeutics such as various nanomaterials as drug vehicle, drug release strategies and role of nanotechnology in cancer therapy.
Methods: We performed an extensive search on bibliographic database for research article on nanotechnology and cancer therapeutics and further compiled the necessary information from various articles into the present article.
Results: Cancer nanotechnology confers a unique technology against cancer through early diagnosis, prevention, personalized therapy by utilizing nanoparticles and quantum dots.Nano-biotechnology plays an important role in the discovery of cancer biomarkers. Quantum dots, gold nanoparticles, magnetic nanoparticles, carbon nanotubes, gold nanowires etc. have been developed as a carrier of biomolecules that can detect cancer biomarkers. Nanoparticle assisted cancer detection and monitoring involves biomolecules like proteins, antibody fragments, DNA fragments, and RNA fragments as the base of cancer biomarkers.
Conclusion: This review highlights various approaches of cancer nanotechnology in the advancement of cancer therapy. For article details, please visit:http://www.eurekaselect.com/165536/article
Current Drug Metabolismaims to cover all the latest and outstanding developments in drug metabolism, pharmacokinetics, and drug disposition. The journal serves as an international forum for the publication of full-length/mini review, research articles and guest edited issues in drug metabolism. Current Drug Metabolism is an essential journal for academic, clinical, government and pharmaceutical scientists who wish to be kept informed and up-to-date with the most important developments. The journal covers the following general topic areas: pharmaceutics, pharmacokinetics, toxicology, and most importantly drug metabolism.
More specifically, in vitro and in vivo drug metabolism of phase I and phase II enzymes or metabolic pathways; drug-drug interactions and enzyme kinetics; pharmacokinetics, pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic modeling, and toxicokinetics; interspecies differences in metabolism or pharmacokinetics, species scaling and extrapolations; drug transporters; target organ toxicity and interindividual variability in drug exposure-response; extrahepatic metabolism; bioactivation, reactive metabolites, and developments for the identification of drug metabolites. Preclinical and clinical reviews describing the drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics of marketed drugs or drug classes.
Articles from the journal: Current Drug Metabolism; Volume: 20, Issue: 5
Author(s): Sara Abudahab*, Nancy Hakooz, Yazun Jarrar, Mohammad Al Shhab, Ahmad Saleh, Malek Zihlif, Rana Dajani.
Background: Glucuronidation is one of the most important phase II metabolic pathways. It is catalyzed by a family of UDP-glucuronosyltransferase enzymes (UGTs). UGT1A1 and UGT1A7 catalyze the glucuronidation of a diverse range of medications, environmental chemicals and endogenous compounds. Polymorphisms in the UGT1A gene could potentially be significant for the pharmacological, toxicological and physiological effects of the enzymes.
Objective: The UGT1A gene is polymorphic among ethnic groups and the aim of this study was to investigate the different UGT1A1 and UGT1A7 polymorphisms in Circassians, Chechens and Jordanian-Arabs.
Methods: A total of 168 healthy Jordanian-Arabs, 56 Circassians and 54 Chechens were included in this study. Genotyping of 20 different Single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNPs) was done by using polymerase chain reaction- DNA sequencing.
Results: We found that Circassians and Chechens have significantly higher allele frequencies of UGT1A7*2, UGT1A7*3 and UGT1A7*4 than the Jordanian-Arab population, but all three populations have similar frequencies of UGT1A1*28. Therefore, Circassians and Chechens are expected to have significantly lower levels of the UGT1A7 enzyme with almost 90% of these populations having genes that encode low or intermediate enzyme activity.
Conclusion: This inter-ethnic variation in the UGT1A alleles frequencies may affect drug response and susceptibility to cancers among different subethnic groups in Jordan. Our results can also provide useful information for the Jordanian population and for future genotyping of Circassian and Chechen populations in general. To read out more, please visit: http://www.eurekaselect.com/172300/article
Background: Gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB or sodium oxybate) is both an exogenous and endogenous molecule with neuromodulator properties. In the United States, GHB is an approved drug for the treatment of narcolepsy and narcolepsy with cataplexy in adults. In some European Union countries, sodium oxybate is applied for the treatment of opioid and alcohol withdrawal.
Objective: The aim of the present review was to describe the state of art of the pre-clinical research and the clinical evidence related to GHB used alone or in combination with other treatments in alcohol withdrawal syndrome and alcohol abstinence maintenance.
Method: Internationally published pre-clinical findings and clinical studies investigating the effects of GHB on alcohol withdrawal syndrome and alcohol abstinence maintenance were collected and described considering seven clinical studies involving GHB in the treatment of alcohol withdrawal abstinence and five clinical studies involving GHB in the treatment of alcohol abstinence maintenance. Furthermore, GHB pharmacology and characteristics of abuse were briefly detailed.
Results: Clinical evidence indicates that GHB is effective in reducing symptoms of alcohol withdrawal syndrome and produces beneficial effects comparable to those of benzodiazepines or chlometiazole. GHB proved effective in increasing alcohol abstinence maintenance and in reducing alcohol craving, but it did not show any influence in relapses of heavy drinkers when given alone. Conversely, it seems to be effective in reducing relapses in alcohol dependent patients when given in combination with naltrexone and escitalopram.
Conclusion: Despite this bunch of evidence, studies are still limited and investigations including a larger number of patients are needed. In addition, some safety concerns, such as insufficiency against hallucinations in alcohol withdrawal and potential development of GHB dependence have to be more investigated.
Current Drug Metabolism aims to cover all the latest and outstanding developments in drug metabolism and disposition. The journal serves as an international forum for the publication of timely reviews and guest edited issues in drug metabolism. Current Drug Metabolism is an essential journal for academic, clinical, government and pharmaceutical scientists who wish to be kept informed and up-to-date with the latest and most important developments.
Articles from the journal Current Drug Metabolism Volume 19, Issue 8:
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