Most cited article: Overview of Drug Therapy of COVID-19 with Safety and the Potential Clinical Benefits

Author(s):Rajesh Basnet*, Sandhya Khadka, Buddha Bahadur Basnet, Til Bahadur Basnet and Sanjeep Sapkota

Abstract:

The discovery and development of the drug/vaccine for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is the process of developing a preventive vaccine or treatment drug to reduce the severity of COVID-19. Internationally, hundreds of pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology companies, university research groups, and the World Health Organization (WHO) have developed vaccines for the past few centuries. Currently, they are continuously putting effort into developing possible therapies for COVID-19 disease, which are now at various stages of the preclinical or clinical research stage. In addition, researchers are trying to accelerate the development of vaccines, antiviral drugs, and postinfection treatments. Many previously approved drug candidates are already studied to alleviate discomfort during the disease complication. In this paper, we reviewed the research progress of COVID-19 therapeutic drugs.

Read the full article: http://bit.ly/3Xj3oH5

PRESS RELEASE – Pharmacogenetics of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors for Alzheimer’s disease

This article by Dr. Fabricio Ferreira de Oliveira et al. is published in Current Alzheimer Research, Volume 15, Issue 4, 2018

The angiotensin-converting enzyme is an amyloid-ß-degrading enzyme. While angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors could increase amyloid-ß accumulation, they might also slow cognitive decline by way of cholinergic effects, by increasing brain substance P and boosting the activity of neprilysin, and by modulating glucose homeostasis and augmenting the secretion of adipokines to enhance insulin sensitivity in patients with Alzheimer’s disease dementia. In this study from São Paulo, Brazil, we aimed to investigate whether ACE polymorphisms rs1800764 and rs4291 are associated with cognitive and functional change in patients with Alzheimer’s disease dementia, while also taking APOE haplotypes and anti-hypertensive treatment with angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors into account for stratification. Overall, 193 consecutive patients with late-onset Alzheimer’s disease dementia were screened with cognitive tests, while their caregivers were queried for functional and caregiver burden scores. Prospective pharmacogenetic correlations were estimated for one year, considering APOE and ACE genotypes and haplotypes, and treatment with angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors. Almost 94% of all patients used cholinesterase inhibitors, whereas 155 had arterial hypertension, and 124 used angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors. No functional impacts were found regarding any genotypes or pharmacological treatment. Either for carriers of ACE haplotypes that included rs1800764 — T and rs4291 — A, or for APOE4- carriers of rs1800764 — T or rs4291 — T, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors slowed cognitive decline independently of blood pressure variations, possibly by way of central and peripheral effects. APOE4+ carriers were not responsive to treatment with angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors. In conclusion, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors may slow cognitive decline for patients with Alzheimer’s disease dementia, more remarkably for APOE4- carriers of specific ACE genotypes. Future trials should prospectively compare angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors according to their brain-penetrating properties since the start of anti-hypertensive therapy, with measurements of cerebrospinal fluid and serum levels and activity of the angiotensin-converting enzyme, as well as genetic profiles and neuroimaging parameters.

For more information on this research, please visit: http://www.eurekaselect.com/156397/article

 

Highlighted Article Flyer for the journal “Current Neuropharmacology”

http://benthamscience.com/journals/current-neuropharmacology/

Highlighted Article Flyer for the journal “Current Drug Abuse Reviews”

To access the article, please visit: http://benthamscience.com/journals/current-drug-abuse-reviews/

An Abstract from BSP Journal Current Pharmaceutical Design

Current Pharmaceutical Design

ISSN: 1873-4286 (Online)
ISSN: 1381-6128 (Print)


Volume 20, 42 Issues, 2014

Pharmacological Properties of Physical Exercise in The Elderly

Author(s): Jose Vina, Consuelo Borras, Fabian Sanchis-Gomar, Vladimir E. Martinez-Bello, Gloria Olaso-Gonzalez, Juan Gambini, Marta Ingles and Mari Carmen Gomez-Cabrera

Affiliation: Department of Physiology. Faculty of Medicine. University of Valencia., Av. Blasco Ibanez, 15, Valencia, E46010 Spain.

Abstract

Scientific evidence links physical activity to several benefits. Recently, we proposed the idea that exercise can be regarded as a drug. As with many drugs, dosage is of great importance. However, to issue a public recommendation of physical activity in aging is not an easy task. Exercise in the elderly needs to be carefully tailored and individualized with the specific objectives of the person or group in mind.
The beneficial effects of exercise in two of the main age-related diseases, sarcopenia and Alzheimer’s Disease, are dealt with at the beginning of this report. Subsequently, dosage of exercise and the molecular signaling pathways involved in its adaptations are discussed. Exercise and aging are associated with oxidative stress so the paradox arises, and is discussed, as to whether exercise would be advisable for the aged population from an oxidative stress point of view. Two of the main redox-sensitive signaling pathways altered in old skeletal muscle during exercise, NF- κB and PGC-1 α, are also reviewed.

The last section of the manuscript is devoted to the age-associated diseases in which exercise is contraindicated. Finally, we address the option of applying exercise mimetics as an alternative for disabled old people.

The overall denouement is that exercise is so beneficial that it should be deemed a drug both for young and old populations. If old adults adopted a more active lifestyle, there would be a significant delay in frailty and dependency with clear benefits to individual well-being and to the public’s health

For details on the journal, please visit:http://www.benthamscience.com/journal/index.php?journalID=cpd