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- Volume 30, Issue 15, 2023
Current Medicinal Chemistry - Volume 30, Issue 15, 2023
Volume 30, Issue 15, 2023
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Is Curcumin a Safe and Effective Therapeutic in the Treatment against Oral Lichen Planus?
Oral lichen planus (OLP) is a chronic mucocutaneous, immunological disease that occurs more frequently in the buccal mucosa of middle-aged female patients. OLP's standard treatment is topical or systemic corticosteroids. Due to corticosteroids’ numerous potential side effects, there is an effort to find an alternative treatment. One alternative treatment is curcumin. Several studies have investigated the effectiveness and safety of curcumin in OLP patients. In this review, we summarized the literature focusing on the effectiveness and safety of curcumin in OLP patients. Our review of clinical trials revealed that either 6000 mg/day curcumin, 80 mg/day nano-curcumin, or 1% curcumin oral gel 6 times/day offered benefits in the treatment of OLP.
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Current Status on 1,4-Dihydropyridine Derivatives against Human Pathogenic Parasites
Authors: Orlando Elso, Guadalupe García Liñares and Valeria SülsenInfections provoked by parasites are among the most prevalent diseases worldwide and generate important health and socioeconomic problems. Despite the enormous amount of work done, the chemotherapy for most of them remains unsolved. Usually, treatments are based on no specific drugs associated, in several cases, with long-term treatments and severe side effects. In addition, drug resistance and different strains' susceptibility are further drawbacks of the existing chemotherapy. Considering that 1,4-dihydropyridines derivatives constitute an important class of compounds for new drug development, we present in this review an in-depth overview of the work done so far on 1,4-dihydropyridines and their antiparasitic activities. The development of new derivatives or the application of known drugs used for other diseases is described in terms of their potential usefulness for drug design.
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Novel Biomarkers for Posterior Urethral Valve
The posterior urethral valve (PUV) is one of the main causes of congenital obstruction of the lower urinary tract in pediatrics. Its occurrence, although rare, can cause chronic kidney disease (CKD), with frequent progression to end stage kidney disease. Therefore, the development of new diagnostic strategies, such as biomarkers, is crucial to better assess the prognosis of patients with PUV. We aimed to review the literature on traditional and new biomarkers in PUV. For that, searches were performed in PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus and SciELO databases. To systematize the search, terms such as “Posterior Urethral Valve”, “Prognosis”, “Biomarkers” and variations described in the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) database were used. The literature showed new biomarkers of disease prognosis, with emphasis on inflammatory cytokines, proteomics and genomics techniques, as well as classic biomarkers, focusing on serum creatinine and urine osmolality. As for biomarkers recently described in the literature, the 12PUV, a set of 12 fetal urinary peptides that accurately predicted postnatal kidney function in fetuses with PUV, stands out. Similarly, oxidative stress markers, inflammatory cytokines and components of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS), when increased, were indicative of severe kidney outcomes. Genetic alterations also correlated to worse prognosis among patients with PUV, with emphasis on RAS polymorphisms and, specifically, those affecting the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) and the angiotensin II receptors types 1 and 2 (AGTR1 and AGTR2) genes. Considering the severity of the PUV condition, the identification of sensitive and cost-effective biomarkers, beyond improving diagnosis, may favor the investigation of new therapeutic strategies.
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Antimicrobial Application of Chitosan Derivatives and their Nanocomposites
Authors: Xuezheng Lin, Xiaochen Gong, Qicheng Ruan, Wei Xu, Chunjing Zhang and Kai ZhaoChitosan is derived from chitin polysaccharide, the main component of crustacean shells. Chitosan is a biocompatible, nontoxic, and biodegradable polymer soluble in acidic solutions. It is widely used in the medical and pharmaceutical fields. Antimicrobial activities of chitosan against different bacterial, fungal, and viral pathogens have been considered one of its attractive properties, making chitosan valuable for biological applications, including textile, food, tissue engineering, agriculture, and environmental protection. Additionally, chitosan has beneficial effects on livestock, poultry, fish, and crustaceans, which can enhance immunity, improve feed conversion, and promote growth. However, the water solubility of chitosan influences antimicrobial capabilities, limiting its application. In the present work, we reviewed the preparation, factors affecting antimicrobial activity, morphological structure, antimicrobial mechanism, and application of chitosan derivatives, and the problems and prospects were pointed out. Collectively, this review provided an update on the application of chitosan derivatives and their potential for further advanced applications in the antimicrobial field.
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Cobalt Ferrite Nanoparticle’s Safety in Biomedical and Agricultural Applications: A Review of Recent Progress
Cobalt ferrite nanoparticles (CFN) have drawn attention as a theranostic agent. Unique physicochemical features of CFN and magnetic properties make CFN an outstanding candidate for biomedical, agricultural, and environmental applications. The extensive use of CFN may result in intentional inoculation of humans for disease diagnosis and therapeutic purposes or unintentional penetration of CFN via inhalation, ingestion, adsorption, or other means. Therefore, understanding the potential cytotoxicity of CFN may pave the way for their future biomedical and agricultural applications. This review scrutinized CFN biocompatibility, possible effects, and cytotoxic mechanisms in different biological systems. Literature indicates CFN toxicity is linked with their size, synthesizing methods, coating materials, exposure time, route of administration, and test concentrations. Some in vitro cytotoxicity tests showed misleading results of CFN potency; this might be due to the interaction of CFN with cytotoxicity assay regents. To date, published research indicates that the biocompatibility of CFN outweighed its cytotoxic effects in plant or animal models, but the opposite outcomes were observed in aquatic Zebrafish.
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Bioinformatics Insights on the Physicochemical Properties of SCN5A Mutant Proteins Associated with the Brugada Syndrome
Background: The Brugada syndrome (BrS) is a heart rhythm condition that is commonly associated with a strong predisposition for sudden cardiac death. Malignant ventricular arrhythmias could occur secondary to the dysfunction of the cardiac sodium voltage-gated Na(v)1.5 channel (SCN5A). Objective: This study aimed to perform a multiparametric computational analysis of the physicochemical properties of SCN5A mutants associated with BrS using a set of bioinformatics tools. Methods: In-house algorithms were calibrated to calculate, in a double-blind test, the Polarity Index Method (PIM) profile and protein intrinsic disorder predisposition (PIDP) profile of each sequence, and computer programs specialized in the genomic analysis were used. Results: Specific regularities in the charge/polarity and PIDP profile of the SCN5A mutant proteins enabled the re-creation of the taxonomy, allowing us to propose a bioinformatics method that takes advantage of the PIM profile to identify this group of proteins from their sequence. Conclusion: Bioinformatics programs could reproduce characteristic PIM and PIDP profiles of the BrS-related SCN5A mutant proteins. This information can contribute to a better understanding of these altered proteins.
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Volumes & issues
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Volume 31 (2024)
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Volume 30 (2023)
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Volume 29 (2022)
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Volume 28 (2021)
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Volume 27 (2020)
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Volume 26 (2019)
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Volume 25 (2018)
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Volume 24 (2017)
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Volume 23 (2016)
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Volume 22 (2015)
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Volume 21 (2014)
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Volume 20 (2013)
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Volume 19 (2012)
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Volume 18 (2011)
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Volume 17 (2010)
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Volume 16 (2009)
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Volume 15 (2008)
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Volume 14 (2007)
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Volume 13 (2006)
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Volume 12 (2005)
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Volume 11 (2004)
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Volume 10 (2003)
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Volume 9 (2002)
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Volume 8 (2001)
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Volume 7 (2000)