Recent Patents on Inflammation & Allergy Drug Discovery - Volume 8, Issue 1, 2014

Severe bronchial obstruction due to one of the major pulmonary diseases: asthma, COPD, or emphysema often requires mechanical ventilation support. Otherwise, patients are at risk of severe hypooxygenation with consecutive overloading and dilatation of the right cardiac ventricle with subsequent failure. This review focuses on how to manage a calculated ventilation therapy of patients suffering from bronchial obstruction and relevant patents. Options and pitfalls of invasive and non-invasive ventilation in the intensive care setting regarding clinical improvement and final outcome are discussed. The non-invasive ventilation is very efficient in treating acute or chronic respiratory failure in COPD patients and is capable of shortening the duration of hospitalization. Further non-invasive ventilation can successfully support the weaning after a long-lasting ventilation therapy and improve the prognosis of COPD patients. “Permissive hypercapnia” is unequivocally established in invasive ventilation therapy of severe bronchial obstruction in situations of limited ventilation. When intrinsic positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) and elevated airways resistance are present PEEP may be useful although external-PEEP application relieves over-inflation only in selected patients with airway obstruction during controlled mechanical ventilation. Upper limit of airways peak pressure used in “protective ventilation” of adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) patients can be exceeded under certain circumstances.

Airway and pulmonary fibrosis is a pathological condition associated with chronic airway inflammation. Fibrosis and architectural remodeling of tissues can severely disrupt lung function, often with fatal consequences. The traditional paradigm of fibrogenesis is based on the activation of local stromal cells including fibroblasts and their conversion into myofibroblasts. However, it has become apparent that several airway structural cells, including epithelial cells, endothelial cells, and pericytes, contribute to lung fibrosis through a process of molecular reprogramming. Recent studies have shown the important role of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in airway diseases and animal models of fibrosis, suggesting that targeting EMT may be a promising strategy against fibrotic lung disease. In this article, we review the latest advances on the evidence for EMT in airway diseases, and discuss the underlying mechanisms of EMT and the roles of inflammatory mediators. We also describe recent patents that could develop into novel therapeutics.

Pain is the main clinical symptom of chronic pancreatitis at its early stages; then the pain tends to disappear during the progression of the disease. Several options have been proposed to treat pain and inflammation in chronic pancreatitis; medical, endoscopic or surgical treatments have been considered, and the controversy surrounding their efficacy is ongoing. One medical option is to use antioxidants for both preventing and curing the flare-ups of chronic pancreatitis. The data regarding this treatment are highly debated; some authors have reported their efficacy in reducing pain and inflammation whereas others have not. We have reviewed the current knowledge and recent patents on this topic and, at present, we do not recommend this therapeutic approach and additional studies are required for reconsidering this interesting therapeutic option.

Allergic diseases are a major health problem worldwide. The therapeutic approaches to treat allergic rhinitis (AR) and allergic asthma (AA) fall in three major categories. The first step is allergen avoidance, or reduction of exposure to the offending allergen(s). The second and most widely used therapeutic practice is the prescription of relevant medication to reduce symptoms. The third therapeutic element is specific allergy vaccination, also known as allergen specific immunotherapy. Allergen-specific immunotherapy (SIT) is the only etiologic treatment of allergic disorders that can alter the natural course of the disease. In this review, recent advances in immunotherapy and relevant patents are presented. General vaccine modifications could be applied for any type of allergen. New specific modifications in allergic vaccines have been developed for a variety of allergies such as house dust mites, horse, cat, parvalbumin and from birch, ragweed and parietaria pollen.

Juvenile systemic lupus erythematosus (JSLE) is a chronic autoimmune disease characterized by multisystem involvement and diverse clinical and serological manifestations. Clinically significant hepatic disease is generally regarded as unusual in JSLE, but many studies have showed that hepatic disease may be more common in SLE than was usually thought. Hepatic disease does not cause significant morbidity and mortality, but subclinical liver involvement is common. One of the hepatic disorders associated with JSLE is autoimmune hepatitis (AIH). The precise etiology of AIH and JSLE remains unknown, however both AIH and JSLE are associated with antinuclear antibody (ANA) and multisystem disease manifestations. A shared immunologic response and genetic predisposition were suggested. Recently, new approaches for treatment of SLE and recent patents that could develop into novel therapeutic agents in clinical management of SLE have been proposed. An array of promising new therapies is currently emerging or being developed including B-cell depletion therapies, agents targeting B-cell survival factors, blockade of T-cell co-stimulation and present review, we will also report the case of a 12-year old girl who developed JSLE four years after her preliminary diagnosis with AIH.

Despite the continuous increase in the prevalence of asthma in many developing countries, there have been major advances in understanding and managing this disease. The remarkable role of inflammation in asthma is well known. Current asthma guidelines recommend the use of anti-inflammatory drugs and immunotherapy for long-term management of asthma. The management of asthma in children is a challenge because of their inability to express warning signs and seek medical attention in a timely manner. Unlike adults, asthmatic children must rely on their parents or caregivers for the administration of asthma medications. The inability to carry and self-administer asthma drugs may increase the risk of non-compliance. Glucocorticosteroids, the most important drugs for patients with asthma, are associated with an increased level of side effects and compliance issues mostly in children. In an attempt to solve that dilemma, emphasis is being placed on the modification of current management tactics and the introduction of other drugs. This review presents more recent patents for childhood asthma therapies for the management of asthma in children.

Shampoo is a cleaning aid for hair and is the most evolving beauty products in the present scenario. Today’s shampoo products are of great importance as they provide cleaning of hair with the benefits of conditioning, smoothing and good health of hair i.e. dandruff, dirt, grease and lice free hair. Various types of shampoos depending upon function, nature of ingredient, and their special effects are elaborated in this study. Generally shampoos are evaluated in terms of physical appearance, detergency, surface tension, foam quality, pH, viscosity, and percent of solid content, flow property, dirt dispersion, cleaning action, stability and wetting time. The attention should be paid at its patent portion which attracts towards itself as it provides wide knowledge related to shampoo. This article reviews the various aspects of shampoo in terms of preparation methods, various patents and commercial value.

The diagnosis of food allergy, as assessed by skin tests or in vitro tests with allergen extracts, has insufficient diagnostic performance and needs to be confirmed by food challenges. However, the availability of molecular allergens (recombinant or highly purified) for laboratory methods has profoundly changed the diagnostic approach to food allergy. In fact, the allergy diagnosis conducted at the molecular level, which is defined internationally as component resolved diagnosis (CRD), allows to characterize more precisely the sensitization profile of the individual patient, distinguishing the sensitizations to allergens that are strongly associated with a given source (genuine sensitizers) from those to molecules that are common to many sources (panallergens) or cross-react with other components from the same family or from other families. This review provides an update on the allergen molecules from foods, including plant foods and animal foods, and on the techniques to detect them, by means of a single reagent (singleplex) or an array of molecules tested at the same time (multiplex). Such testing offers detailed information on the sensitization profile of patients and enables the physician to suitably manage their allergy. Moreover, identifying the real causative allergens will be crucial when allergen immunotherapy for food allergy will be introduced in the near future. We also address patents concerning food allergens in this review.

Background: Penicillin G and V have the same betalactam ring. Penicillin V (phenoxymethylpenicillin) results from the substitution of the phenyl acetic acid of benzylpenicillin by the phenoxy methyl side chain. Methods: Our patient was a 34-year-old man who experienced generalized urticaria after ingestion of Penicillin V. We performed skin prick tests and intradermal tests with a battery of betalactams including Penicillin V. We also determined specific IgE against penicillin V, penicillin G, amoxicillin, and ampicillin and performed a single-blind oral challenge with Penicillin V, amoxicillin, cefuroxime, and ceftazidime. Results: The results of skin prick and intradermal tests with the betalactams included were negative. Specific IgE with betalactams was < 0.10 IU/L. The result of a single-blind oral challenge with Penicillin V was positive: 40 minutes after receiving 125mg of Penicillin V, the patient presented generalized pruritus with hives on his back and chest. He tolerated oral administration of amoxicillin, cefuroxime, and ceftazidime. Conclusion: We report an exceptional case of sensitization to Penicillin V with negative results in the allergy workup. Diagnosis was based on a positive single-blind oral challenge result. The patient tolerated other betalactams. We provide a brief summary of the most relevant recent patents.

Murraya koenigii (Curry leaves) has been widely used in Asian countries for the treatment of some ailments such as diabetes and hypertension. In the present study, leaves of Murraya koenigii were extracted with ethanol and evaluated for anti-inflammatory activity in rats using carrageenan induced paw edema method. Ethanolic extract showed a potent anti-inflammatory activity at third hour after carrageenan administration when compared with the standard drug, Diclofenac. The percent inhibition of paw volume was found to be 84.75% for 50 mg/kg of extract whereas it was found to be 80.86% for 50 mg/kg extract in combination with Diclofenac 10 mg/kg. Thus, the present study suggests that the combination therapy potentiates the anti-inflammatory effect of diclofenac and may help in reducing the dose of the synthetic drug. Some relevant patents are also outlined in this article.