Review: Oncolytic virotherapy – A novel strategy for cancer therapy

Oncolytic virotherapy is a new modality of cancer treatment which uses competent replicating viruses to destroy cancer cells. This field progressed from earlier observations of accidental viral infections causing remission in many malignancies to virus drugs targeting and killing cancer cells. More competent and specific viruses which attack tumor cells but not healthy cells could be made with advancements in the field of genetic engineering. Studying virus as a drug has benefits of secure handling of all aspects related to this advancing field. In many ways virus given for treatment is comparable to a drug. The virus lies in the grey area of life and death and thus outside the body it is same as an unopened drug. Once inside a biological system, it starts acting targetting specific systems sine qua non as a drug. This review compares virus to a drug and deals with its  pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, virus drug interactions and combination virotherapy of this new treatment modality.Keyword: Oncolytic virotherapy

An assessment of knowledge, attitude and practices (KAP) towards warfarin medication among patients with prosthetic valve in a tertiary care hospital of south India

Background: Warfarin is a drug with narrow therapeutic index. It requires varied adequate doses for achieving target INR so as to prevent episodes of thromboembolism. It is important to properly educate the patient while prescribing this drug to reduce the side effects and maintain perfect anticoagulation status. This study was done to assess the baseline Knowledge, Attitude and Practices (KAP) towards warfarin medication among patients with cardiac valve replacement in a tertiary care hospital of south India to get a baseline data which can recommend implementation of health education programs targeting these patients.Methods: An observational cross-sectional study was approved by Institute Ethics Committee JIPMER, Puducherry. It included patients on treatment with warfarin maintenance therapy for a period of not less than three months following cardiac valve replacement in the months of October 2016 to October 2017. The questionnaire included 39 questions of qualitative and quantitative basis, which was scored for a total of 50 and analysed using SPSS software.Results: About 240 patients were interviewed who attended cardiothoracic vascular surgery outpatient department and taking warfarin for at least 3 months following surgery of valve replacement. Patients were divided into two groups. Group A included patients who achieved target INR and group B are those out of target INR. 15.7 percent (35) had low score, 76.2 (160) had medium score and 15 (7.1) percent had high scores in group A. In group B 22(81.5%) had medium score and 5 (18.5%) had high score. The median score was more among patients with higher education (p=0.01). There was no significant difference between scores between different age groups or profession.Conclusions: Lack of adequate knowledge exists in patients who are followed in CTVS OPD when assessed about the basic nature of their disease and drug use. It has been shown that group B had more score which may be due to more education they may have received owing to non-attainment of target INR. This study acts as a baseline and thus advocates the need of proper patient education for patients taking warfarin which may improve the treatment outcome

Quality, quantity and recovery of DNA content from routine blood samples and genotyping success rate: comparison between phenol chloroform method (PCM) with a new kit-based DNA extraction method (KBM)

Background: DNA extraction has become a baseline method for molecular biology studies. There are a variety of methods available for this purpose. Newer kit-based methods (KBM) are easy and less time consuming than traditional chemical methods of extraction like phenol chloroform method (PCM). Though estimates of quality from different methods are available in labels, this study compared the practical outcomes regarding quantity, quality, DNA recovery rate and assessed the outcomes at two different time points.Methods: This study was done as a secondary analysis from an ongoing project. The quantity and quality of DNA isolated from the same group of 100 deidentified blood samples by PCM and KBM were analysed using Multi analyzer and repeated after a period of 3 months. Genotyping of the samples were done by RT-PCR. The quantity, quality and amplification proportion were compared between two groups to reach the inference.Results: The median (range) concentration of DNA by PCM was 543.27 (960.59) µg/ml and that of KBM was 32.115 (36.73) µg/ml. The quality of DNA as measured by absorbance at 260/280 nm was 1.84 in PCM and 1.81 in KBM (p>0.05). Genotyping success rate was 78% in PCM and 98% in KBM (p = 0.002). The DNA recovery rate was 96% in PCM and 80% in KBM (p=0.014).Conclusions: The median concentration of DNA obtained from PCM was more compared to KBM. The quality of DNA was comparable in both the groups. The genotyping success rate was more in KBM group. The DNA recovery rate at 3 months was more in PCM group

2,3,4,9-Tetra­hydro-1H-carbazole

In the title compound, C12H13N, two methyl­ene C atoms of the cyclo­hexene ring are disordered over two sites with occupancies of 0.591 (10) and 0.409 (10); both disorder components adopt half-chair conformations. The crystal structure is stabilized by inter­molecular N—H⋯π and C—H⋯π inter­actions

Nanoparticle delivery systems in the treatment of diabetes complications

Diabetes mellitus, an incurable metabolic disease, is characterized by changes in the homeostasis of blood sugar levels, being the subcutaneous injection of insulin the first line treatment. This administration route is however associated with limited patients compliance, due to the risk of pain, discomfort and local infection. Nanoparticles have been proposed as insulin carriers to make possible the administration of the peptide via friendlier pathways without the need of injection, i.e., via oral or nasal routes. Nanoparticles stand for particles in the nanometer range that can be obtained from different materials (e.g., polysaccharides, synthetic polymers, lipid) and are commonly used with the aim to improve the physicochemical stability of the loaded drug and thereby its bioavailability. This review discusses the use of different types of nanoparticles (e.g., polymeric and lipid nanoparticles, liposomes, dendrimers, niosomes, micelles, nanoemulsions and also drug nanosuspensions) for improved delivery of different oral hypoglycemic agents in comparison to conventional therapies.The authors acknowledge the financial support received from Portuguese Science and Technology Foundation (FCT/MCT) and from European Funds (PRODER/COMPETE) under the project reference M-ERA-NET/0004/2015-PAIRED, co-financed by FEDER, under the Partnership Agreement PT2020. The authors also acknowledge the support of the research project: “Nutraceutica come supporto nutrizionale nel paziente oncologico”, CUP: B83D18000140007.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Nanomedicine: Application Areas and Development Prospects

Nanotechnology, along with related concepts such as nanomaterials, nanostructures and nanoparticles, has become a priority area for scientific research and technological development. Nanotechnology, i.e., the creation and utilization of materials and devices at nanometer scale, already has multiple applications in electronics and other fields. However, the greatest expectations are for its application in biotechnology and health, with the direct impact these could have on the quality of health in future societies. The emerging discipline of nanomedicine brings nanotechnology and medicine together in order to develop novel therapies and improve existing treatments. In nanomedicine, atoms and molecules are manipulated to produce nanostructures of the same size as biomolecules for interaction with human cells. This procedure offers a range of new solutions for diagnoses and “smart” treatments by stimulating the body’s own repair mechanisms. It will enhance the early diagnosis and treatment of diseases such as cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and cardiovascular diseases. Preventive medicine may then become a reality

Engineering nanoparticles for targeting rheumatoid arthritis: Past, present, and future trends

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory disease characterized by synovial joint inflammation and cartilage and bone tissue destruction. Although there exist some treatment strategies for RA, they are not completely safe and effective. Therefore, it is important to develop and test new drugs for RA that specifically target inflamed/swollen joints and simultaneously attenuate other possible damages to healthy tissues. Nanotechnology can be a good alternative to consider when envisioning precise medication for treating RA. Through the use of nanoparticles, it is possible to increase bioavailability and bioactivity of therapeutics and enable selective targeting to damaged joints. Herein, recent studies using nanoparticles for the treatment of RA, namely with liposomes, polymeric nanoparticles, dendrimers, and metallic nanoparticles, have been reviewed. These therapeutic strategies have shown great promise in improving the treatment over that by traditional drugs. The results of these studies confirm that feasibility of the use of nanoparticles is mainly due to their biocompatibility, low toxicity, controlled release, and selective drug delivery to inflamed tissues in animal RA models. Therefore, it is possible to claim that nanotechnology will, in the near future, play a crucial role in advanced treatments and patient-specific therapies for human diseases such as RA.Financial support under the ARTICULATE project (No. QREN-13/SI/2011-23189). This study was also funded by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) project OsteoCart (No. PTDC/CTM-BPC/115977/2009), as well as the European Union’s FP7 Programme under grant agreement no REGPOT-CT2012-316331-POLARIS. The FCT distinction attributed to J. M. O. under the Investigator FCT program (No. IF/00423/2012) is also greatly acknowledged. C. G. also wished to acknowledge FCT for supporting her research (No. SFRH/BPD/94277/2013)info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio