Release of acyclovir from polymeric nanofibers: comparing aqueous versus membrane-water interfaces kinetics

We are very thankful to Labesfal Genericos, S.A. for kindly providing acyclovir. We also thank PARALAB for the SEM-EDS analysis and Sr. Azevedo for the X-ray analysis. This work was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) in the framework of the Strategic Funding UID/FIS/04650/2013. Marlene Lúcio acknowledges the exploratory project funded by FCT with the reference IF/00498/2012The objective of this study is to develop a novel system for acyclovir (ACV) controlled release after cutaneous application through the encapsulation of the drug into polymeric nanofibers of policaprolactone (PCL) produced by the electrospinning technique to overcome the limitations of the conventional topical formulations.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Hepatite C em toxicodependentes: acompanhamento e acesso à terapêutica

A hepatite C constitui, actualmente, um grave problema de saúde pública. Estima-se que existam, em todo o mundo, 180 milhões de pessoas com infecção crónica por vírus da hepatite C (VHC) e que a sua prevalência na população portuguesa varie entre 1 e 1,5%. Em Portugal, não existem normas de orientação actualizadas de tratamento, nem recomendações para o diagnóstico e acompanhamento dos doentes com VHC e, em particular, para os UDEVs. O presente artigo reúne informação de consenso relativa à de prática clínica e propõe algumas orientações para o acompanhamento e acessibilidade ao tratamento dos doentes toxicodependentes com infecção crónica por VHC, em Portugal

A new vehicle for herbicide application using crude glycerin, a by-product of biodiesel production

The supply of glycerin derived from the pre-purification of biodiesel has increased considerably in Brazil, making it necessary to identify economic and environmentally friendly applications for this byproduct. This work aimed to develop oil-in-water (O/W) emulsions using crude glycerin treated with H3PO4 for use as a vehicle for the application the herbicide Togar. The work was conducted in the laboratory of Marlebologia at the Federal University of Tocantins, Gurupi Campus. The preliminary emulsions were subjected to stability testing, and those that remained stable were diluted with the herbicide Togar (8% v v-1) and characterized with respect to pH, conductivity, viscosity, density and surface tension. The crude glycerin was used to develop five stable emulsions with promising physicochemical characteristics for use as vehicle for herbicide application. The conductivity and viscosity of the emulsions were high compared to diesel.Key words: Agrochemicals, residue, emulsions

Non-AIDS-related comorbidities in people living with HIV-1 aged 50 years and older: The AGING POSITIVE study.

OBJECTIVE: To characterize the profile of non-AIDS-related comorbidities (NARC) in the older HIV-1-infected population and to explore the factors associated with multiple NARC. METHODS: This was a multicentre, cross-sectional study including HIV-1-infected patients aged ≥50 years, who were virologically suppressed and had been on a stable antiretroviral therapy (ART) regimen for at least 6 months. A multiple regression model explored the association between demographic and clinical variables and the number of NARC. RESULTS: Overall, 401 patients were enrolled. The mean age of the patients was 59.3 years and 72.6% were male. The mean duration of HIV-1 infection was 12.0 years and the median exposure to ART was 10.0 years. The mean number of NARC was 2.1, and 34.7% of patients had three or more NARC. Hypercholesterolemia was the most frequent NARC (60.8%), followed by arterial hypertension (39.7%) and chronic depression/anxiety (23.9%). Arterial hypertension and diabetes mellitus were the most frequently treated NARC (95.6% and 92.6% of cases, respectively). The linear regression analysis showed a positive relationship between age and NARC (B=0.032, 95% confidence interval 0.015-0.049; p=0.0003) and between the duration of HIV-1 infection and NARC (B=0.039, 95% confidence interval 0.017-0.059; p=0.0005). CONCLUSIONS: A high prevalence of NARC was found, the most common being metabolic, cardiovascular, and psychological conditions. NARC rates were similar to those reported for the general population, suggesting a larger societal problem beyond HIV infection. A multidisciplinary approach is essential to reduce the burden of complex multi-morbid conditions in the HIV-1-infected population.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Control release of acyclovir nanocristals from electrospun nanofibers: comparison of two polymeric matrices

The objective of this study is to develop a novel system for cutaneous application of ACV that is capable of a controlled release of the drug overcoming the limitations of the conventional topical formulations.We are thankful to Labesfal Genericos, S.A. for kindly providing acyclovir. We also thank PARALAB for the SEM-EDS analysis and Dr. A. S. Azevedo for the X-ray analysis. This work was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) in the framework of the Strategic Funding UID/FIS/04650/2013. Marlene Lúcio acknowledges the exploratory project funded by FCT with the reference IF/00498/2012.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Graphene oxide topical administration: Skin permeability studies

Nanostructured carriers have been widely used in pharmaceutical formulations for der-matological treatment. They offer targeted drug delivery, sustained release, improved biostability, and low toxicity, usually presenting advantages over conventional formulations. Due to its large surface area, small size and photothermal properties, graphene oxide (GO) has the potential to be used for such applications. Nanographene oxide (GOn) presented average sizes of 197.6 ± 11.8 nm, and a surface charge of -39.4 ± 1.8 mV, being stable in water for over 6 months. 55.5% of the mass of GOn dispersion (at a concentration of 1000 µg mL-1 ) permeated the skin after 6 h of exposure. GOn dispersions have been shown to absorb near-infrared radiation, reaching temperatures up to 45.7¿ C, within mild the photothermal therapy temperature range. Furthermore, GOn in amounts superior to those which could permeate the skin were shown not to affect human skin fibroblasts (HFF-1) morphology or viability, after 24 h of incubation. Due to its large size, no skin permeation was observed for graphite particles in aqueous dispersions stabilized with Pluronic P-123 (Gt–P-123). Altogether, for the first time, Gon’s potential as a topic administration agent and for delivery of photothermal therapy has been demonstrated.This work was financed by FEDER funds through the COMPETE 2020–Operacional Programme for Competitiveness and Internationalisation (POCI), Portugal 2020, and by national funds (PIDDAC) through FCT/MCTES in the framework of the project POCI-01-0145-FEDER-031143, and Base Funding-UIDB/00511/2020 of the Laboratory for Process Engineering, Environment, Biotechnology and Energy–LEPABE. Additional funding included FCT/MCTES in the framework of the project “Institute for Research and Innovation in Health Sciences” (UID/BIM/04293/2019). Authors would also like to thank the support of i3S Scientific Platforms and respective funding: HEMS, member of the national infrastructure PPBI–Portuguese Platform of Bioimaging: POCI-01-0145-FEDER-022122; and Biointerfaces and Nanotechnology (BN) Laboratory, Portuguese Funds through FCT, UID/BIM/04293/2019. Artur Pinto thanks the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) for the financial support of his work contract through the Scientific Employment Stimulus-Individual Call–[CEECIND/03908/2017]. Soraia Pinto (SFRH/BD/144719/2019) would like to thank FCT, Portugal for financial support

Flow cytometry and targeted immune transcriptomics identify distinct profiles in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia receiving tyrosine kinase inhibitors with or without interferon-α

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativeco mmons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/ zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated in a credit line to the dat

Impact of montelukast as add on treatment to the novel coronavirus pneumonia (COVID-19): protocol for an investigator-initiated open labeled randomized controlled pragmatic trial

Background: Montelukast, a safe drug widely use in asthmatic patients, may be an adjuvant in the treatment of Covid-19, either by improving lung injury and inflammation, or by acting as an anti-viral drug. We aim to assess the efficacy and safety of montelukast as add-on treatment in patients with Covid-19. Methods: We propose a randomized, controlled, parallel, open-label trial involving 160 hospitalized adult patients with confirmed Covid-19. Patients will be randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to receive either montelukast 10 mg, once a day for 14 days, in addition to standard of care (SoC), or SoC alone. SoC will follow the best practice for treating these patients, according to updated recommendations. The primary outcome is time to recovery. Participants will be assessed using diary cards to capture data on treatment-related improvements in an 8-point ordinal scale. Secondary endpoints will include changes in respiratory and inflammatory parameters, and adverse events. This phase IV clinical trial will take place at the University Hospital of São João, Porto. EudraCT number: 2020-001747-21. Results: This study intends to generate scientific evidence on efficacy and safety of montelukast as add-on treatment in Covid-19. The results will be essential to improve clinical outcomes which remains to be determined. Conclusion: Montelukast has been suggested as a potential drug with 2 main actions on Covid-19. The validation of montelukast as an adjuvant treatment may improve lung injury, inflammation, and symptoms leading to a better prognosis. The use of this drug may fulfil the existing gap on therapeutic options

Non-AIDS-related comorbidities in people living with HIV-1 aged 50 years and older: The AGING POSITIVE study

Objective: To characterize the profile of non-AIDS-related comorbidities (NARC) in the older HIV-1-infected population and to explore the factors associated with multiple NARC. Methods: This was a multicentre, cross-sectional study including HIV-1-infected patients aged ≥50 years, who were virologically suppressed and had been on a stable antiretroviral therapy (ART) regimen for at least 6 months. A multiple regression model explored the association between demographic and clinical variables and the number of NARC. Results: Overall, 401 patients were enrolled. The mean age of the patients was 59.3 years and 72.6% were male. The mean duration of HIV-1 infection was 12.0 years and the median exposure to ART was 10.0 years. The mean number of NARC was 2.1, and 34.7% of patients had three or more NARC. Hypercholesterolemia was the most frequent NARC (60.8%), followed by arterial hypertension (39.7%) and chronic depression/anxiety (23.9%). Arterial hypertension and diabetes mellitus were the most frequently treated NARC (95.6% and 92.6% of cases, respectively). The linear regression analysis showed a positive relationship between age and NARC (B=0.032, 95% confidence interval 0.015-0.049; p=0.0003) and between the duration of HIV-1 infection and NARC (B=0.039, 95% confidence interval 0.017-0.059; p=0.0005). Conclusions: A high prevalence of NARC was found, the most common being metabolic, cardiovascular, and psychological conditions. NARC rates were similar to those reported for the general population, suggesting a larger societal problem beyond HIV infection. A multidisciplinary approach is essential to reduce the burden of complex multi-morbid conditions in the HIV-1-infected population.Merck Sharp & Dohme, Lda, Portugal provided financial support for the non-interventional study (Protocol Nr. MK0518-826 ).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio