Alogliptin: a new addition to the class of DPP-4 inhibitors

Radha Andukuri, Andjela Drincic, Marc RendellDivision of Endocrinology, Department of Medicine, Creighton University School of Medicine, Omaha, Nebraska, USABackground: Alogliptin is an oral antihyperglycemic agent that is a selective inhibitor of the enzyme dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4). Inhibition of DPP-4 elevates levels of the incretin hormones glucagon-like peptide (GLP-1) and glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) by preventing their degradation.Objective: To review the evolution of alogliptin and its pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, clinical efficacy and adverse effects. In addition, we compared alogliptin to other DPP-4 inhibitors.Methods: A comprehensive literature search was performed using the term ‘alogliptin’. Original research articles and review articles as well as scientific abstracts were included. Results: Alogliptin raises postprandial levels of GLP-1. It has excellent bioavailability exhibiting a median Tmax ranging from 1 to 2 hours and a mean half-life of 12.4 to 21.4 hours across all doses. When given as monotherapy, mean hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) reductions achieved were 0.5% to 0.6%. Combination therapy yielded similar reductions (−0.5% with metformin, −0.6% with glyburide, −0.8% with pioglitazone and –0.6% with insulin). Administration of alogliptin does not promote weight loss but has not resulted in weight gain. The agent is relatively well tolerated with few adverse effects, the major finding being a marginally higher rate of skin events, primarily pruritus.Conclusions: Alogliptin causes significant reductions in HbA1c when used alone or in combination with other oral agents in patients with type 2 diabetes similar to other DPP-4 inhibitors in current clinical use. The side effect profile also does not differ from that of other DPP-4 inhibitors. However, long-term studies are necessary before the place of alogliptin in the management of type 2 diabetes can be established.Keywords: alogliptin, DPP-4 inhibitors, GLP-1, vildagliptin, sitagliptin, saxaglipti

Enhancing the Security using Blockchain-Based Privacy-Preserving Framework for Stock Exchange Platform

This article introduces a privacy-preserving architecture for a distributed stock exchange platform, which keeps investors' accounts and trades private and untraceable. In order to fulfil these privacy needs, the proposed framework (i) uses specialised data generalisation and distortion techniques to conceal the unique account identifier (NIN) and balance information, and (ii) prevents trading transactions from being traced back to their original investors by making the NIN and balance k-anonymous, meaning that k accounts belonging to different investors share the same balance. In addition, the anonymization procedure is carried out on a periodic basis (after each trading session) to provide permanent anonymity. The suggested framework includes not only anonymity and unlinkability but also traceability and non-repudiation. The simulation studies on a variety of sized and kinds of markets verify the efficiency of the proposed framework in obtaining complete k-anonymity. Furthermore, we undertake a number of tests with varying degrees of anonymity k to evaluate the impact of the proposed privacy algorithms on the trade execution time. We evaluate our proposed platform by looking at how quickly trades are executed in comparison to a standard stock exchange built on a blockchain that does not protect user privacy. Even under the worst-case circumstances, the findings obtained reveal a reasonable increase in execution tim

Fibers for hearts: A critical review on electrospinning for cardiac tissue engineering

Cardiac cell therapy holds a real promise for improving heart function and especially of the chronically failing myocardium. Embedding cells into 3D biodegradable scaffolds may better preserve cell survival and enhance cell engraftment after transplantation, consequently improving cardiac cell therapy compared with direct intramyocardial injection of isolated cells. The primary objective of a scaffold used in tissue engineering is the recreation of the natural 3D environment most suitable for an adequate tissue growth. An important aspect of this commitment is to mimic the fibrillar structure of the extracellular matrix, which provides essential guidance for cell organization, survival, and function. Recent advances in nanotechnology have significantly improved our capacities to mimic the extracellular matrix. Among them, electrospinning is well known for being easy to process and cost effective. Consequently, it is becoming increasingly popular for biomedical applications and it is most definitely the cutting edge technique to make scaffolds that mimic the extracellular matrix for industrial applications. Here, the desirable physico-chemical properties of the electrospun scaffolds for cardiac therapy are described, and polymers are categorized to natural and synthetic.Moreover, the methods used for improving functionalities by providing cells with the necessary chemical cues and a more in vivo- like environment are reported

Bioequivalence and Cross-over Study Design: Part 1

Presentation given at The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi Sixth Annual Graduate and Undergraduate Research Symposium, Georgia Southern Universit

Bioequivalence Study: Part 1

Presentation given at The First Annual Graduate Student Scholarship Day, Jack N. Averitt College of Graduate Studies, Georgia Southern Universit

The importance of numbers in clinical trials

Presentation given at Annual Graduate Student Scholarship Day, Jack N. Averitt College of Graduate Studies, Georgia Southern Universit

Mammography screening: Does it increase survival outcomes for women with cancer?

Presentation given at The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi Seventh Annual Graduate and Undergraduate Research Symposium. Georgia Southern Universit

Student’s Weight Status, Vigorous Physical Activity, and Demographic Predictors of Regular Smoking: A Pilot Investigation

This article was published in the Georgia Association of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance Journal