Niosomal Formulation for Co-Administration of Hydrophobic Anticancer Drugs into MCF-7 Cancer Cells

Introduction: Designing and developing drug delivery systems has received tremendous attention during the last decade. The treatment of cancer cells is a complicated process due to the existence of different biological pathways. Therefore, the co-delivery of different drugs could have a synergic effect on the treatment process.Materials and Methods: In this study, different types of span (20, 60, 80) and cholesterol were utilized to formulate tamoxifen/curcumin co-loaded niosomes as a drug carrier system for breast cancer chemotherapy. Niosome characterization was performed through a set of instrument analysis techniques including scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and dynamic light scattering. Release behavior was studied by dialysis method at (pH = 5, 7.4). The stability was monitored during two months storage at two temperatures (4 and 25 °C). Cytotoxicity activity of the best niosomal formulation were assessed on MCF-7 cells, using MTT assay.Results: The optimal niosomal formulation with span 80 and lipid-to-drug molar ratio of 20 was selected, with maximum encapsulation of both drugs and minimum size. Drug release behavior at physiological pH (7.4) (with significant drug release under acidic conditions (pH = 5) and storage stability of up to 2 weeks with little change in drug efficacy and measurement makes it a proper candidate for breast cancer treatment.Conclusion: Finally, the results of this study showed the importance of creating highly biocompatible formulations, allowing the simultaneous transfer of two drugs with controlled release to cancer cells which could improve the chemotherapy process with the synergistic effect of the two drugs

The Effectiveness of Cognitive-Behavioral Play Therapy on Pain Tolerance and Trait-State Anxiety Among Children with leukemia cancer in Isfahan City

Introduction: Due to the painful and long-term treatments of cancer, children with cancer may suffer from severe psychological problems such as anxiety and decreased level of pain tolerance. Accordingly, psychological treatments such as play therapy can be helpful in this regard. The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral play therapy on pain tolerance and trait-state anxiety in children with cancer in Isfahan. Method: The statistical population of this study was all children aged 9 to 12 years old who were referred to specialized cancer clinic of Isfahan in 2016. 30 of them were selected through purposeful sampling and randomly assigned into two groups of experimental and control. The results were analyzed using covariance analysis. Results: The results of data analysis indicated that cognitive-behavioral therapy games resulted in increased pain tolerance and decreased trait anxiety in children with cancer (p <0.05). Conclusion: According to the findings of this study, cognitive-behavioral play therapy can be used as a complementary therapy to relieve anxiety and increase pain tolerance in these children. Declaration of Interest: None

The Effectiveness of Group Dialectical Behavior Therapy on Emotional Regulation and Rumination in Girls with Traumatic Experience

Introduction: The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of group dialectical behavior therapy on emotional regulation and rumination among female students with traumatic experiences. The traumatic experiences among teenagers and young females have various negative impacts on their future life.Methods: With reference to the Counseling Center of Education Ministry of Mashhad City. 24 female students with traumatic symptoms were selected in this quasi-experimental study to participate in this study. They were assigned randomly into control and experimental groups using the traumatic events questionnaire and the Structured Clinical Interview (SCID). In the pre-test, post-test and two-month follow-up, the difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale of Gratz and Roemer (DERS) was conducted. The experimental participants spent 14 sessions of group dialectical behavior therapy.Results: The results demonstrated that there were a significant difference between mean scores of emotional regulation difficulties in girls with traumatic experiences who received group dialectical behavior therapy and the mean scores of emotional regulation difficulties in girls with traumatic experiences who did not receive the intervention (P<0.05).Conclusion: With the impact of dialectical behavior group therapy on the cognitive and emotional aspects of female participants with traumatic experiences, students were able to increase their emotional regulation and manage rumination.Declaration of Interest: NoneKey words: Dialectical behavior therapy, Rumination, Emotion regulation, Traumatic experiences