Simple Spectrophotometric Method for Determination of Paroxetine in Tablets Using 1,2-Naphthoquinone-4-Sulphonate as a Chromogenic Reagent

Simple and rapid spectrophotometric method has been developed and validated for the determination of paroxetine (PRX) in tablets. The proposed method was based on nucleophilic substitution reaction of PRX with 1,2-naphthoquinone-4-sulphonate (NQS) in an alkaline medium to form an orange-colored product of maximum absorption peak (λmax) at 488 nm. The stoichiometry and kinetics of the reaction were studied, and the reaction mechanism was postulated. Under the optimized reaction conditions, Beer's law correlating the absorbance (A) with PRX concentration (C) was obeyed in the range of 1–8 μg mL−1. The regression equation for the calibration data was: A = 0.0031 + 0.1609 C, with good correlation coefficients (0.9992). The molar absorptivity (ε) was 5.9 × 105 L mol−1 1 cm−1. The limits of detection and quantitation were 0.3 and 0.8 μg mL−1, respectively. The precision of the method was satisfactory; the values of relative standard deviations did not exceed 2%. The proposed method was successfully applied to the determination of PRX in its pharmaceutical tablets with good accuracy and precisions; the label claim percentage was 97.17 ± 1.06 %. The results obtained by the proposed method were comparable with those obtained by the official method

New Spectrophotometric and Fluorimetric Methods for Determination of Fluoxetine in Pharmaceutical Formulations

New simple and sensitive spectrophotometric and fluorimetric methods have been developed and validated for the determination of fluoxetine hydrochloride (FLX) in its pharmaceutical formulations. The spectrophotometric method was based on the reaction of FLX with 1,2-naphthoquinone-4-sulphonate (NQS) in an alkaline medium (pH 11) to form an orange-colored product that was measured at 490 nm. The fluorimetric method was based on the reaction of FLX with 4-chloro-7-nitrobenzo-2-oxa-1,3-diazole (NBD-Cl) in an alkaline medium (pH 8) to form a highly fluorescent product that was measured at 545 nm after excitation at 490 nm. The variables affecting the reactions of FLX with both NQS and NBD-Cl were carefully studied and optimized. The kinetics of the reactions were investigated, and the reaction mechanisms were presented. Under the optimum reaction conditions, good linear relationships were found between the readings and the concentrations of FLX in the ranges of 0.3–6 and 0.035–0.5 μg mL−1 for the spectrophotometric and fluorimetric methods, respectively. The limits of detection were 0.1 and 0.01 μg mL−1 for the spectrophotometric and fluorimetric methods, respectively. Both methods were successfully applied to the determination of FLX in its pharmaceutical formulations

Drug discovery: Insights from the invertebrate Caenorhabditis elegans

Therapeutic drug development is a long, expensive, and complex process that usually takes 12–15 years. In the early phases of drug discovery, in particular, there is a growing need for animal models that ensure the reduction in both cost and time. Caenorhabditis elegans has been traditionally used to address fundamental aspects of key biological processes, such as apoptosis, aging, and gene expression regulation. During the last decade, with the advent of large-scale platforms for screenings, this invertebrate has also emerged as an essential tool in the pharmaceutical research industry to identify novel drugs and drug targets. In this review, we discuss the reasons why C. elegans has been positioned as an outstanding cost-effective option for drug discovery, highlighting both the advantages and drawbacks of this model. Particular attention is paid to the suitability of this nematode in large-scale genetic and pharmacological screenings. High-throughput screenings in C. elegans have indeed contributed to the breakthrough of a wide variety of candidate compounds involved in extensive fields including neurodegeneration, pathogen infections and metabolic disorders. The versatility of this nematode, which enables its instrumentation as a model of human diseases, is another attribute also herein underscored. As illustrative examples, we discuss the utility of C. elegans models of both human neurodegenerative diseases and parasitic nematodes in the drug discovery industry. Summing up, this review aims to demonstrate the impact of C. elegans models on the drug discovery pipeline.Fil: Giunti, Sebastián. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Bahía Blanca. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Bahía Blanca; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Biología, Bioquímica y Farmacia; ArgentinaFil: Andersen, Natalia Denise. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Bahía Blanca. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Bahía Blanca; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Biología, Bioquímica y Farmacia; ArgentinaFil: Rayes, Diego Hernán. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Bahía Blanca. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Bahía Blanca; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Biología, Bioquímica y Farmacia; ArgentinaFil: de Rosa, Maria Jose. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Bahía Blanca. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Bahía Blanca; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Biología, Bioquímica y Farmacia; Argentin

Scholarly publishing depends on peer reviewers

The peer-review crisis is posing a risk to the scholarly peer-reviewed journal system. Journals have to ask many potential peer reviewers to obtain a minimum acceptable number of peers accepting reviewing a manuscript. Several solutions have been suggested to overcome this shortage. From reimbursing for the job, to eliminating pre-publication reviews, one cannot predict which is more dangerous for the future of scholarly publishing. And, why not acknowledging their contribution to the final version of the article published? PubMed created two categories of contributors: authors [AU] and collaborators [IR]. Why not a third category for the peer-reviewer?Scopu

Systematic Review of Auditory Training in Paediatric Cochlear Implant Recipients

Objective: The purpose of this systematic review is to evaluate the published research in Auditory training (AT) for paediatric CI recipients. This review investigates whether AT in children with CIs leads to improvements in speech and language development, cognition, and/or quality of life; and whether improvements, if any, remain over time post AT intervention. Method: A systematic search of seven databases identified 96 papers published up until January 2017, nine of which met the inclusion criteria. Data were extracted and independently assessed for risk of bias and quality of study against a PICOS framework. Results: All studies reported improvements in trained AT tasks including speech discrimination/identification and working memory. Retention of improvements overtime was found whenever it was assessed. Transfer of learning was measured in four out of six studies, which assessed generalization. Quality of life was not assessed. Overall, evidence for the included studies was deemed to be of low quality. Conclusion: Benefits of AT were illustrated through the improvement in trained tasks and this was observed in all reviewed studies. Transfer of improvement to other domains and also retention of benefits post AT were evident when assessed, although rarely done. However, higher quality evidence to further examine outcomes of AT in paediatric CI recipients is needed. Keywords: aural rehabilitation, auditory training, children, cochlear implants, systematic review

The Impact of Spondyloarthritis on Health-Related Quality of Life and Healthcare Resource Utilization in Saudi Arabia: A Narrative Review and Directions for Future Research

Hanan Al Rayes,1 Hany Salah,2 Tharwat Hamad,3 Mohab Soliman,4 Mohamed Bedaiwi5 1Division of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Prince Sultan Military Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; 2Therapeutic Area Lead Rheumatology, Intercontinental, AbbVie Biopharmaceuticals GmbH, Dubai, United Arab Emirates; 3Medical Manager, Immunology, AbbVie Biopharmaceuticals GmbH, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; 4Medical Advisor, Rheumatology, AbbVie Biopharmaceuticals GmbH, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; 5Division of Rheumatology, College of Medicine, King Saud University Medical City, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi ArabiaCorrespondence: Hanan Al Rayes, Division of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Prince Sultan Military Medical City, Riyadh, 12233, Saudi Arabia, Tel +966505226824, Email [email protected]: Spondylarthritis (SpA) is an umbrella term that encompasses a wide range of rheumatological disorders. Several studies demonstrated that SpA is associated with increased healthcare resource utilization (HCRU) and a lower health-related quality of life (HRQoL). This review aimed to summarize the current literature regarding the multidimensional impact of SpA on HRQoL and HCRU in Saudi Arabia and explore the correlation of the extent of severity of SpA with HRQoL and HCRU. Although the prevalence of SpA varies across different populations and is correlated with HLA-B27 prevalence, the magnitude of SpA in the Saudi population has not been extensively evaluated. Few studies have investigated the impact of SpA on HRQoL and HCRU in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East. There is a need to study the cost-effectiveness of various SpA treatment strategies, including biologic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (bDMARDs), to prioritize healthcare spending in the Saudi healthcare system. Data on SpA in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East region are mainly based on expert views, with few population-based studies compared to other regions. Therefore, there is an imperative need to develop high-quality, national-level epidemiological studies that assess the following: (1) more accurate estimates of the current prevalence of SpA in Saudi Arabia, including the prevalence of axial SpA and psoriatic arthritis; (2) the phenotypes/clinical characteristics of SpA, including disease severity and extra-articular involvement; (3) the impact of SpA on the HRQoL of the patients and the factors that can predict the extent of impaired HRQoL in such population, which can represent the first step in developing psychological interventions that should be personalized to this patient population; (4) the impact of implementing formal assessment of disease activity on the management of the patients and, subsequently, their HRQoL; and (5) the HCRU and costs for patients with SpA, and how treatment patterns can affect this cost.Keywords: spondylarthritis, psoriatic arthritis, health-related quality of life, healthcare resource utilization, Saudi Arabi