Effects of dietary vitamins on obesity-related metabolic parameters

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Genetic factors, some underlying medical conditions, and obesity are risk factors of T2DM. Unlike other risk factors which are non-modifiable, obesity is preventable and usually treatable, and is largely contributed by lifestyle factors. Management of these lifestyle factors may curb the development of T2DM and reduces T2DM prevalence. Dietary vitamins have been recommended as a lifestyle modification intervention to support obesity treatment. Vitamins correlate negatively with body weight, body mass index and body composition. Some of the vitamins may also have anti-adipogenic, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects. However, results from pre-clinical and clinical studies of the effects of vitamins on obesity are inconsistent. A clear understanding of the effects of vitamins on obesity will help determine dietary intervention that is truly effective in preventing and treating obesity as well as obesity-related complications including T2DM. This article reviews existing evidences of the effects of vitamin supplementation on obesity and obesity-related metabolic status

Cross-discipline teaching and learning of cardiology through an augmented reality application

Undergraduate health sciences and health professional degree programmes introduce students to common heart diseases and associated treatments, including atrial fibrillation (AF). Our students, second-year biomedical science and pharmacy students, through formal and informal feedback on their learning experience with cardiology, noted AF as the most difficult to comprehend. The learning challenges include electrophysiology and pharmacology aspects of AF. This study, therefore, aims to investigate the potential use of augmented reality (AR) to enhance students’ engagement and understanding of AF. Based upon students’ feedback, and guided by the learning outcomes of our degree programmes, we developed an AR application (App) to teach AF, covering general as well as discipline-specific learning content. The development was done through an iterative process, grounded in the constructivist learning theories. A survey consisting of 13 Likert-scale questions and an open-ended question formulated around user interface principles was conducted to gather students’ feedback of the App. Thirteen per cent of pharmacy students ( This study shows that AR technology has enhanced students’ engagement as well as perception of understanding of AF, specifically in the areas that students find difficult. This authentic learning tool has successfully addressed some of the learning challenges raised by students of both disciplines. Students’ positive feedback suggests that a carefully designed AR App, guided by learning theories, is a suitable and viable option to improve students’ understanding of complex subjects, apart from making learning immersive and engaging

Heterologous expression of cytotoxic sesquiterpenoids from the medicinal mushroom Lignosus rhinocerotis in yeast

Background: Genome mining facilitated by heterologous systems is an emerging approach to access the chemical diversity encoded in basidiomycete genomes. In this study, three sesquiterpene synthase genes, GME3634, GME3638, and GME9210, which were highly expressed in the sclerotium of the medicinal mushroom Lignosus rhinocerotis, were cloned and heterologously expressed in a yeast system. Results: Metabolite profile analysis of the yeast culture extracts by GC-MS showed the production of several sesquiterpene alcohols (C 15 H 26 O), including cadinols and germacrene D-4-ol as major products. Other detected sesquiterpenes include selina-6-en-4-ol, ß-elemene, ß-cubebene, and cedrene. Two purified major compounds namely (+)-torreyol and a-cadinol synthesised by GME3638 and GME3634 respectively, are stereoisomers and their chemical structures were confirmed by 1 H and 13 C NMR. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that GME3638 and GME3634 are a pair of orthologues, and are grouped together with terpene synthases that synthesise cadinenes and related sesquiterpenes. (+)-Torreyol and a-cadinol were tested against a panel of human cancer cell lines and the latter was found to exhibit selective potent cytotoxicity in breast adenocarcinoma cells (MCF7) with IC 50 value of 3.5 ± 0.58 µg/ml while a-cadinol is less active (IC 50 = 18.0 ± 3.27 µg/ml). Conclusions: This demonstrates that yeast-based genome mining, guided by transcriptomics, is a promising approach for uncovering bioactive compounds from medicinal mushrooms

Strategies of temozolomide in future glioblastoma treatment

Chooi Yeng Lee School of Pharmacy, Monash University Malaysia, Selangor, Malaysia Abstract: Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) may be one of the most challenging brain tumors to treat, as patients generally do not live more than 2 years. This review aimed to give a timely review of potential future treatments for GBM by looking at the latest strategies, involving mainly the use of temozolomide (TMZ). Although these studies were carried out either in vitro or in rodents, the findings collectively suggested that we are moving toward developing a more efficacious therapy for GBM patients. Nanoparticles preparation was, by far, the most extensively studied strategy for targeted brain delivery. Therefore, the first section of this review presents a treatment strategy using TMZ-loaded nanocarriers, which encompassed nanoparticles, nanoliposomes, and nanosponges. Besides nanocarriers, new complexes that were formed between TMZ and another chemical agent or molecule have shown increased cytotoxicity and antitumor activity. Another approach was by reducing GBM cell resistance to TMZ, and this was achieved either through the suppression of metabolic change occurring in the cells, inhibition of the DNA repair protein, or up-regulation of the protein that mediates autophagy. Finally, the review collates a list of substances that have demonstrated the ability to suppress tumor cell growth. Keywords: cellular resistance, glioblastoma multiforme, nanoparticles, targeted delivery, temozolomid

Preparation of Temozolomide-Loaded Nanoparticles for Glioblastoma Multiforme Targeting—Ideal Versus Reality

Temozolomide (TMZ) is one of the most effective chemotherapeutic agents for glioblastoma multiforme, but the required high administration dose is accompanied by side effects. To overcome this problem and to further improve TMZ’s efficacy, targeted delivery of TMZ by using polymeric nanoparticles has been explored. We synthesised the PLGA-PEG-FOL copolymer and attempted encapsulation of TMZ into PLGA-PEG-FOL nanoparticles using the emulsion solvent evaporation method and the nanoprecipitation method. Conjugation of PEG and FOL to PLGA has been reported to be able to increase the delivery of TMZ to the brain as well as targeting the glioma cells. However, despite making numerous modifications to these methods, the loading of TMZ in the nanoparticles only ranged between 0.2% and 2%, and the nanoparticles were between 400 nm and 600 nm in size after freeze-drying. We proceed with determining the release profile of TMZ in phosphate buffered saline (PBS). Our initial data indicated that TMZ was slowly released from the nanoparticles. The metabolite of TMZ rather than the parent compound was detected in PBS. Our study suggests that while PLGA-PEG-FOL can be used as a polymeric or encapsulation material for central delivery of TMZ, a practical and cost effective formulation method is still far from reach

Motivating undergraduate students via online learning to develop clinical competencies

Background: Online learning is becoming increasingly common for undergraduate health professions.Aims: To examine the effect of an online hypertension management module in motivating undergraduate pharmacystudents to further develop clinical competencies during future clinical placements.Method: The module focuses on approaches to counselling techniques for chronic disease management. It iscomplemented by therapeutics lectures, counselling tutorial and an objective structured clinical examination. A studentsurvey, constructed based on the Theory of Planned Behaviour, was undertaken after completion of the assessment.Results: Sixty two percent reported increased motivation to practice what they had learnt during placements, and amajority also reported improved attitudes and perceived self-efficacy. Levels of motivation had significant moderatecorrelations with improved appreciation of counselling techniques (r=0.489, p<0.001), and confidence to furtherpractice blood pressure counselling (r=0.411, p<0.001).Conclusion: Increased motivation to manage hypertension during future placements appears correlated with perceivedself-efficacy and engagement with the learning concepts