AN UPDATED REVIEW ON THE APPLICATION OF DENDRIMERS AS SUCCESSFUL NANOCARRIERS FOR BRAIN DELIVERY OF THERAPEUTIC MOIETIES

It’s been nearly 100 y of effort to study the organization and role of the blood brain-barrier and still, we strive to find better techniques to overcome this barrier to deliver the drugs to the brain effectively with reduced systemic side effects. The advances in nanotechnology have given newer horizons in achieving this goal since the nano-scaled systems can modify an existing drug to have a high degree of sensitivity to the physiological conditions and specificity to reach the target organ. Among the various nanocarriers, dendrimers owing to their unique physical and chemical characteristics, represent a potential therapeutic tool in biomedical and pharmaceutical science. Dendrimers, an established polymeric nanocarrier system of the time, can deliver both drugs and genetic material and are being extensively studied to target the brain. The surface modification of dendrimers can reduce their innate toxicity problems and increase the therapeutic efficacy of brain disorders. This review article is an attempt to update on the potential of dendrimers explored in the past five years as a drug delivery avenue that can be considered as a promising solution in the management of a wide range of disorders affecting the central nervous system, including neoplastic, degenerative, and ischemic conditions. The following search criteria were used to expand the review article with the keywords dendrimers, novel drug delivery, nanoparticles, site-specific drug delivery etc

Prevention of oral cancer

Oral cancer has become a major debilitating incidence in both genders alike. Oral cancer, a part of head and neck cancer, is a combination of two types of cancer: oral cavity cancer and oropharyngeal cancer. The most common type of oral cancer is the squamous cell carcinoma which represents more than 90% of oral cancer cases. There are in existence common types of oral cancer as well, in addition to precancerous or benign lesions and tumors. These lesions and tumors may lead to cancer if left untreated. There is an increased need to combat oral cancer and its benign or malignant precursors. There is no better way of starting this battle than prevention. Prevention against oral cancer is divided into three stages, namely, primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention. Primary prevention has its manifestations in the control and/or elimination of risk factors for cancer such as tobacco smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, chewing betel quid, prolonged sunlight exposure, and improper nutrition, among others. Secondary prevention encompasses screening tests and early diagnosis and treatment of diseases that may potentially cross over into malignancy. Tertiary prevention is indicated when a person has previously had cancer or oral cancer, also when a person is immunosuppressed or has GVHD due to stem cell transplant. This stage also includes gene mutation assessment, an estimate of personal cancer risk and seeking of personalized genetic recommendations. Current research also focuses on emerging gene therapy through employing adenoviruses. This chapter will address and focus on the aforementioned prevention strategies, elaborating and expanding on risk factors and how to decrease chances of developing oral cancer. Additionally we will look at barriers against prevention developing an intricate and complete picture of the links between methods of prevention and factors that hinder prevention. In exploring the details within the chapter, one can conclude that oral cancer is a disease that is preventable and controllable but habitually has been given little significance due to many factors. Oral cancer is typically discovered late in its development, most often when it has already metastasized to the lymph nodes, at which point prognosis becomes very poor. Therefore, we firmly believe that it is no longer viable that prevention be considered a person’s own responsibility but rather a matter of a group of health professionals. Oral cancer should be prevented through creating awareness, behavioral change, routine dental checkups, and policies that eradicate exposure to risk factors