FASTING TECHNIQUES – CHANGING THE WAY, YOU LOOK AT THERAPY

At present, various complications such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and neurological disorders have become treatable, almost completely, but the drugs used for the treatment may cause some severe side effects such as hypoglycemia, kidney complications, diarrhea, anemia, rashes, dyskinesia, insomnia, hypotension, confusion, hallucinations, compulsive behavior, and neurological complications. Some treatments cause defects in whole organ systems including damage to the immune system, lungs, heart, nerve endings, and reproductive organs. Many treatment approaches are using non-pharmacological techniques for treating diseases, without synthetic drugs. One such technique is fasting, a process where starvation conditions are imitated voluntarily. Intermittent fasting is done in ratios of fasting and food intake, where a person deprives himself of food for 16 h and food intake is followed for the rest of 8 h. Alternate day fasting includes alternate days of food intake and fasting. Time-restricted feeding is done by allowing food consumption only during the metabolically active phase of the day. Fasting mimicking diet is done by reducing food intake to very small levels which mimics the conditions of fasting. Reported beneficial effects of fasting have been found in diseases such as cancer, blood pressure disorders, autoimmune diseases, fibrosis, inflammation, insulin sensitivity, and oxidative stress

Improvement of bone microarchitecture in methylprednisolone induced rat model of osteoporosis by using thiolated chitosan-based risedronate mucoadhesive film

Objective: In this study, we investigated the potential of thiolated chitosan-based mucoadhesive film, loaded with risedronate sodium in the treatment of osteoporosis. Significance: Risedronate sodium is a bisphosphonate derivative having very low bioavailability when administered through the oral route. Moreover, the adverse effects associated with the drug when administered through GIT necessitate an alternative and feasible route which can improve its bioavailability and therapeutic efficacy. Methods: Thiolation of chitosan was interpreted by different analytical techniques. The mucoadhesive films were prepared by the solvent evaporation method and evaluated for drug content analysis, swelling degree, mucoadhesive parameters, and permeation characterization. For the screening of preclinical efficacy and pharmacodynamic parameters, a methylprednisolone induced osteoporotic rat model was used. The trabecular microarchitecture and biochemical markers were evaluated for determination of bone resorption. Results: The different analytical characterization of synthesized thiolated chitosan revealed that chitosan was successfully incorporated with thiol groups. The formulation containing 2:1 ratio of thiolated chitosan and HPMC-4KM was found to have the maximum swelling degree, mucoadhesive strength with a good force of adhesion and better in vitro permeability compared to the marketed formulation. With respect to trabecular microarchitecture, the drug-loaded film formulation showed superior and promising results. Furthermore, the film formulation also improved the serum level of biomarkers better than the marketed formulation. Conclusions: The results significantly suggest that risedronate loaded novel mucoadhesive film formulation could be a logical approach in the therapeutic intervention of osteoporosis