Influence of operational variables on properties of piroxicam pellets prepared by extrusion-spheronization: A technical note

The processing conditions has a pronounced effect on the pellet properties. Drying conditions influenced the mean size and the drug release of the pellets. Because of the shrinking of the pellets upon drying at higher temperatures, the pellets also showed increased densities. Freeze drying almost prevented shrinking and thus led to the highest drug release. With an increase in the temperature of drying, the drug release rate decreased

Effect of Certain Antibiotics Against Filarial Parasite Brugia malayi In Vitro: Possible Role of Oxidative Stress

WHO-Tropical Disease Research scheme highlighted the need for development of new anti-filarial drugs. Certain antibiotics have recently been found effective against Wolbachia, co-existing symbiotically with filarial parasites. Inflammatory response entails oxidative mechanism to educe direct anti-microbial effect. In the present study microfilariae were maintained in vitro in medium supplemented with varying concentrations of tetracycline, doxycycline (20–100 μg/ml) or ciprofloxacin (50–250 μg/ml) separately to find out any involvement of oxidative mechanism in the anti-filarial effect of these antibiotics. Loss of motility of the microfilariae was measured after 48 h and correlated with the levels of MDA, nitric oxide and protein-carbonylation. Significant loss of microfilarial motility was recorded with increasing concentration of tetracycline and doxycycline but with ciprofloxacin the effect was not marked. Agents with high antifilarial activity revealed significant association with oxidative parameters in a dose dependent manner. The result suggests that oxidative effect might be exploited to design novel antifilarial drug candidate

Therapeutic neuroprotective agents for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal chronic neurodegenerative disease whose hallmark is proteinaceous, ubiquitinated, cytoplasmic inclusions in motor neurons and surrounding cells. Multiple mechanisms proposed as responsible for ALS pathogenesis include dysfunction of protein degradation, glutamate excitotoxicity, mitochondrial dysfunction, apoptosis, oxidative stress, and inflammation. It is therefore essential to gain a better understanding of the underlying disease etiology and search for neuroprotective agents that might delay disease onset, slow progression, prolong survival, and ultimately reduce the burden of disease. Because riluzole, the only Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved treatment, prolongs the ALS patient’s life by only 3 months, new therapeutic agents are urgently needed. In this review, we focus on studies of various small pharmacological compounds targeting the proposed pathogenic mechanisms of ALS and discuss their impact on disease progression

What is hormesis and its relevance to healthy aging and longevity?

This paper provides a broad overview of hormesis, a specific type of biphasic dose response, its historical and scientific foundations as well as its biomedical applications, especially with respect to aging. Hormesis is a fundamental component of adaptability, neutralizing many endogenous and environmental challenges by toxic agents, thereby enhancing survival. Hormesis is highly conserved, broadly generalizable, and pleiotrophic, being independent of biological model, endpoint measured, inducing agent, level of biological organization and mechanism. The low dose stimulatory hormetic response has specific characteristics which defines both the quantitative features of biological plasticity and the potential for maximum biological performance, thereby estimating the limits to which numerous medical and pharmacological interventions may affect humans. The substantial degrading of some hormetic processes in the aged may profoundly reduce the capacity to respond effectively to numerous environmental/ischemic and other stressors leading to compromised health, disease and, ultimately, defining the bounds of longevity