Neuroinflammation in Neurodegenerative Disorders: Current Knowledge and Therapeutic Implications.

Neurodegenerative disorders (NDs) have become increasingly common during the past three decades. Approximately 15% of the total population of the world is affected by some form of NDs, resulting in physical and cognitive disability. The most common NDs include Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and Huntington's disease. Although NDs are caused by a complex interaction of genetic, environmental, and lifestyle variables, neuroinflammation is known to be associated with all NDs, often leading to permanent damage to neurons of the central nervous system. Furthermore, numerous emerging pieces of evidence have demonstrated that inflammation not only supports the progression of NDs but can also serve as an initiator. Hence, various medicines capable of preventing or reducing neuroinflammation have been investigated as ND treatments. While anti-inflammatory medicine has shown promising benefits in several preclinical models, clinical outcomes are often questionable. In this review, we discuss various NDs with their current treatment strategies, the role of neuroinflammation in the pathophysiology of NDs, and the use of anti-inflammatory agents as a potential therapeutic option.

A Recent Review on Cancer Nanomedicine.

Cancer is one of the most prevalent diseases globally and is the second major cause of death in the United States. Despite the continuous efforts to understand tumor mechanisms and various approaches taken for treatment over decades, no significant improvements have been observed in cancer therapy. Lack of tumor specificity, dose-related toxicity, low bioavailability, and lack of stability of chemotherapeutics are major hindrances to cancer treatment. Nanomedicine has drawn the attention of many researchers due to its potential for tumor-specific delivery while minimizing unwanted side effects. The application of these nanoparticles is not limited to just therapeutic uses; some of them have shown to have extremely promising diagnostic potential. In this review, we describe and compare various types of nanoparticles and their role in advancing cancer treatment. We further highlight various nanoformulations currently approved for cancer therapy as well as under different phases of clinical trials. Finally, we discuss the prospect of nanomedicine in cancer management.

Connexin 43 trafficking and regulation of gap junctional intercellular communication alters ovarian cancer cell migration and tumorigenesis.

Ovarian cancer persists to be the most lethal gynecological malignancy, demanding rigorous treatments involving radio-chemotherapy that trigger toxicity and consequently mortality among patients. An improved understanding of the disease progression may pioneer curative therapies. Mouse epithelial ovarian cancer cell lines, ID8 and ID8-VEGF (overexpressing VEGF) were intraperitoneally injected in C57BL/6 female mice to develop a Syngeneic Ovarian cancer mouse model. It was observed that ID8-VEGF cells were able to induce aggressive tumor growth in mice compared to ID8 cells. Furthermore, results of the current in vitro study comparing ID8 and ID8-VEGF demonstrated that highly tumorigenic ID8-VEGF had reduced gap junctional intercellular communication (GJIC) due to intracellular Connexin 43 (Cx43) expression. Additionally, ID8 cells with reduced tumorigenic capability expressed significant GJIC. Furthermore, loss of GJIC in ID8-VEGF cells induced shorter tunneling nanotube formations, while ID8 cells develops longer tunneling nanotube to maintain cellular crosstalk. The administration of a pharmacological drug 4-phenylbutyrate (4PBA) ensured the restoration of GJIC in both the ovarian cancer cell lines. Additionally, 4PBA treatment significantly inhibited the migration of ovarian cancer cell lines and tumor formation in ovarian cancer mice models. In summary, the 4PBA-mediated restoration of GJIC suppressed migration (in vitro) and tumorigenesis (in vivo) of ovarian cancer cells. The present study suggests that Cx43 assembled GJIC and its supportive signaling pathways are a prospective target for restricting ovarian cancer progression.

Antimicrobial loaded gum odina - gelatin based biomimetic spongy scaffold for accelerated wound healing with complete cutaneous texture.

The main objective of this study was to assess the therapeutic activity of gum odina and gelatin based biomimetic scaffold which was previously established as an excellent wound dressing material. In the accelerated stability study, the changes in physicochemical properties were found to be negligible. The cytotoxicity studies were carried out in-vitro and the results showed that upto 90% of the cells remained viable in presence of the scaffold, confirming its biocompatibility. Moreover, results depicted the superior ability of the scaffold to promote cutaneous healing by increasing the rate of wound contraction (about 98%), granulation formation, collagen deposition and formation of an intact epidermis within 18 days. A satisfactory amount of hydroxyproline (240.2 ± 6.67 µg/100 mg tissue) in scaffold treated groups at 21 days ensured the significant deposition of collagen to re-epithelialization. Further it can be hypothesized that the controlled levels of antioxidant enzymes (SOD, CAT) to diminish the oxidative stress in the wounded sites were due to the innate antioxidant properties of both blank and drug loaded scaffold. These results strongly indicated that the prepared scaffolds have strong potential for biomedical applications and it may serve as promising candidate for the next generation of wound treatment systems.

Analysis of hydrodilatation as part of a combined service for stiff shoulder.

BACKGROUND: Adhesive capsulitis is a common cause of stiff shoulder and may result in pain and restriction of movement. The study aimed to investigate the role of hydrodilatation of the glenohumeral joint in the management of adhesive capsulitis. METHODS: Patients referred from the shoulder clinic underwent hydrodilatation under ultrasound guidance. Of 209 referred for hydrodilatation, 163 underwent the procedure and attended follow-up physiotherapy. Outcome measures were available for 118 patients (58 men and 60 women). Mean age of the study group was 52.6 years. RESULTS: There was a statistically significant improvement in both Oxford Shoulder Score (OSS) and Disability Arm Shoulder Hand Scores (Quick DASH) in the first 4 weeks after the procedure, which was maintained but not improved to the end of the study period. Patients presenting with pain, those who had a history of steroid injections and older patients all had worse functional scores at presentation. Diabetes (both Type I and II), previous physiotherapy, length of history and whether pain or stiffness, or both, were the predominant symptom did not have any statistical significance at presentation. These factors were not predictors of any statistically significant improvement in functional scores. CONCLUSIONS: Hydrodilatation results in a significant improvement of symptoms in patients with adhesive capsulitis.