RESUMO
Aim: The study was aimed to formulate and evaluate apremilast-loaded zinc oxide-mesoporous silica nanoparticles for treatment of psoriasis. Materials & methods: Mesoporous silica nanoparticles were prepared by using sol-gel method and evaluated for particle size, in vitro drug release, in vitro cytotoxicity study and in vivo pharmacodynamic study. Results: The synthesized mesoporous silica nanoparticles showed particle size of 319.9 ± 3.9 nm, with 24 ± 0.217% of loading capacity. In vitro cytotoxicity study on A-431 cell line showed increased anti-psoriatic activity of apremilast-loaded zinc oxide-mesoporous silica nanoparticles. In vivo pharmacodynamic study and histological studies showed improved efficacy of drug in imiquimod-induced psoriasis mice model. Conclusion: The apremilast-loaded zinc oxide-mesoporous silica nanoparticles showed improved therapeutic efficacy, suggesting that they are promising approach for topical treatment of psoriasis.
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RESUMO
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has turned out to be the most devastating viral disease that the world has encountered for the past century. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared it a pandemic on March 11, 2020. The disease mainly spreads through respiratory droplets which makes social distancing a primary tool of prevention. Many variant strains have emerged up since the pandemic started and the Delta variant is responsible for recent surge of cases in second wave of COVID-19 in India. Mass vaccination is the most efficacious precautionary measure that can be applied to stop the transmission and generate herd immunity. Vaccination does not give 100% prevention from infection, but it halts the severity of infection. Vaccine is the boon amidst the mayhem. Our study highlights that those vaccinated (particularly two doses) had clinically mild symptoms and mild computed tomography severity score (CTSS) with a speedy recovery. Those unvaccinated had moderate to severe symptoms with moderate to severe CTSS (>8) often requiring hospital admission and having poor prognosis. Thus, vaccine helps reduce the health burden of the already strained health care system. Immunization visit can also be used as an opportunity to disseminate message to encourage behavior, to reduce transmission risk of COVID-19 virus, to identify the signs and symptoms of disease, and to provide guidance on what to do.