Vaccine for Diabetes-Where Do We Stand?

Diabetes is an endocrinological disorder with a rapidly increasing number of patients globally. Over the last few years, the alarming status of diabetes has become a pivotal factor pertaining to morbidity and mortality among the youth as well as middle-aged people. Current developments in our understanding related to autoimmune responses leading to diabetes have developed a cause for concern in the prospective usage of immunomodulatory agents to prevent diabetes. The mechanism of action of vaccines varies greatly, such as removing autoreactive T cells and inhibiting the interactions between immune cells. Currently, most developed diabetes vaccines have been tested in animal models, while only a few human trials have been completed with positive outcomes. In this review, we investigate the undergoing clinical trial studies for the development of a prototype diabetes vaccine.

Nanoparticles for the treatment of glaucoma-associated neuroinflammation.

Recently, a considerable amount of literature has emerged around the theme of neuroinflammation linked to neurodegeneration. Glaucoma is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by visual impairment. Understanding the complex neuroinflammatory processes underlying retinal ganglion cell loss has the potential to improve conventional therapeutic approaches in glaucoma. Due to the presence of multiple barriers that a systemically administered drug has to cross to reach the intraocular space, ocular drug delivery has always been a challenge. Nowadays, studies are focused on improving the current therapies for glaucoma by utilizing nanoparticles as the modes of drug transport across the ocular anatomical and physiological barriers. This review offers some important insights on the therapeutic advancements made in this direction, focusing on the use of nanoparticles loaded with anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective agents in the treatment of glaucoma. The prospect of these novel therapies is discussed in relation to the current therapies to alleviate inflammation in glaucoma, which are being reviewed as well, along with the detailed molecular and cellular mechanisms governing the onset and the progression of the disease.

Application of liposomes in the treatment of infectious diseases.

The advances in the development of drugs and vaccines for major infectious diseases of tuberculosis (TB), malaria and HIV represent some of the most significant milestones in their therapeutic strategies. Yet, current drugs and vaccines display limitations such as drug resistance and low efficacy level. In recent years, new emerging and advanced nano-technology carrier liposomes have been widely studied towards producing drugs and vaccines capable of targeting infectious diseases. Liposomes portrayed biocompatible and biodegradable properties with versatile flexibility, characteristics that are advantageous for a good targeting at the site of action. The success of liposomes has renewed interest in the research and development of liposomal drugs and vaccines shifting the paradigm in infectious diseases treatment. This review focuses on the limitations of current therapeutic drugs and vaccines, the knowledge of liposomes in terms of their classifications and advantages, and a review of the application of liposomes in the treatment of TB, malaria, and HIV infection.