Anti-infective properties of proton pump inhibitors: perspectives.

Infectious diseases are among the main causes of morbidity and mortality today. In facing this crisis, the development of new drug options and combat strategies is necessary. In this sense, drug repositioning or drug redirection has emerged for the faster identification of effective drugs. In this "Commentary," the anti-infective properties of the class of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are emphasized. Studies report activities against bacterial, fungal, parasitic, and viral agents. In addition, we have provided in a table a summary of the specific characteristics of PPIs and some of their anti-infective activities.

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressants reduce COVID-19 infection: prospects for use.

PURPOSE: The absence of specific treatments for COVID-19 leads to an intense global effort in the search for new therapeutic interventions and better clinical outcomes for patients. This review aimed to present a selection of accepted studies that reported the activity of antidepressant drugs belonging to the selective serotonin receptor inhibitor (SSRI) class for treating the novel coronavirus. METHODS: A search was performed in PubMed and SciELO databases using the following search strategies: [(coronavirus) OR (COVID) OR (SARS-CoV-2) AND (antidepressant) OR (serotonin) OR (selective serotonin receptor inhibitors)]. In the end, eleven articles were included. We also covered information obtained from ClinicalTrials.gov in our research. RESULTS: Although several clinical trials are ongoing, only a few drugs have been officially approved to treat the infection. Remdesivir, an antiviral drug, despite favorable preliminary results, has restricted the use due to the risk of toxicity and methodological flaws. Antidepressant drugs were able to reduce the risk of intubation or death related to COVID-19, decrease the need for intensive medical care, and severely inhibit viral titers by up to 99%. Among the SSRIs studied so far, fluoxetine and fluvoxamine have shown to be the most promising against SARS-CoV-2. CONCLUSION: If successful, these drugs can substantially reduce hospitalization and mortality rates, as well as allow for fully outpatient treatment for mild-to-moderate infections. Thus, repositioning SSRIs can provide benefits when faced with a rapidly evolving pandemic such as COVID-19.

Alternatives for the treatment of infections caused by ESKAPE pathogens.

WHAT IS KNOWN AND OBJECTIVE: The widespread use of antibiotics as therapeutic agents caused an increase of multidrug resistant bacteria (MDR) appearance. Regarding MDRs, we highlight the Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Enterobacter spp.., which are the ESKAPE group. COMMENT: New treatment alternatives for infections caused by ESKAPE are under current scientific research. The main suggestions are the use of actinomycetes that produce promising substances with antibiotic activity, the synergistic effect between antimicrobials and peptides, photoinactivation, peptide rich in cationic histidine, association of new antimicrobials; besides the repositioning of drugs already approved for the treatment of other diseases. WHAT IS NEW AND CONCLUSION: These selected studies showed that researchers from many countries are focused on the development of effective alternative strategies for the treatment of infections caused by these microorganisms.

Degradation of Amaranth azo dye in water by heterogeneous photo-Fenton process using FeWO4 catalyst prepared by microwave irradiation.

FeWO4 particles were synthesized by a simple, rapid and facile microwave technique and their catalytic properties in heterogeneous photo-Fenton reaction were evaluated. This material was employed in the degradation of Amaranth azo dye. Individual and interactive effects of operational parameters such as pH, dye concentration and H2O2 dosage on the decolorization efficiency of Amaranth dye were evaluated by 2(3) central composite design. According to characterization techniques, a porous material and a well-crystallized phase of FeWO4 oxide were obtained. Regarding the photo-Fenton reaction assays, up to 97% color and 58% organic carbon removal were achieved in the best experimental conditions. In addition, the photo-Fenton process maintained treatment efficiency over five catalyst reuse cycles to indicate the durability of the FeWO4 catalyst. In summary, the results reveal that the synthesized FeWO4 material is a promising catalyst for wastewater treatment by heterogeneous photo-Fenton process.

Iron-based adsorbent prepared from Litchi peel biomass via pyrolysis process for the removal of pharmaceutical pollutant from synthetic aqueous solution.

A porous iron-based adsorbent obtained from litchi peel via pyrolysis process was prepared in this work, in order to evaluate its adsorptive potential for the removal of a pharmaceutical dye (amaranth) from aqueous solution. The material was characterized by X-ray diffraction, nitrogen adsorption-desorption isotherms, and scanning electron microscopy. Several isotherm and kinetic models were tested aiming to represent the amaranth dye adsorption. The prepared sample presented magnetic property, and a mesoporous texture constituted of graphite and three iron-based phases. The adsorption kinetics of amaranth on the adsorbent followed the pseudo-second-order model, whereas the equilibrium data were in good agreement with the BET isotherm, being represented by a sigmoid-shaped adsorption isotherm. The maximum adsorption capacity for the amaranth dye was found to be 44.87 mg g-1, demonstrating that the material prepared in this work showed to be a promising adsorbent for the removal of amaranth from aqueous solution.

Synergistic effect of sertraline and disulfiram against multidrug resistant bacteria as a new alternative to drug repositioning

The repositioning of approved drugs is atopic of interest for the academy and the pharmaceutical industry. The synergistic combination of these drugs can be successful in the treatment of infections caused by resistant bacteria. This study aimed to assess the in vitro synergistic antibacterial activity of sertraline and disulfiram and their interaction with ciprofloxacin and sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim. We determined the minimum inhibitory concentration, the minimum bactericidal concentration and the fractional inhibitory concentration index. Eighteen bacterial strains were used, being nine American Type Culture Collection reference strains and nine multidrug resistant clinical isolates. Synergy was detected between sertraline and disulfiram against a strain of Staphylococcus aureusATCC 25923 and a clinical isolate of S. aureus. When associated to sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim and ciprofloxacin, sertraline and disulfiram showed eight synergistic events, which occurred against three different standard strains and two multidrug resistant clinical isolates. When the minimum bactericidal concentration was determined, the bactericidal activity of sertraline was enhanced with disulfiram. Our results suggest that these drugs, widely used to treat depression and chronic alcoholism, have antibacterial potential individually, in association, and combined with antimicrobials, what makes their repositioning a promising therapeutic alternative for the effective treatment of infections caused by multidrug resistant bacteria.