Awareness and prevalence of self-reported benign prostatic hyperplasia: a cross-sectional study in Saudi Arabia.

Background: Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is a prevalent condition in older men, causing significant morbidity. Despite recent progress, essential concerns of the disease remain under-researched. This study aims to assess knowledge and estimate self-reported prevalence of BPH in Saudi Arabian men. Understanding BPH prevalence in Saudi Arabia is essential for healthcare planning, resource allocation, public awareness, early detection, intervention, research, and addressing regional variations. Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted from February to May 2022 using a validated questionnaire. Univariate and multivariate statistical methods assessed knowledge of BPH among 559 adult Saudi men (mean age: 47.2 years) and its association with demographic variables. Results: The self-reported prevalence rate of BPH for Saudi Arabian men was 12.0%. Most adults (74.2%) were aware that BPH is a risk factor for prostate cancer and 75% were aware of the increased risk of BPH in older people. Furthermore, 44.5% of participants associated nocturia with BPH, while 76.6% related urinary tract infection (UTI) with BPH. The study demonstrated a significant association between BPH awareness and marital status (p = 0.02), level of education (p = 0.02), and employment status (p = 0.04). Conclusion: While men in Saudi Arabia generally had sufficient knowledge about BPH, there was a knowledge gap regarding certain risk factors like obesity and cardiac diseases. To address this, an educational program should be developed for both the general population and those at high risk of BPH.

Design, physicochemical characterisation, and in vitro cytotoxicity of cisplatin-loaded PEGylated chitosan injectable nano / sub-micron crystals.

The study aimed to develop cisplatin-loaded PEGylated chitosan nanoparticles. The optimal batch of cisplatin-loaded PEGylated chitosan nanoparticles had a + 49.9 mV zeta potential, PDI of 0.347, and % PDI of 58.9. Nanoparticle zeta size was 741.4 z. d.nm, the size in diameter was 866.7 ± 470.5 nm, and nanoparticle conductivity in colloidal solution was 0.739 mS/cm. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) revealed that cisplatin-loaded PEGylated chitosan nanoparticles had sharp endothermic peaks at temperatures at 168.6 °C. The thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) showed the weight loss of cisplatin-loaded PEGylated chitosan nanoparticles, which was observed as 95% at 262.76 °C. XRD investigation on cisplatin-loaded PEGylated chitosan nanoparticles exhibited distinct peaks at 2θ as 9.7°, 20.4°, 22.1°, 25.3°, 36.1°, 38.1°, 39.5°, 44.3°, and 64.5°, confirming crystalline structure. The 1H NMR analysis showed the fingerprint region of cisplatin-loaded PEGylated chitosan nanoparticles as 0.85, 1.73, and 1.00 ppm in the proton dimension and de-shielded proton peaks appeared at 3.57, 3.58, 3.58, 3.59, 3.65, 3.67, 3,67, 3,67, 3.70, 3.71, 3.77, 3.78 and 4.71 ppm. The 13C NMR spectrum showed specified peaks at 63.18, 69.20, and 70.77 ppm. The FT-IR spectra of cisplatin loaded PEGylated nanoparticles show the existence of many fingerprint regions at 3186.52, 2931.68, 1453.19, 1333.98, 1253.71, 1085.19, 1019.60, 969.98, 929.53, 888.80, 706.13, and 623.67 cm-1. The drug release kinetics of cisplatin loaded PEGylated chitosan nanoparticles showed zero order kinetics with 48% of drug release linearity fashion which has R2 value of 0.9778. Studies on the MCF-7 ATCC human breast cancer cell line in vitro revealed that the IC50 value 82.08 µg /mL. Injectable nanoparticles had good physicochemical and cytotoxic properties. This method is novel since the application of the PEGylation processes leads to an increased solubility of chitosan nanoparticles at near neutral pH.

Production, Characterization, and In Vitro and In Vivo Studies of Nanoemulsions Containing St. John's Wort Plant Constituents and Their Potential for the Treatment of Depression.

The current project was designed to prepare an oil-in-water (oil/water) hypericin nanoemulsion using eucalyptus oil for the preparation of an oil phase with chitosan as an emulsion stabilizer. The study might be a novelty in the field of pharmaceutical sciences, especially in the area of formulation development. Tween® 80 (Polysorbate) was used as the nonionic surfactant. The nanoemulsion was prepared by using the homogenization technique, followed by its physicochemical evaluation. The surface morphological studies showed the globular structure has a nano-sized diameter, as confirmed by zeta size analysis. The zeta potential analysis confirmed a positive surface charge that might be caused by the presence of chitosan in the formulation. The pH was in the range of 5.14 to 6.11, which could also be compatible with the range of nasal pH. The viscosity of the formulations was found to be affected by the concentration of chitosan (F1-11.61 to F4-49.28). The drug release studies showed that the presence of chitosan greatly influenced the drug release, as it was noticed that formulations having an elevated concentration of chitosan release lesser amounts of the drug. The persistent stress in the mouse model caused a variety of depressive- and anxiety-like behaviors that can be counteracted by chemicals isolated from plants, such as sulforaphane and tea polyphenols. In the behavioral test and source performance test, hypericin exhibited antidepressant-like effects. The results show that the mice treated for chronic mild stress had a considerably higher preference for sucrose after receiving continuous hypericin for 4 days (p = 0.0001) compared to the animals administered with normal saline (p ≤ 0.0001) as well as the naïve group (p ≤ 0.0001). In conclusion, prepared formulations were found to be stable and can be used as a potential candidate for the treatment of depression.

Utilization of experimental design in the formulation and optimization of hyaluronic acid-based nanoemulgel loaded with a turmeric-curry leaf oil nanoemulsion for gingivitis.

Numerous problems affect oral health, and intensive research is focused on essential oil-based nanoemulsions that might treat prevent or these problems. Nanoemulsions are delivery systems that enhance the distribution and solubility of lipid medications to targeted locations. Turmeric (Tur)- and curry leaf oil (CrO)-based nanoemulsions (CrO-Tur-self-nanoemulsifying drug delivery systems [SNEDDS]) were developed with the goal of improving oral health and preventing or treating gingivitis. They could be valuable because of their antibacterial and anti-inflammatory capabilities. CrO-Tur-SNEDDS formulations were produced using the response surface Box-Behnken design with different concentrations of CrO (120, 180, and 250 mg), Tur (20, 35, and 50 mg), and Smix 2:1 (400, 500, and 600 mg). The optimized formulation had a bacterial growth inhibition zone of up to 20 mm, droplet size of less than 140 nm, drug-loading efficiency of 93%, and IL-6 serum levels of between 950 ± 10 and 3000 ± 25 U/ml. The optimal formulation, which contained 240 mg of CrO, 42.5 mg of Tur, and 600 mg of Smix 2:1, was created using the acceptable design. Additionally, the best CrO-Tur-SNEDDS formulation was incorporated into a hyaluronic acid gel, and thereafter it had improved ex-vivo transbuccal permeability, sustained in-vitro release of Tur, and large bacterial growth suppression zones. The optimal formulation loaded into an emulgel had lower levels of IL-6 in the serum than the other formulations evaluated in rats. Therefore, this investigation showed that a CrO-Tur-SNEDDS could provide strong protection against gingivitis caused by microbial infections.

Development and optimization of a tamsulosin nanostructured lipid carrier loaded with saw palmetto oil and pumpkin seed oil for treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia.

Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is a nonmalignant growth of the prostate tissue and causes urinary tract symptoms. To provide effective treatment, tamsulosin (TM), saw palmetto oil (SP), and pumpkin seed oil (PSO) were combined and fabricated a nanostructured lipid carrier (NLC) as TM-S/P-NLC using experimental design. The purpose was to enhance the permeation and therapeutic activity of TM; combining TM with SP and PSO in an NLC generates a synergistic activity. An optimized TM-S/P-NLC was obtained after statistical analysis, and it had a particle size, percentage of entrapment efficiency, and steady-state flux of 102 nm, 65%, and 4.5 µg/cm2.min, respectively. Additionally, the optimized TM-S/P-NLC had spherical particles with a more or less uniform size and a stability score of 95%, indicating a high level of stability. The in vitro release studies exhibited the optimized TM-S/P-NLC had the maximum release profile for TM (81 ± 4%) as compared to the TM-NLCs prepared without the addition of S/P oil (59 ± 3%) or the TM aqueous suspension (30 ± 5%). The plasma TM concentration-time profile for the TM-S/P-NLC and the marketed TM tablets indicated that when TM was supplied in a TM-S/P-NLC, the pharmacokinetic profile of the drug was improved. Simultaneously, in vivo therapeutic efficacy studies also showed favorable results for the TM-S/P-NLC in terms of the prostate weight and prostate index following treatment of BPH. Based on the findings of present study, we suggest that in the future, the TM-S/P-NLC could be a novel drug delivery system for treating BPH.

Perspectives and Prospective on Solid Lipid Nanoparticles as Drug Delivery Systems.

Combating multiple drug resistance necessitates the delivery of drug molecules at the cellular level. Novel drug delivery formulations have made it possible to improve the therapeutic effects of drugs and have opened up new possibilities for research. Solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs), a class of colloidal drug carriers made of lipids, have emerged as potentially effective drug delivery systems. The use of SLNs is associated with numerous advantages such as low toxicity, high bioavailability of drugs, versatility in the incorporation of hydrophilic and lipophilic drugs, and the potential for production of large quantities of the carrier systems. The SLNs and nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs) are the two most frequently used types of nanoparticles. These types of nanoparticles can be adjusted to deliver medications in specific dosages to specific tissues, while minimizing leakage and binding to non-target tissues.

Monoclonal Antibodies and their Target Specificity Against SARS-CoV-2 Infections: Perspectives and Challenges.

The world continues to be in the midst of a distressing pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), a novel virus with multiple antigenic systems. The virus enters via nasopharynx, oral and infects cells by the expression of the spike protein, and enters the lungs using the angiotensin-converting enzyme-2 receptor. The spectrum of specific immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 virus infection is increasingly challenging as frequent mutations have been reported and their antigen specificity varies accordingly. The development of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) will have a more significant advantage in suppressing SARS-CoV-2 virus infectivity. Recently, mAbs have been developed to target included specific neutralizing antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 infection. The use of the therapeutic index of mAbs that can elicit neutralization by binding to the viral spike protein and suppress the cytokine network is a classic therapeutic approach for a potential cure. The development of mAbs against B-cell function as well as inhibition of the cytokine network has also been a focus in recent research. Recent studies have demonstrated the efficacy of mAbs as antibody cocktail preparations against SARS-CoV-2 infection. Target specific therapeutic accomplishment with mAbs, a milestone in the modern therapeutic age, can be used to achieve a specific therapeutic strategy to suppress SARS-CoV-2 virus infection. This review focuses on the molecular aspects of the cytokine network and antibody formation to better understand the development of mAbs against SARS- CoV-2 infection along with recent patents.

Characterization of cisplatin-loaded chitosan nanoparticles and rituximab-linked surfaces as target-specific injectable nano-formulations for combating cancer.

The present study was carried out to develop cisplatin-loaded chitosan nanoparticles (CCNP) and cisplatin-loaded chitosan nanoparticle surface linked to rituximab (mAbCCNP) as targeted delivery formulations. The two formulations (CCNP and mAbCCNP) exhibited significant physicochemical properties. The zetapotential (ZP) values of CCNP and mAbCCNP were 30.50 ± 5.64 and 26.90 ± 9.09 mV, respectively; while their particle sizes were 308.10 ± 1.10 and 349.40 ± 3.20 z.d.nm, respectively. The poly dispersity index (PDI) of CCNP was 0.257 ± 0.030 (66.6% PDI), while that of mAbCCNP was 0.444 ± 0.007 (57.60% PDI). Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) revealed that CCNP had endothermic peaks at temperatures ranging from 135.50 to 157.69 °C. A sharp exothermic peak was observed at 95.79 °C, and an endothermic peak was observed at 166.60 °C. The XRD study on CCNP and mAbCCNP revealed distinct peaks at 2θ. Four peaks at 35.38°, 37.47°, 49.29°, and 59.94° corresponded to CCNP, while three distinct peaks at 36.6°, 49.12°, and 55.08° corresponded to mAbCCNP. The in vitro release of cisplatin from nanoparticles followed zero order kinetics in both CCNP and mAbCCNP. The profile for CCNP showed 43.80% release of cisplatin in 6 h (R2 = 0.9322), indicating linearity of release with minimal deviation. However, the release profile of mAbCCNP showed 22.52% release in 4 h (R2 = 0.9416), indicating linearity with sustained release. In vitro cytotoxicity studies on MCF-7 ATCC human breast cancer cell line showed that CCNP exerted good cytotoxicity, with IC50 of 4.085 ± 0.065 µg/mL. However, mAbCCNP did not elicit any cytotoxic effect. At a dose of 4.00 µg/mL cisplatin induced early apoptosis and late apoptosis, chromatin condensation, while it produced secondary necrosis at a dose of 8.00 µg/mL. Potential delivery system for cisplatin CCNP and mAbCCNP were successfully formulated. The results indicated that CCNP was a more successful formulation than mAbCCNP due to lack of specificity of rituximab against MCF-7 ATCC human breast cancer cells.