Mucormycosis medications: a patent review.

INTRODUCTION: Mucormycosis is an uncommon but life-threatening infection with nonspecific clinical manifestations that make its diagnosis/treatment difficult. The current literature indicates that mucormycosis case incidences are on the rise in developing and developed countries, and, unfortunately, there are only a few treatments available. Accordingly, it is essential to provide more treatment options for mucormycosis. AREA COVERED: This patent review focuses on the granted patents and patent applications related to medication for mucormycosis treatment from the publication year of the amphotericin-B patent application (1958) till 30 January 2021. EXPERT OPINION: Mucormycosis has few available treatments, including amphotericin-B, isavuconazonium sulfate, posaconazole, or their combination. A few anti-mucormycosis medicines are under clinical development. The exact burden of mucormycosis is unknown, but it is expected to be higher than the reported cases because of mucormycosis epidemiological changes. This patent review has shown that scientists are progressing toward developing a new treatment for mucormycosis in the form of new chemical compounds, new drug combinations, and dosage forms, vaccines, plant products, drug repurposing, and derivatives of the biomolecules. This progress is encouraging to fight this devastating illness.

Knowledge, attitude and practices of healthcare professionals of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia towards covid-19: A cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES: COVID-19 is an emerging pandemic that necessitates the implementation of effective infection prevention and control steps. The knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) of healthcare professionals toward COVID-19 affect their compliance to prevention and control initiatives. During the evolving pandemic, we examined the KAP among healthcare professionals against COVID-19 in this research. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study conducted among Riyadh region health care professionals from the beginning of December 2020 to the end of February 2021 using a validated self-administered questionnaire. The knowledge questionnaire contained questions about COVID-19 clinical characteristics, prevention, and management. The evaluation of attitudes and practices included questions regarding actions and adjustments in COVID-19 response activities. Knowledge scores were measured and compared using demographic characteristics, as well as attitudes and practices toward COVID-19. Using SPSS-IBM 25, bivariate statistics were done to analyze the data. RESULTS: 146 healthcare professionals completed the survey. Physicians were the most prominent party in the survey, accounting for 74 (51 percent), followed by nurses 44 (30 percent) and pharmacists 28 (19 percent). The participants' average age was 39.69 ± 8.48 years. The participant's mean knowledge, attitude, and practice scores were 11.43 ± 1.34, 3.89 ± 0.93, and 3.85 ± 0.81, respectively. With a positive attitude, the mean knowledge score was 11.52, and with proper practice, it was 11.32. With an improvement in knowledge, the attitude score increased significantly (r = 0.172, P = 0.001). Besides, there was a greater association between attitudes and practices (r = 0.170, P = 0.029). A significant enhancement in the practice score of the professionals was noted with an increase in knowledge score (r = 0.095, P = 0.010), an indicator for a positive correlation between practice and knowledge scores. INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSION: Healthcare practitioners have a good understanding of COVID-19. Improved knowledge and a positive attitude toward COVID-19 infection are linked to appropriate practice. There is a need for more manpower, better COVID-19 management training, and strategies to reduce anxiety among healthcare professionals.

Synthetic molecules as DprE1 inhibitors: A patent review.

INTRODUCTION: In recent years, the advent of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB), the extensively-resistant TB (XDR-TB), and the total drug-resistant-TB (TDR-TB) have led the community to develop new antitubercular molecules. The decaprenylphosphoryl-ß-D-ribose-2'-epimerase-1 (DprE1) is an established target to developed new anti-TB drugs. This enzyme is required to synthesize the cell wall of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). AREA COVERED: This patent review focuses on the granted patents and patent applications related to the chemical entities developed as DprE1 inhibitors for TB treatment from the publication year of the BTZ-043 compound patent application (2007) till 30 September 2020. EXPERT OPINION: The DprE1 has many advantages in the development of new antitubercular molecules, for example, its location in the periplasm of the Mtb cell wall and its absence in the human body. This indicates that the DprE1 inhibitors are selective for Mtb, and their toxic and side effects on the human body may be negligible or small. Accordingly, the use of DprE1 inhibitors may be benefic for patients with drug-resistant bacteria that require long-term medication. Four molecules are in clinical trials, which could become the drugs of the future for TB-therapy.