[The anatomical model collection at the Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto's Museum of Pharmacy]. / Coleção de modelos anatômicos do Museu da Pharmacia da Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto.

The Ouro Preto School of Pharmacy was founded in 1839 and was the first pharmacy school in Latin America independent from a medical school. At the end of the nineteenth century, it had a collection of French anatomical models made by Deyrolle, Dr. Auzoux, and Vasseur-Tramod, many produced from wax or papier-mâché. This project involved recovering, identifying, cleaning, restoring, and exhibiting seventeen models found in various facilities from Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto. The models in good condition were exhibited in the Museum of Pharmacy (where this work was carried out) as part of the teaching collection for the Ouro Preto pharmacy course.

A Escola de Farmácia de Ouro Preto, fundada em 1839, foi a primeira da América Latina desvinculada de uma escola de medicina. No final do século XIX, contou com um acervo de modelos anatômicos franceses dos renomados Deyrolle, Dr. Auzoux e Vasseur-Tramod, muitos fabricados em cera ou papel machê. O presente trabalho teve como objetivo resgatar, identificar, higienizar, restaurar e expor os modelos. De unidades acadêmicas da Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, 17 modelos anatômicos foram resgatados e transferidos para o Museu da Pharmacia, onde receberam o devido tratamento. Os modelos em melhores condições foram expostos no museu formando parte da coleção de ensino do curso de farmácia de Ouro Preto.

Coleção de modelos anatômicos do Museu da Pharmacia da Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto / The anatomical model collection at the Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto's Museum of Pharmacy

Resumo A Escola de Farmácia de Ouro Preto, fundada em 1839, foi a primeira da América Latina desvinculada de uma escola de medicina. No final do século XIX, contou com um acervo de modelos anatômicos franceses dos renomados Deyrolle, Dr. Auzoux e Vasseur-Tramod, muitos fabricados em cera ou papel machê. O presente trabalho teve como objetivo resgatar, identificar, higienizar, restaurar e expor os modelos. De unidades acadêmicas da Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, 17 modelos anatômicos foram resgatados e transferidos para o Museu da Pharmacia, onde receberam o devido tratamento. Os modelos em melhores condições foram expostos no museu formando parte da coleção de ensino do curso de farmácia de Ouro Preto.

Abstract The Ouro Preto School of Pharmacy was founded in 1839 and was the first pharmacy school in Latin America independent from a medical school. At the end of the nineteenth century, it had a collection of French anatomical models made by Deyrolle, Dr. Auzoux, and Vasseur-Tramod, many produced from wax or papier-mâché. This project involved recovering, identifying, cleaning, restoring, and exhibiting seventeen models found in various facilities from Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto. The models in good condition were exhibited in the Museum of Pharmacy (where this work was carried out) as part of the teaching collection for the Ouro Preto pharmacy course.

Toxicological study of a new doxorubicin-loaded pH-sensitive liposome: A preclinical approach.

Doxorubicin (DOX) is widely used in cancer treatment, however, the use of this drug is often limited due to its cardiotoxic side effects. In order to avoid these adverse effects, the encapsulation of DOX into nanosystems has been used in the last decades. In this context, pH-sensitive liposomes have been shown promising for delivering cytotoxic agents into tumor cells, however, the lack of information about in vivo toxicity of this nanocarrier has impaired translational studies. Therefore, the aim of this work was to investigate the acute toxicity and cardiotoxicity of DOX-loading pH-sensitive liposomes (SpHL-DOX). To achieve this, female BALB/c mice, after intravenous administration, were monitored by means of clinical, laboratory, histopathological and electrocardiographic (ECG) analyses. Results indicate that SpHL was able to prevent renal toxicity and the hepatic injury was less extensive than free DOX. In addition, lower body weight loss was associated with less ECG QT interval prolongation to animals receiving SpHL-DOX (14.6 ±â€¯5.2%) compared to animals receiving free DOX (35.7 ±â€¯4.0%) or non-pH-sensitive liposomes (nSpHL-DOX) (47.0 ±â€¯9.8%). These results corroborate with SpHL-DOX biodistribution studies published by our group. In conclusion, the SpHL-DOX showed less toxic effects on mice compared to free DOX or nSpHL-DOX indicating that SpHL-DOX is a promising strategy to reduce the serious cardiotoxic effects of DOX.

Polymeric nanocapsules prevent oxidation of core-loaded molecules: evidence based on the effects of docosahexaenoic acid and neuroprostane on breast cancer cells proliferation.

BACKGROUND: Nanocapsules, as a delivery system, are able to target drugs and other biologically sensitive molecules to specific cells or organs. This system has been intensively investigated as a way to protect bioactives drugs from inactivation upon interaction with the body and to ensure the release to the target. However, the mechanism of improved activity of the nanoencapsulated molecules is far from being understood at the cellular and subcellular levels. Epidemiological studies suggest that dietary polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) can reduce the morbidity and mortality from breast cancer. This influence could be modulated by the oxidative status of the diet and it has been suggested that the anti-proliferative properties of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) are enhanced by pro-oxidant agents. METHODS: The effect of encapsulation of PUFA on breast cancer cell proliferation in different oxidative medium was evaluated in vitro. We compared the proliferation of the human breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-231 and of the non-cancer human mammary epithelial cell line MCF-10A in different experimental conditions. RESULTS: DHA possessed anti-proliferative properties that were prevented by alpha-tocopherol (an antioxidant) and enhanced by the pro-oxidant hydrogen peroxide that confirms that DHA has to be oxidized to exert its anti-proliferative properties. We also evaluated the anti-proliferative effects of the 4(RS)-4-F4t-neuroprostane, a bioactive, non-enzymatic oxygenated metabolite of DHA known to play a major role in the prevention of cardiovascular diseases. DHA-loaded nanocapsules was less potent than non-encapsulated DHA while co-encapsulation of DHA with H2O2 maintained the inhibition of proliferation. The nanocapsules slightly improves the anti-proliferative effect in the case of 4(RS)-4-F4t-neuroprostane that is more hydrophilic than DHA. CONCLUSION: Overall, our findings suggest that the sensitivity of tumor cell lines to DHA involves oxidized metabolites. They also indicate that neuroprostane is a metabolite participating in the growth reducing effect of DHA, but it is not the sole. These results also suggest that NC seek to enhance the stability against degradation, enhance cellular availability, and control the release of bioactive fatty acids following their lipophilicities.

Assessment of acute toxicity of the ethanolic extract of Lychnophora pinaster (Brazilian arnica)

Species of the Lychnophora genus are plants native to Brazil, popularly known as "Brazilian arnica" and used in folk medicine as alcoholic and hydro-alcoholic preparations for the treatment of bruises, inflammation, pain, rheumatism and insect bites. The present study aimed to evaluate the safety of the use of Lychnophora pinaster Mart., Asteraceae. Acute toxicity of the crude ethanolic extract was evaluated by administration of the extract by oral route to male and female Swiss mice. A single extract dose of 125, 250 or 500 mg/kg was administered and the effects on spontaneous locomotor activity, exploratory behavior, muscle strength, body weight, food and water consumption, relative organ weight, histology, as well as hematological and biochemical parameters were evaluated. The three doses administered to the animals did not cause muscle tone alterations, but doses of 250 and 500 mg/kg induced a significant inhibition of the spontaneous locomotor activity and exploratory behavior of the animals in open-field test. There was no alteration to hematological parameters and consumption of water and food, body weight variation and organs relative weight. Changes were observed in AST and ALT during assessment of biochemical parameters. The histopathological evaluation showed that the extract provoked cellular alterations, such as vacuolar degeneration and inflammation in kidneys and liver at all doses. Liver morphometric analyses of male and female mice showed that the extract did not have dose-dependent effects. Although females showed a significant increase in inflammatory cells, the effect was not dose-dependent.

Extracts from the leaves of Campomanesia velutina inhibits production of LPS/INF-γ induced inflammatory mediators in J774A.1 cells and exerts anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive effects in vivo

Campomanesia velutina (Cambess) O. Berg, Myrtaceae, popularly known as "gabiroba" or "guavira", is used in traditional Brazilian medicine to treat several diseases, including inflammation and rheumatism. Extraction and isolation from leaves of the plant afforded the active compound myricetin 3-O-rhamnoside, also known as myricitrin. The ethanolic extract of leaves of C. velutina and its ethyl acetate and methanolic fractions were evaluated in inflammation (carrageenan-induced paw oedema) and analgesic models (acetic acid-induced abdominal writhing and hot plate test). Moreover, the ethanolic extract, its fractions and the isolated compound were also in vitro evaluated for their ability to modulate NO, TNF-α and IL-10 production from J774A.1 macrophages stimulated by LPS/IFN-γ. In vivo assays showed remarkable anti-inflammatory activity of ethanolic extract, ethyl acetate and methanolic fractions. The antinociceptive activity of ethanolic extract and A was demonstrated in acetic acid-induced abdominal writhing test. In vitro assays demonstrated that ethyl acetate and methanolic fractions fraction and myricitrin inhibited NO production from macrophages J774A.1. Also Myricitrin induced production of IL-10 anti-inflammatory cytokine. None of the samples was able to inhibited TNF-α production. The results demonstrated for the first time the anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive activity of C. velutina. .

Pharmaceutical care program for type 2 diabetes patients in Brazil: a randomised controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Brazilians with type 2 diabetes require action to improve haemoglobin A1C levels considering the fact that approximately 73 % of them have poor glycaemic control. Evidence has shown the potential benefits of pharmaceutical care programs in type 2 diabetes patients. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of a pharmaceutical care program on blood glucose, blood pressure and lipid profile in hyperglycaemic patients undergoing drug treatment for type 2 diabetes. SETTING: Six primary care units of the Brazilian public health system, Ouro Preto, Brazil. METHOD: An open, randomised, controlled clinical trial was conducted for 6 months. Subjects aged 18 years or older who were using oral antidiabetic medications and presenting haemoglobin A1C levels ≥7 % were randomly assigned to receive only usual health care or usual health care plus pharmaceutical intervention. Main outcome measure Haemoglobin A1C. RESULTS: A total of 129 subjects were enrolled, and 100 patients completed the study. Compared to the control group (n = 50), the intervention group (n = 50) showed a significant reduction of haemoglobin A1C (-0.6 vs 0.7 %, p = 0.001), fasting plasma glucose, total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, triglycerides and systolic blood pressure and a significant increase in HDL cholesterol and the use of lipid-modifying agents and platelet aggregation inhibitors. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that a pharmaceutical care program may provide important contributions to reduce haemoglobin A1C in type 2 diabetes patients. Moreover, the promotion of the rational use of drugs may be better achieved in a context of pharmaceutical care programs in Brazil.