Eco-friendly Synthesis of Azadirachta indica-based Metallic Nanoparticles for Biomedical Application & Future Prospective.

The process of producing the metallic nanoparticles (MNPs) in a sustainable and environment- friendly process is very desirable due to environmental hazards posed by climatic changes. Biomedical one of the fields classified under nanoscience, nanoparticles have a potential synthetic application, which makes it a vast area of research. These particles can be prepared using chemical, physical, and biological methods. One of the methods of synthesis of nanoparticles is by the use of plant extracts, known as green synthesis. Because of its low cost and nontoxicity, it has gained attention in recent times. This review was conducted to find the possible outcomes and uses of metallic nanoparticles synthesized using different parts like gum, root, stem, leaf, fruits, etc. of Azadirachta indica (AI). AI, a popular medicinal plant commonly known as neem, has been studied for the green synthesis of NPs by using the capping and reducing agents secreted by the plant. Various phytochemicals identified in neem are capable of metal ion reduction. Green synthesis of NPs from neem is an eco-friendly and low-cost method. These NPs are reported to exhibit good antimicrobial activity. The review covers the preparation, characterization, and mechanism associated with the antibacterial, anticancer, and neurological diseases of the MNPs. Furthermore, the limitations associated with the existing NPs and the prospects of these NPs are also examined.

A Comprehensive Insight on Recent Advancements in Self-emulsifying Drug Delivery Systems.

A large proportion of new chemical moieties are poorly water-soluble. As a result, the biggest challenge for researchers is to enhance the solubility and oral bioavailability of lipophilic drugs. Self-emulsifying systems offer immense potential for improving lipophilic drugs' oral bioavailability and solubility through various mechanisms such as: inhibiting efflux transporters, absorption of the lipophilic drug through the lymphatic system, and bypassing hepatic first-pass metabolism. These systems dissolve hydrophobic drugs, allowing them to be delivered in a unit dose form for oral administration. Despite much potential, issues like stability, low drug loading, packaging, etc., are associated with the self-emulsifying technique. This review discusses conventional Self-Emulsifying Drug Delivery Systems (SEDDS), which deliver poorly water-soluble drugs. Recent advancements in self-emulsifying systems to solve the issues associated with conventional SEDDS are described exhaustively, including their methodologies and excipients utilized for preparation. The current article also furnishes a literature review on recent advancements in self-emulsifying systems. Recent advances in SEDDS are a great option for overcoming oral bioavailability, stability, and solubility issues of lipophilic drugs. Solid-self emulsifying system can be used to improve the stability of the formulation, hydrophobic ion-pairing for improving mucus permeation properties, while supersaturated self-emulsifying systems with a low concentration of surfactant to overcome issues such as precipitation of drug after dilution and gastrointestinal related side effects. The day will come when medicine companies will see the value of selfemulsifying system developments and adopt this technology for next-generation product releases.

A Comprehensive Insight on Self Emulsifying Drug Delivery Systems.

BACKGROUND: The oral route is a highly recommended route for the delivery of a drug. But most lipophilic drugs are difficult to deliver via this route due to their low aqueous solubility. Selfemulsifying drug delivery systems (SEDDS) have emerged as a potential approach of increasing dissolution of a hydrophobic drug due to spontaneous dispersion in micron or nano sized globules in the GI tract under mild agitation. OBJECTIVE: The main motive of this review article is to describe the mechanisms, advantages, disadvantages, factors affecting, effects of excipients, possible mechanisms of enhancing bioavailability, and evaluation of self-emulsifying drug delivery systems. RESULTS: Self emulsifying systems incorporate the hydrophobic drug inside the oil globules, and a monolayer is formed by surfactants to provide the low interfacial tension, which leads to improvement in the dissolution rate of hydrophobic drugs. The globule size of self-emulsifying systems depends upon the type and ratio of excipients in which they are used. The ternary phase diagram is constructed to find out the range of concentration of excipients used. This review article also presents recent and updated patents on self-emulsifying drug delivery systems. Self-emulsifying systems have the ability to enhance the oral bioavailability and solubility of lipophilic drugs. CONCLUSION: This technique offers further advantages such as bypassing the first pass metabolism via absorption of drugs through the lymphatic system, easy manufacturing, reducing enzymatic hydrolysis, inter and intra subject variability, and food effects.

Could CT abdomen and PET/CT be helpful in early diagnosis of Whipple's disease? A case report.

Whipple's disease is a rare disease, which can be fatal if not treated. It is often diagnosed at a late stage because of the varied disease presentation and its rare incidence. Classic Whipple's disease presents with arthralgia, abdominal pain, diarrhea and weight loss. CT abdomen may show mesenteric lymphadenopathy with hypodense centers. These CT findings along with clinical presentation should prompt early diagnosis of Whipple's disease. We present a case of classic Whipple's disease with interesting CT abdomen and PET scan findings.

Nanotechnology Driven Approaches for the Management of Parkinson's Disease: Current Status and Future Perspectives.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is believed to be one of the commonly found adult-onset movement disorder occurring due to neurodegeneration and striatal dopamine deficiency. Although clinical diagnosis depends on the occurrence of bradykinesia and other cardinal motor features, PD is linked with many non-motor symptoms that are responsible for overall disability. Among several factors, genetic and environment-related factors are thought to be the major ones accountable for PD. Comprehensive research has shown that a number of drugs are effective in providing symptomatic relief to the patients suffering from PD. But some drug molecules suffer from significant drawbacks such as poor bioavailability and instability, therefore, they sometimes fail to deliver the expected results. Hence, to resolve these issues, new promising novel drug delivery systems have been developed. Liposomes, solid lipid nanoparticles, nanoemulsion, self-emulsifying drug delivery system (SEDDS), niosomes are some of the novel drug delivery system (NDDS) carriers that have been explored for enhancing the CNS concentration of levodopa, apomorphine, resveratrol, and other numerous drugs. This paper elucidates various drugs that have been studied for their potential contribution to the treatment and management of PD and also reviews and acknowledges the efforts of several scientists who successfully established various NDDS approaches for these drugs for the management of PD.

Case of anomalous origin of right coronary artery from pulmonary artery associated with interrupted aortic arch type A, diagnosed by multidetector computed tomography angiography.

Anomalous origin of the right coronary artery from pulmonary artery (ARCAPA) is a rare congenital anomaly of the coronary circulation, which can be easily missed by echocardiography. Interrupted aortic arch (IAA) is another rare congenital cardiac abnormality that typically presents in the first few weeks of life. We present a case of ARCAPA associated with IAA diagnosed with the help of multidetector computed tomography angiography, in a 7-year-old boy.

The alkylphospholipid perifosine induces apoptosis and p21-mediated cell cycle arrest in medulloblastoma.

Medulloblastoma is the most common malignant cancer of the central nervous system in children. AKT kinases are part of a survival pathway that has been found to be significantly elevated in medulloblastoma. This pathway is a point of convergence for many growth factors and controls cellular processes that are critical for tumor cell survival and proliferation. The alkyl-phospholipid perifosine [octadecyl-(1,1-dimethyl-4-piperidylio) phosphate] is a small molecule inhibitor in clinical trials in peripheral cancers which acts as a competitive inhibitor of AKT kinases. Medulloblastoma cell cultures were used to study the effects of perifosine response in preclinical studies in vitro. Perifosine treatment led to the rapid induction of cell death in medulloblastoma cell lines, with pronounced suppression of phosphorylated AKT in a time-dependent and concentration-dependent manner. LD(50) concentrations were established using viability assays for perifosine, cisplatin, and etoposide. LD(50) treatment of medulloblastoma cells with perifosine led to the cleavage of caspase 9, caspase 7, caspase 3, and poly-ADP ribosylation protein, although caspase 8 was not detectable. Combination single-dose treatment regimens of perifosine with sublethal doses of etoposide or irradiation showed a greater than additive effect in medulloblastoma cells. Lower perifosine concentrations induced cell cycle arrest at the G(1) and G(2) cell cycle checkpoints, accompanied by increased expression of the cell cycle inhibitor p21(cip1/waf1). Treatment with p21 small interfering RNA prevented perifosine-induced cell cycle arrest. These findings indicate that perifosine, either alone or in combination with other chemotherapeutic drugs, might be an effective therapeutic agent for the treatment of medulloblastoma.