Impact of gut microbiome in the development and treatment of pancreatic cancer: Newer insights.

The gut microbiome plays an important role in the variation of pharmacologic response. This aspect is especially important in the era of precision medicine, where understanding how and to what extent the gut microbiome interacts with drugs and their actions will be key to individualizing therapy. The impact of the composition of the gut microbiome on the efficacy of newer cancer therapies such as immune checkpoint inhibitors and chimeric antigen receptor T-cell treatment has become an active area of research. Pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PAC) has a poor prognosis even in those with potentially resectable disease, and treatment options are very limited. Newer studies have concluded that there is a synergistic effect for immunotherapy in combination with cytotoxic drugs, in the treatment of PAC. A variety of commensal microbiota can affect the efficacy of conventional chemotherapy and immunotherapy by modulating the tumor microenvironment in the treatment of PAC. This review will provide newer insights on the impact that alterations made in the gut microbial system have in the development and treatment of PAC.

Over the counter drugs and self-medication: A worldwide paranoia and a troublesome situation in India during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Self-medication is the use of drugs to treat self-diagnosed ailments without the use of a formal prescription. Self-medication is defined by the World Health Organization as the use of medications to address self-diagnosed diseases or symptoms. Over-the-counter (OTC) pharmaceuticals are medications that can be sold without a prescription directly to the client in accordance with the laws of each nation. During the COVID-19 pandemic, an increasing tendency in the use of OTC and self-medication was seen, with the situation in India particularly deteriorating due to lax regulatory restrictions. This has resulted in a slew of problems, ranging from a lack of drugs to severe responses due to overdosage and drug-drug combinations. There is an urgent need for more tangible regulatory control over self-medication and OTC medications to safeguard the uninformed populace from harm.

Anti-depressants and COVID-19: A New Ray of Hope.

The coronavirus disease pandemic has grown worldwide. As we understand the exact pathophysiology of the disease and how it affects the systems in the human body, we are in the process of discovering and repositioning drugs potentially effective in these regards. A few targets of these drugs are excessive inflammation following SARS-CoV-2 infection and sigma-1 receptor ER chaperone protein, which plays a role in replication. The recent discovery of antidepressants like fluvoxamine and clomipramine acting through these targets may provide a new ray of hope to decrease mortality and morbidity in severe COVID patients.