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Background & objectives: The treatment of brain cancer is still challenging for an oncologist due to the presence of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) which inhibits the entry of more than 98 per cent of drugs used during the treatment of brain disease. The cytotoxic drugs used in chemotherapy for brain cancer treatment also affect the normal cells due to lack of targeting. Therefore, the objective of the study was to develop tween 80-coated solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) loaded with folic acid-doxorubicin (FAD) conjugate for site-specific drug delivery to brain cancer cells. Methods: The FAD conjugate was synthesized by the conjugation of folic acid with doxorubicin and characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. SLNs loaded with FAD were prepared by the solvent injection method. The SLNs were characterized by the particle size, zeta potential, surface morphology, entrapment efficiency, etc. Results: The average particle size of FAD conjugate-loaded SLNs (SLN-C) was found to be 220.4±2.2 nm, with 36.2±0.6 per cent entrapment efficiency. The cytotoxicity and cellular uptake were determined on U87 MG cell lines. Half maximal inhibitory concentration value of the SLN-C was found to be 2.5 ?g/ml, which confirmed the high antitumour activity against brain cancer cells. Interpretation & conclusions: The cell line studies confirmed the cytotoxicity and internalization of SLN-C in U87 MG brain cancer cells. The results confirmed that tween 80-coated SLNs have the potential to deliver the doxorubicin selectively in the brain cancer cells.
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Background: Ovarian cancer is one of the most common malignancies in female patients. In recent years, immunohistochemistry (IHC) has emerged as an important tool in the diagnosis of ovarian tumors. The study aimed to assess estrogen receptors (ERs), progesterone receptors (PRs), Her-2-neu, and Ki-67 by IHC in surface epithelial ovarian tumors and to correlate the findings with different variables. Materials and Methods: It was a cross-sectional study. Oophorectomy/salpingo-oophorectomy/cystectomy specimens were included in this study. IHC was done on 10% neutral buffer formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue sections by using Dako FLEX Ready to use mouse monoclonal antibodies and DakoEnvisionTM FLEX/ HRP detection reagent. Results: The study includes 81 cases of surface epithelial ovarian tumors (a benign serous tumor [20], a benign mucinous tumor [18], a borderline mucinous tumor [5], low-grade serous carcinoma [8], high-grade serous carcinoma [19], mucinous carcinoma [7], endometrioid carcinoma [2], borderline Brenner tumor [1], and malignant Brenner tumor [1]. ER had higher expression in malignant cases (51.33%) than in benign cases (15.8%). PR had higher expression in malignant tumors (54.05%) incomparable to benign (18.42%) and borderline tumors (16.66%). PR had higher expression in high grade. Expression of Her-2-neu positivity was found to be 29.7% out of the total 81 cases. Her-2-neu was found in 11 high-grade tumors among 31 malignant cases. CA-125 levels were significantly higher in malignant ovarian tumors (P = 0.0143). Proliferation activity was considered low if proliferation index (PI) <10% and high if PI >10%. The study showed high PI in malignant tumors. Conclusion: Expression of these marks in adjunct to H&E diagnosis may prove beneficial in differentiating benign, borderline, and malignant cases, in which a diagnosis of borderline cases based on sole H & E is doubtful.
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Background: Drug utilization studies (DUS) defined by World Health Organization as the marketing, distribution, prescription and use of drugs in a society, considering its consequences, either medical, social, and economic. The increasing importance of DUS as a valuable investigation resource in pharmacoepidemiology has been linking it with other health related areas, such as public health, pharmacovigilance, pharmacoeconomics, and pharmacogenetics. Methods: The study was a prospective DUS carried out in medicine OPD of Indian Institute of Technology Hospital, New Delhi, India in which a total of 595 prescriptions of hypertensive and diabetic patients were reviewed. All diabetic and/or hypertensive patients; irrespective of age, gender; who had least one drug in the prescription were included. Data were collected by screening of physician’s prescribing record and patient medication profile. Results: A total of 595 prescriptions were recorded. 57.31% were males as compared to 42.69% females. 54.62% patients were hypertensive (325 prescription); 14.78% patients were diabetic (88 prescription) whilst 30.58% had both the diseases. Of 507 prescriptions having antihypertensive drugs, combination therapy was utilized (40.8%) in the prescriptions and out of 270 prescriptions having antidiabetic drugs, 143 (52.96%) prescription were of combination therapy. Among antihypertensive drugs, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors were the most frequently prescribed class of drugs (19.18%). The combination most commonly prescribed was amlodipine and atenolol (14.05%). Antidiabetic drugs made up for 11.05% of the total drugs prescribed. 28.78% of all hypoglycemic agents were sulfonylurea. Glimepiride and metformin combination was the most prescribed anti-diabetic drugs combination (16.16%). Conclusion: Both hypertension and diabetes are considered to be lifestyle diseases. Hence, apart from optimal and appropriate prescribing, there is a need for lifestyle modification to obtain improved outcomes. Combination therapy was observed in a high percentage of prescriptions. Though monotherapy is associated with improved compliance and fewer side effects, combination therapy is desirable for synergistic actions and to overcome complications.