Comprehensive Review of Breast Cancer Consequences for the Patients and Their Coping Strategies: A Systematic Review.

BACKGROUND: Women with breast cancer usually face multiple short-term and long-term problems in dealing with their acute and chronic symptoms during and after cancer treatment. However, serious gaps remain in addressing these issues in clinical and public health practice. METHODS: According to the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, we conducted a systematic literature search from 2000-2021 in electronic databases, including Medline, PubMed, Embase, Scopus, Web of Knowledge, and Google Scholar databases using predefined keywords. RESULTS: The review identified several significant and interconnected problems in breast cancer patient's treatment and supportive care. The results revealed that these issues are very common among breast cancer patients, and specific attention and serious measures are needed to address these problems. Despite implementing different protocols and programs for covering and addressing these problems, serious gaps still exist in supporting breast cancer patients during clinical and follow-up care. CONCLUSION: Developing innovative and holistic approaches and programs based on the multifactorial assessment of symptoms are suggested for addressing and covering the multidimensional requirements of this population. Consequently, thorough evaluation, education, treatment, and referrals should be provided for the most common sequelae of these patients by including appropriate medication, exercise, counselling, occupational therapy, and complementary therapies. The present study provides a more comprehensive source of information about breast cancer patient's medical and supportive needs in comparison with individual studies on symptom experiences.

Chitosan-decorated and tripolyphosphate-crosslinked pH-sensitive niosomal nanogels for Controlled release of fluoropyrimidine 5-fluorouracil.

In the present study, 5-fluorouracil-loaded niosomal nanoparticles were successfully prepared and coated with chitosan and subsequently crosslinked by tripolyphosphate to form niosomal nanogels. The prepared niosomal formulations were fully characterized for their particle size, zeta potential, particle morphology, drug entrapment efficiency, and in vitro drug release profile. The prepared niosomal nanocarriers exhibited nanoscale particle sizes of 165.35 ± 2.75-322.85 ± 2.75 nm. Chitosan-coated and TPP-crosslinked niosomes exhibited a slightly decreased in particle size and a switch of zeta potential from negative to positive values. In addition, high yield percentage, drug encapsulation efficiency, and drug loading values of 92.11 ± 2.07 %, 66.59 ± 6.06, and 4.65 ± 0.5 were obtained for chitosan-coated formulations, respectively. Moreover, lowering the rate of 5-FU in vitro release was achieved within 72 h by using chitosan-coated formulations. All prepared formulations revealed hemocompatible properties in hemolysis assay with less than 5 % hemolysis percentage at their higher possible concentrations (500 µM and 1 mM). The cell viability by MTT assay showed higher anticancer activity against B16F10 cancerous cells and lower cytotoxicity toward NIH3T3 normal cells than control and pure 5-FU in the studied concentration range (10-100 µM). Investigating the cell migration inhibition properties of fabricated formulations revealed similar results with in vitro cell viability assay with a higher migration inhibition rate for B16F10 cells than NIH3T3 cells, controls, and free 5-FU.

Fabrication of silver nanoparticles-deposited fabrics as a potential candidate for the development of reusable facemasks and evaluation of their performance.

Recently, wearing facemasks in public has been raised due to the coronavirus disease 2019 epidemic worldwide. However, the performance and effectiveness of many existing products have raised significant concerns among people and professionals. Therefore, greater attempts have been focused recently to increase the efficacy of these products scientifically and industrially. In this respect, doping or impregnating facemask fabrics with metallic substances or nanoparticles like silver nanoparticles has been proposed. So, in the present study, we aimed to sonochemically coat silver nanoparticles on the non-woven Spunbond substrates at different sonication times and concentrations to develop antibacterial and antiviral facemask. The coated substrates were characterized using Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope, Energy Dispersive X-Ray, X-ray diffraction, and Thermogravimetry analysis. The amount of silver released from the coated substrates was measured by atomic absorption spectroscopy. The filtration efficiency, pressure drop, and electrical conductivity of the coated samples were also investigated. The antibacterial activity of fabrics was evaluated against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. Cellular viability of samples assessed by MTT and brine shrimp lethality tests. The results revealed that the higher sonication times and precursor concentrations result in a higher and more stable coating, larger particle size, wider particle size distribution, and lower content of released silver. Coated fabrics also revealed enhanced filtration efficiency (against nanosize particles), desired pressure drop, and antibacterial activity without significant cytotoxicity toward HEK 293 cells and Artemia nauplii. As a result, the coated fabrics could find potential applications in the development of facemasks for protection against different pathogenic entities.

Polysaccharide-based hydrogels containing herbal extracts for wound healing applications.

Development of an ideal wound dressing with effective function for healing various types of wounds is the ultimate desire of the researchers. Natural-based compounds such as polysaccharides and phytochemicals offer useful properties making them perfect candidates for wound management. Polysaccharides-based hydrogels with an interconnected three-dimensional network, and desired properties have great potential as a carrier for delivery of different herbal extracts for oral and topical applications. Herbal extracts are extensively used for wound healing purposes, individually or in combination with other active agents. This study summarizes the current knowledge acquired on the preparation, functionalizing, and application of different kinds of polysaccharide-based hydrogels enriched by herbal extracts for different wound healing applications. The structural, biological, and functional impact of the polysaccharides and herbal extracts on the final hydrogel characteristics, as well as their influence on the different phases of the wound healing process have been discussed.

A Systematic Review for Evaluation of Specialized Programs for Addressing Young Women with Breast Cancer Problems.

INTRODUCTION: Breast cancer (BC) is one of the most common health concerns among women and is the leading cause of cancer-related death around the world. Women, in particular young women, face unique and complex problems with BC. Physical, psychological, emotional, educational, and long-term BC-related problems have been recognized for these vulnerable populations. Besides BC patients, their families and relatives challenge with various problems such as financial and supportive issues in supporting these patients. METHODS: The main objective of the present study was to evaluate the BC patient's major problems and describe current supportive initiatives and programs that support these patients, their advancements to date, existing challenges, and possible future actions. Data collection took place by conducting a comprehensive search on the Internet, Medline, PubMed, and Google Scholar databases. We also discuss the contingency options, which lead to improving medical and supportive care, as well as overcoming barriers to providing comprehensive and optimal care and support for these unique groups of patients. RESULTS: The result revealed that several comprehensive and well-developed BC programs and initiatives have been established around the world for providing and focusing on BC patient's clinical care, supportive care, education, survivorship, navigation, and research. However, despite considerable advancement in this area, there are still significant challenges in addressing the BC patient's needs. CONCLUSION: Evaluation of the current situation of BC patient's treatment and quality of life highlighted the importance of developing and implementing the new and most efficient healthcare programs and protocols, as well as improving and optimizing the existing ones to improve and enhance the survival rate and quality of life of BC patients.

A Systematic Review on Classification, Identification, and Healing Process of Burn Wound Healing.

Because of the intrinsic complexity, the classification of wounds is important for the diagnosis, management, and choosing the correct treatment based on wound type. Generally, burn injuries are classified as a class of wounds in which injury is caused by heat, cold, electricity, chemicals, friction, or radiation. On the other hand, wound healing is a complex process, and understanding the biological trend of this process and differences in the healing process of different wounds could reduce the possible risk in many cases and greatly reduce the future damage to the injured tissue and other organs. The aim of this review is to provide a general perspective for the burn wound location among the other types of injuries and summarizing as well as highlighting the differences of these types of wounds with emphasizing on factors affecting thereof.

Recent advances in targeting malaria with nanotechnology-based drug carriers.

Malaria, as one of the most common human infectious diseases, remains the greatest global health concern, since approximately 3.5 billion people around the world, especially those in subtropical areas, are at the risk of being infected by malaria. Due to the emergence and spread of drug resistance to the current antimalarials, malaria-related mortality and incidence rates have recently increased. To overcome the aforementioned obstacles, nano-vehicles based on biodegradable, natural, and non-toxic polymers have been developed. Accordingly, these systems are considered as a potential drug vehicle, which due to their unique properties such as the excellent safety profile, good biocompatibility, tunable structure, diversity, and the presence of functional groups within the polymer structure, could facilitate covalent attachment of targeting moieties and antimalarials to the polymeric nano-vehicles. In this review, we highlighted some recent developments of liposomes as unique nanoscale drug delivery vehicles and several polymeric nanovehicles, including hydrogels, dendrimers, self-assembled micelles, and polymer-drug conjugates for the effective delivery of antimalarials.

Current status and future outlook of nano-based systems for burn wound management.

Wound healing process is a natural and intricate response of the body to its injuries and includes a well-orchestrated sequence of biochemical and cellular phenomena to restore the integrity of skin and injured tissues. Complex nature and associated complications of burn wounds lead to an incomplete and prolonged recovery of these types of wounds. Among different materials and systems which have been used in treating the wounds, nanotechnology driven therapeutic systems showed a great opportunity to improvement and enhancement of the healing process of different type of wounds. The aim of this study is to provide an overview of the recent studies about the various nanotechnology-based management of burn wounds and the future outlook of these systems in this area. Laboratory and animal models for assessing the efficacy of these systems in burn wound management also discussed.