ABSTRACT
(1) Background: Glioblastoma (GBM) is categorized as a grade IV astrocytoma by the World Health Organization (WHO), representing the most aggressive and prevalent form of glioma. It presents a significant clinical challenge, with limited treatment options and poor prognosis. This systematic review evaluates the efficacy and safety of various nanotherapy approaches for GBM and explores future directions in tumor management. Nanomedicine, which involves nanoparticles in the 1-100 nm range, shows promise in improving drug delivery and targeting tumor cells. (2) Methods: Following PRISMA guidelines, a systematic search of databases including Google Scholar, NCBI PubMed, Cochrane Library, and ClinicalTrials.gov was conducted to identify clinical trials on GBM and nanomedicine. The primary outcome measures were median overall survival, progression-free survival, and quality of life assessed through Karnofsky performance scores. The safety profile was assessed by adverse events. (3) Results: The analysis included 225 GBM patients, divided into primary and recurrent sub-populations. Primary GBM patients had a median overall survival of 6.75 months, while recurrent GBM patients had a median overall survival of 9.7 months. The mean PFS period was 2.3 months and 3.92 months in primary GBM and recurrent GBM patients, respectively. Nanotherapy showed an improvement in quality of life, with KPS scores increasing after treatment in recurrent GBM patients. Adverse events were observed in 14.2% of patients. Notably, Bevacizumab therapy exhibited better survival outcomes but with a higher incidence of adverse events. (4) Conclusions: Nanotherapy offers a modest increase in survival with fewer severe side effects. It shows promise in improving the quality of life, especially in recurrent GBM patients. However, it falls short in terms of overall survival compared to Bevacizumab. The heterogeneous nature of treatment protocols and reporting methods highlights the need for standardized multicenter trials to further evaluate the potential of nanomedicine in GBM management.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To determine blood lead level in young children visiting tertiary care hospitals. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted from February to April 2015 at Khyber Teaching Hospital, Kuwait Teaching Hospital and Siffat Ghayoor Memorial Children's Hospital, Peshawar, Pakistan, and comprised children aged1-10 years. Purposive sampling technique (non-probability) was used. SPSS 17 was used for data analysis. Charts were made in Microsoft Excel 2007. RESULTS: Of the 100 children in the study, 79(79%) had lead present in their blood, while 21(21%) had no traces whatsoever. Of those who had lead in their blood, 5(6%) showed blood lead level of above 1 mg/dL. The overall mean blood lead level was 0.344± 0.05 mg/dL. There was significance association between lead level and the residential areas of participants (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Lead was found in the blood of children aged 1-10 years and was significantly related to the place of residence. Age and gender had no relation with blood lead levels.
