The Potential of Congo Red Supplied Aggregates of Multitargeted Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor (Sorafenib, BAY-43-9006) in Enhancing Therapeutic Impact on Bladder Cancer.

Bladder cancer is a common malignancy associated with high recurrence rates and potential progression to invasive forms. Sorafenib, a multi-targeted tyrosine kinase inhibitor, has shown promise in anti-cancer therapy, but its cytotoxicity to normal cells and aggregation in solution limits its clinical application. To address these challenges, we investigated the formation of supramolecular aggregates of sorafenib with Congo red (CR), a bis-azo dye known for its supramolecular interaction. We analyzed different mole ratios of CR-sorafenib aggregates and evaluated their effects on bladder cancer cells of varying levels of malignancy. In addition, we also evaluated the effect of the test compounds on normal uroepithelial cells. Our results demonstrated that sorafenib inhibits the proliferation of bladder cancer cells and induces apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner. However, high concentrations of sorafenib also showed cytotoxicity to normal uroepithelial cells. In contrast, the CR-BAY aggregates exhibited reduced cytotoxicity to normal cells while maintaining anti-cancer activity. The aggregates inhibited cancer cell migration and invasion, suggesting their potential for metastasis prevention. Dynamic light scattering and UV-VIS measurements confirmed the formation of stable co-aggregates with distinctive spectral properties. These CR-sorafenib aggregates may provide a promising approach to targeted therapy with reduced cytotoxicity and improved stability for drug delivery in bladder cancer treatment. This work shows that the drug-excipient aggregates proposed and described so far, as Congo red-sorafenib, can be a real step forward in anti-cancer therapies.

Application of the arm-cranking 30-second Wingate Anaerobic Test (the WAnT) to assess power in amputee football players.

PURPOSE: The aim of this work was to determine anaerobic performance in male amputee football players considering types and levels of limb impairment, playing position, anthropometric parameters, and comparing the findings to reference values. Relationship between parameters in the laboratory anaerobic test and the handgrip test was checked. METHODS: The 30-second Wingate Anaerobic Test (peak power, mean power, relative peak power, relative mean power, time to achieve peak power, fatigue index) on the arm-crank ergometer (LODE ANGIO), the FUTREX 6100 (Futrex, Gaithersburg, USA) and the handgrip test were used in amputee football players (n = 23). Anthropometric measurements were collected. RESULTS: There were no differences in anaerobic results between players considering types and levels of limb impairment. Forwards had significantly higher relative mean and peak power ( p = 0.049, d = 0.82; p = 0.049, d = 0.81), and lower amputation-adjusted body mass index ( p = 0.001, d = 1.50) than defenders. For peak power, 19 out 23 achieved, and for relative peak power, 22 out 23 achieved results from "average" to "elite". Peak power strongly correlated to handgrip strength results. CONCLUSIONS: Amputee football requires a high level of power from players. Maintaining appropriate body composition is important for amputee football players to have better anaerobic performance during the game. The 30-second Wingate Anaerobic Test can be used to assess anaerobic performance in AF players. Sport-specific anaerobic performance laboratory tests and field-based tests using in indirect upper limbs' peak power monitoring would be beneficial for coaches.