Search results for "DRUG DISCOVERY"

Anti-angiogenic drugs for second-line treatment of NSCLC patients: just new pawns on the chessboard?

2016

Tumor angiogenesis is one of the main pathways targeted to treat cancer. Bevacizumab added survival benefit when combined with platinum-based chemotherapy in NSCLC. Recently, Phase III trials showed survival benefit when anti-angiogenic drugs are added to docetaxel as second-line treatment for NSCLC. These anti-angiogenic agents include nintedanib and ramucirumab, a tyrosine-kinase inhibitor and a monoclonal antibody, respectively, which target receptors involved in angiogenesis. These studies have some similarities and differences. We propose a new algorithm for treatment sequences in performance status 0-1 patients with non-oncogene-addicted NSCLC type adenocarcinoma. Indeed clearer scien…

New Perspectives in the Treatment of Advanced Gastric Cancer: S-1 as a Novel Oral 5-FU Therapy in Combination with Cisplatin

2015

Oral fluoropyrimidines have been available for more than 10 years. Capecitabine is well established in treating solid tumors in Europe. S-1 (Teysuno®), an oral formulation containing the 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) prodrug tegafur and the two enzyme modulators gimeracil and oteracil, has not been available in non-Asia countries until recently. In Japan, S-1 in combination with cisplatin is the recommended first-line treatment in patients with gastric cancer. In Europe, the first trials with S-1 were disappointing due to high unacceptable incidences of adverse events. Pharmacokinetic studies showed differences in Asian and Caucasian patients; therefore, a new non-Asian study program was initiated,…

Therapeutic Plasmapheresis with Albumin Replacement in Alzheimer’s Disease and Chronic Progressive Multiple Sclerosis: A Review

2020

Background: Reducing the burden of beta-amyloid accumulation and toxic autoimmunity-related proteins, one of the recognized pathophysiological markers of chronic and common neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and multiple sclerosis (MS), may be a valid alternative therapy to reduce their accumulation in the brain and thus reduce the progression of these disorders. The objective of this review was to evaluate the efficacy of plasmapheresis (PP) in AD and chronic progressive MS patients (in terms of improving clinical symptoms) and to analyze its safety and protocols. Methods: Articles related to this topic and published without time limitations in the Medline, and C…

Blood-based prognostic biomarkers in Crohn’s Disease patients on biologics: a promising tool to predict endoscopic outcomes

2021

There is a growing need for biomarkers to predict therapeutic outcome in Crohn's disease (CD).The aim was to evaluate whether NLR (neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio), PLR (platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio), ELR (eosinophil-to-lymphocyte ratio), and ENLR (eosinophil*neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio), could be prognostic biomarkers of endoscopic response (ER) when starting biologics.Patients with CD who started biologics were enrolled. Multivariate analysis was used to evaluate whether NLR, PLR, ELR and ENLR at baseline and at w12 could predict ER (Simple Endoscopic Score for Crohn's disease [SES-CD] ≤2 or SES-CD≤2 and Rutgeerts i0-i1) after 52 weeks of treatment. Area under the curve (AUC) was calcul…

Genomic landscape analyses in cervical carcinoma and consequences for treatment.

2020

Where we are on the road to ‘tailor-made’ precision medicine for drug-resistant cervical carcinoma? We explored studies about analyses of viral and human genomes, epigenomes and transcriptomes, DNA mutation analyses, their importance in detecting HPV sequences, mechanisms of drug resistance to established and targeted therapies with small molecule or therapeutic antibodies, to radiosensitivity and to chemoradiotherapy. The value of repurposing of old drugs initially approved for other disease indications and now considered for cervix cancer therapy is also discussed. The microbiome influences drug response and survival too. HPV genomic integration sites were less significant. Nomograms (Lee…

2017

Human neurodegenerative diseases are accompanied by accumulation of heavily oxidized and aggregated proteins. However, the exact molecular reason is not fully elucidated yet. Insufficient cellular protein quality control is thought to play an important role in accumulating covalently oxidized misfolded proteins. Pharmacologically active polyphenols and their derivatives exhibit potential for preventive and therapeutic purposes against protein aggregation during neurodegeneration. Although these compounds act on various biochemical pathways, their role in stabilizing the protein degradation machinery at different stages may be an attractive therapeutical strategy to halt the accumulation of …

Anticancer properties of 4-thiazolidinone derivatives depend on peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ)

2017

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) play an important role in numerous chronic diseases such as diabetes, obesity, atherosclerosis and cancer, and PPAR modulators are among the approved drugs and drug-candidates for their treatment. The aim of this study was to elucidate the involvement of PPARs in the mechanism of cytotoxic and pro-apoptotic action of novel anticancer 4-thiazolidinone derivatives (Les-2194, Les-3377, Les-3640) and approved 4-thiazolidinones (Rosiglitazone, Pioglitazone) towards the human squamous carcinoma (SCC-15) cell line. Experiments with 4-thiazaolidinone derivatives and PPAR-specific siRNA were conducted and PPARα, PPARβ and PPARγ mRNA expression was …

A Comprehensive Spectroscopic Analysis of the Ibuprofen Binding with Human Serum Albumin, Part I

2020

Human serum albumin (HSA) plays a fundamental role in the human body. It takes part in the transport of exogenic and endogenic substances, especially drugs. Ibuprofen (IBU) is one of the most commonly used non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, used for pain relief, fever relief, and for anti-inflammatory purposes. The binding of ligands with HSA is a significant factor which determines the toxicity and the therapeutic dosages of these substances. The aim of this study was to compare the degree of ibuprofen binding with human serum albumin at various temperatures and protein solution pH values. In order to evaluate conformational changes in HSA caused by interaction with ibuprofen, spectrop…

Identification of potential therapeutic compounds for Parkinson's disease using Drosophila and human cell models.

2017

Abstract Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder after Alzheimer's disease. It is caused by a loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta, leading to a decrease in dopamine levels in the striatum and thus producing movement impairment. Major physiological causes of neurodegeneration in PD are oxidative stress (OS) and mitochondrial dysfunction; these pathophysiological changes can be caused by both genetic and environmental factors. Although most PD cases are sporadic, it has been shown that 5–10% of them are familial forms caused by mutations in certain genes. One of these genes is the DJ-1 oncogene, which is involved in an early…

Drug Distribution to Retinal Pigment Epithelium: Studies on Melanin Binding, Cellular Kinetics, and Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography/Comput…

2016

Melanin binding is known to affect the distribution and elimination of ocular drugs. The purpose of this study was to evaluate if the extent of drug uptake to primary retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells could be estimated based on in vitro binding studies with isolated melanin and evaluate the suitability of single photon emission computed tomography/computed tomography (SPECT/CT) in studying pigment binding in vivo with pigmented and albino rats. Binding of five compounds, basic molecules timolol, chloroquine, and nadolol and acidic molecules methotrexate and 5(6)-carboxy-2',7'-dichlorofluorescein (CDCF), was studied using isolated melanin from porcine choroid-RPE at pH 5.0 and 7.4. The…