International journal of molecular sciences
-
Review
Nanomedicine-based neuroprotective strategies in patient specific-iPSC and personalized medicine.
In recent decades, nanotechnology has attracted major interests in view of drug delivery systems and therapies against diseases, such as cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, and many others. Nanotechnology provides the opportunity for nanoscale particles or molecules (so called "Nanomedicine") to be delivered to the targeted sites, thereby, reducing toxicity (or side effects) and improving drug bioavailability. Nowadays, a great deal of nano-structured particles/vehicles has been discovered, including polymeric nanoparticles, lipid-based nanoparticles, and mesoporous silica nanoparticles. ⋯ Generally speaking, personalized medicine is a therapeutic model that offers a customized healthcare/cure being tailored to a specific patient based on his own genetic information. Consequently, the combination of nanomedicine and iPSCs could actually be the potent arms for remedies in transplantation medicine and personalized medicine. This review will focus on current use of nanoparticles on therapeutical applications, nanomedicine-based neuroprotective manipulations in patient specific-iPSCs and personalized medicine.
-
Argon belongs to the group of noble gases, which are regarded as chemically inert. Astonishingly some of these gases exert biological properties and during the last decades more and more reports demonstrated neuroprotective and organoprotective effects. Recent studies predominately use in vivo or in vitro models for ischemic pathologies to investigate the effect of argon treatment. ⋯ However, models applied and administration of the therapeutic gas vary. Here we provide a systematic review to summarize the available data on argon's neuro- and organoprotective effects and discuss its possible mechanism of action. We aim to provide a summary to allow further studies with a more homogeneous setting to investigate possible clinical applications of argon.
-
Several melatonin receptors agonists (ramelteon, prolonged-release melatonin, agomelatine and tasimelteon) have recently become available for the treatment of insomnia, depression and circadian rhythms sleep-wake disorders. The efficacy and safety profiles of these compounds in the treatment of the indicated disorders are reviewed. Accumulating evidence indicates that sleep-wake disorders and co-existing medical conditions are mutually exacerbating. ⋯ Therefore, when evaluating the risk/benefit ratio of sleep drugs, it is pertinent to also evaluate their effects on wake and comorbid condition. Beneficial effects of melatonin receptor agonists on comorbid neurological, psychiatric, cardiovascular and metabolic symptomatology beyond sleep regulation are also described. The review underlines the beneficial value of enhancing physiological sleep in comorbid conditions.
-
In atherosclerosis; blood low-density lipoproteins (LDL) are subjected to multiple enzymatic and non-enzymatic modifications that increase their atherogenicity and induce immunogenicity. Modified LDL are capable of inducing vascular inflammation through activation of innate immunity; thus, contributing to the progression of atherogenesis. The immunogenicity of modified LDL results in induction of self-antibodies specific to a certain type of modified LDL. ⋯ Compared to freely circulating modified LDL; modified LDL associated with the immune complexes have a more robust atherogenic and proinflammatory potential. Various lipid components of the immune complexes may serve not only as diagnostic but also as essential predictive markers of cardiovascular events in atherosclerosis. Accumulating evidence indicates that LDL-containing immune complexes can also serve as biomarker for macrovascular disease in type 1 diabetes.
-
Biomarkers are objective tools with an important role for diagnosis, prognosis and therapy optimization in patients with heart failure (HF). To date, natriuretic peptides are closest to optimal biomarker standards for clinical implications in HF. Therefore, the efforts to identify and test new biomarkers in HF are reasonable and justified. ⋯ For these reasons, numerous biomarkers reflecting hormonal, inflammatory and oxidative stress pathways have been investigated, but only a few convey relevant information. The complex pathophysiology of HF appears far too complex to be embraced by a single biomarker; thus, a combined approach appears reasonable. With these considerations, we have reviewed the recent developments in the field to highlight key candidates with diagnostic, prognostic and therapy optimization properties, either alone or in combination.