Publications by authors named "Alessia Formato"

Article Synopsis
  • - Axitinib, a drug used for advanced kidney cancer, is being tested for effectiveness against glioblastoma, a severe brain tumor, and shows improved results when combined with other treatments
  • - Research indicates that axitinib can lead to cellular senescence (aging) in both tumor and normal cells, but using the antioxidant N-Acetyl-L-Cysteine (NAC) may limit this effect in normal cells while preserving its anti-cancer properties
  • - The study reveals that NAC combined with axitinib enhances blood vessel health in brain tumors and protects against liver damage from axitinib, suggesting a potential for better treatment outcomes with reduced side effects
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A considerable effort has been spent in the past decades to develop targeted therapies for the treatment of demyelinating diseases, such as multiple sclerosis (MS). Among drugs with free radical scavenging activity and oligodendrocyte protecting effects, Edaravone (Radicava) has recently received increasing attention because of being able to enhance remyelination in experimental in vitro and in vivo disease models. While its beneficial effects are greatly supported by experimental evidence, there is a current paucity of information regarding its mechanism of action and main molecular targets.

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Edaravone (EDA), an antioxidant drug approved for the treatment of ischemic stroke and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, was recently proposed as a remyelinating candidate for the treatment of multiple sclerosis. Here, we synthesized twelve EDA analogues - showing three substitution patterns -, searching for improved remyelinating agents and putative molecular targets responsible for their regenerative activity. We profiled them in three primary assays to determine their stimulation of oligodendrocyte progenitor cell metabolism (tetrazolium MTT assay), their antioxidant potential (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl-DPPH assay) and to predict their bioavailability (virtual ADME profile).

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Glioblastoma (GBM), the most malignant primary brain tumor in adults. Although not frequent, it has a relevant social impact because the peak incidence coincides with the age of professional maturity. A number of novel treatments have been proposed, yet clinical trials have been disappointing.

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In multiple sclerosis (MS), oxidative stress (OS) is implicated in the neurodegenerative processes that occur from the beginning of the disease. Unchecked OS initiates a vicious circle caused by its crosstalk with inflammation, leading to demyelination, axonal damage and neuronal loss. The failure of MS antioxidant therapies relying on the use of endogenous and natural compounds drives the application of novel approaches to assess target relevance to the disease prior to preclinical testing of new drug candidates.

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Objectives: The Glu to Lys change at codon 200 (E200K) of the gene is the most frequent mutation associated to genetic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) and the only one responsible for geographical clusters. Patients carrying this mutation develop disease at different ages and show variable clinical phenotypes that are not affected by the methione/valine polymorphism at codon 129 of the gene suggesting the influence of other factors. The objective of this study is to look for genes other than that might be responsible of this variability.

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