Multi-drug delivery systems have gained increasing interest from the pharmaceutical industry. Alongside this is the interest in amorphous solid dispersions as an approach to achieve effective oral delivery of compounds with solubility-limited bioavailability. Despite this, there is limited information regarding predicting the behavior of two or more drugs (in amorphous forms) in a polymeric carrier and whether molecular interactions between the compounds, between each compound, and if the polymer have any effect on the physical properties of the system.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPolypharmacy is often needed for the management of cardiovascular diseases and is associated with poor adherence to treatment. Hence, highly flexible and adaptable systems are in high demand to accommodate complex therapeutic regimens. A novel design approach is employed to fabricate highly modular 3D printed "polypill" capsules with bespoke release patterns for multiple drugs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHypertension and dyslipidaemia are modifiable risk factors associated with cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) and often require a complex therapeutic regimen. The administration of several medicines is commonly associated with poor levels of adherence among patients, to which World Health Organisation (WHO) proposed a fixed-dose combination unit (polypill) as a strategy to improve adherence. In this work, we demonstrate the fabrication of patient-specific polypills for the treatment of CVDs by fused deposition modelling (FDM) 3D printing and introduce a novel solution to meet critical quality attributes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Healthcare workers (HCWs) are at risk of occupational exposure to blood-borne pathogens through contact with human blood and other body fluids. This study was conducted to estimate the global and regional 1-year prevalence of percutaneous injuries (PCIs) among HCWs.
Methods: We systematically searched EMBASE, PubMed, CINAHL and PsychInfo databases for studies published from January 2008 to January 2018 that reported the prevalence of PCIs among HCWs.
Objective: To estimate the proportion of over-the-counter antibiotic requests or consultations that resulted in non-prescription supply of antibiotics in community pharmacies globally.
Methods: We systematically searched EMBASE, Medline and CINAHL databases for studies published from January 2000 to September 2017 reporting the frequency of non-prescription sale and supply of antibiotics in community pharmacies across the world. Additional articles were identified by checking reference lists and a Google Scholar search.
Malaria is a potentially lethal disease caused by species of the plasmodium parasite. Despite the advances in the interventions for its control and approaches to manage fatality, morbidity and mortality rates associated with malaria are still high. At present, artemisinin-based combination therapy is the first line of treatment.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSupersaturation and precipitation are common limitations encountered especially with poorly soluble basic drugs. The aims of this work were to explore the pattern of dissolution and precipitation of poorly soluble basic drugs using a United States Pharmacopoeia (USP) IV dissolution apparatus and to compare it to the widely used USP II dissolution apparatus. In order to investigate the influence of gastric emptying time on bioavailability, tables of two model drugs (dipyridamole 100 mg and cinnarizine 15 mg) were investigated and pH change from 1.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEur J Drug Metab Pharmacokinet
April 2016
Herbal medicines are currently in high demand, and their popularity is steadily increasing. Because of their perceived effectiveness, fewer side effects and relatively low cost, they are being used for the management of numerous medical conditions. However, they are capable of affecting the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of coadministered conventional drugs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFVernonia amygdalina (VA), Carica papaya (CP), and Tapinanthus sessilifolius (ML) are widely used in some countries as medicinal herbs to treat ailments including malaria, cancer, and diabetes. We previously reported the inhibitory effects of these herbs on permeability glycoprotein (P-gp) in Caco-2 cell monolayers. This study used ex vivo and in vivo models to investigate the likelihood of P-gp-mediated herb-drug interactions occurring.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEthnopharmacological Relevance: Several herbal medicines are concomitantly used with conventional medicines with a resultant increase in the recognition of herb-drug interactions. The phytomedicines Vernonia amygdalina Delile (VA), family Asteraceae; Azadiractha indica A. Juss (NL), family Meliaceae; Morinda lucida Benth (MLB), family Rubiaceae; Cymbopogon citratus Stapf (LG), family Poaceae; Curcuma longa L.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAntimalarials are widely used in African and Southeast Asian countries, where they are combined with other drugs for the treatment of concurrent ailments. The potential for P-glycoprotein (P-gp)-mediated drug-drug interactions (DDIs) between antimalarials and P-gp substrates was examined using a Caco-2 cell-based model. Selected antimalarials were initially screened for their interaction with P-gp based on the inhibition of rhodamine-123 (Rho-123) transport in Caco-2 cells.
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