Brief report: caregivers' well-being in families with neurodevelopmental disorders members during COVID-19: implications for family therapy.

Neurodevelopmental disorders affect the lifespan of diagnosed individuals and their families. COVID-19 challenged these families with daily routine unpredictability requiring rapid adaptations. Moreover, associations and schools were closed, leaving these families without regular social support.

Dipyrone (Metamizole)-Induced Stevens-Johnson Syndrome.

Stevens-Johnson Syndrome (SJS), a severe mucocutaneous hypersensitivity reaction primarily triggered by drugs, poses a low-incidence, high-mortality challenge. This report explores its clinical nuances and emphasizes supportive care as the mainstay of treatment. A 74-year-old female, burdened with a complex medical history, presented with a non-pruritic macular rash escalating to skin and oral mucosal involvement.

From the distinctive smell to therapeutic effects: Garlic for cardiovascular, hepatic, gut, diabetes and chronic kidney disease.

Garlic, a member of the Allium family, widely used in cooking for many centuries, displays well described antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, as a result of its constituent organosulfur compounds, such as alliin, allicin, ajoene S-allyl-cysteine, diallyl sulfide and diallyl disulfide, among others. Although garlic has demonstrated beneficial effects in cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer, its efficacy as a therapeutic intervention in chronic kidney disease remains to be proven. This review thus focuses on the potential benefits of garlic as a treatment option in chronic kidney disease.

Complex Polysaccharide-Based Nanocomposites for Oral Insulin Delivery.

Polyelectrolyte nanocomposites rarely reach a stable state and aggregation often occurs. Here, we report the synthesis of nanocomposites for the oral delivery of insulin composed of alginate, dextran sulfate, poly-(ethylene glycol) 4000, poloxamer 188, chitosan, and bovine serum albumin. The nanocomposites were obtained by Ca-induced gelation of alginate followed by an electrostatic-interaction process among the polyelectrolytes.

Nanotechnological breakthroughs in the development of topical phytocompounds-based formulations.

Cosmeceuticals are a type of cosmetic products distinguished by the presence of active ingredients that, in addition to their cosmetic effects, also hold therapeutic outcomes. This review is focused on phytocompounds (PHYTOCs)-based cosmeceuticals, an established segment of cosmetic industry, due to the great demand for vitamins and plant-derived products. PHYTOCs beauty and health-related applications are due to their anti-oxidant, anti-bacterial, wound-healing, anti-aging, sun protection, cytoprotective, anticarcinogenic and anti-inflammatory activities.

Sonication-assisted Layer-by-Layer self-assembly nanoparticles for resveratrol delivery.

This paper advances the development of a novel drug nanodelivery solution to the oral administration of resveratrol (RSV), a low soluble drug whose recognized therapeutic applications are circumscribed when administered in the free compound form. Layer-by-Layer (LbL) self-assembly is an emergent nanotechnology proposed to address this concern with means to afford control over key formulation parameters, which are able to ultimately promote an improved pharmacokinetics. LbL self-assembly consists in the sequential adsorption of oppositely charged polyelectrolytes upon a low soluble drug nanoparticle (NP) template, giving rise to onion-like multilayered nanoarchitectures.

A case report of severe bleeding due to lupus anticoagulant hypoprothrombinemia syndrome.

Association of acquired factor II deficiency and lupus anticoagulant is a rare disease that can be related to sudden, severe or fatal haemorrhage. We present a 74-years-old woman with history of myelodysplastic syndrome, admitted to the Emergency Department due to spontaneous mucocutaneous bleeding. Coagulation assays revealed prolonged prothrombin time and activated partial thromboplastin time with evidence of an immediate acting inhibitor.

Nanotechnology for the development of new cosmetic formulations.

Introduction: Nanotechnology is an increasingly widespread area of research for its various applications and advantages. Accordingly, nanotechnology has been the focus of investment in different areas of science, namely as a technological strategy for the development of cosmetics formulations. Nanosystems allow for a profit skin penetration and an effective release profile of ingredients, which contributes to superior technological and cosmetic effects.

First-time oral administration of resveratrol-loaded layer-by-layer nanoparticles to rats - a pharmacokinetics study.

trans-Resveratrol (RSV) is a plant-derived polyphenol endowed with a broad spectrum of promising therapeutic activities. The applicability of RSV in vivo has, however, had limited success so far, largely due to its inefficient systemic delivery resulting from its low water solubility. Layer-by-Layer (LbL) nanotechnology constitutes an innovative formulation strategy to address this concern, and is based on the design of tunable onion-like multilayered nanoarchitectures on the surface of low solubility drug nanocores, such as RSV.

Subcutaneous delivery of biotherapeutics: challenges at the injection site.

Introduction: Biotherapeutics are primarily delivered subcutaneously due to better compliance and prolonged rate of absorption compared to other parenteral administration routes. Recent research has allowed for the development of biotherapeutic formulations for subcutaneous delivery that require a lower frequency of administration by increasing drug half-life. Formulations determine shelf-life stability as well as features and transient behaviors that influence stability once implanted in the subcutaneous space.

On the influence of Streptococcus salivarius on the wear response of dental implants: An in vitro study.

This study aims to understand microorganisms' effect and relevance of aseptic conditions on wear performance of dental materials. Tribocouple zirconia/titanium was submitted to tribological tests in the presence of Streptococcus salivarius biofilm, the most abundant bacteria in the oral cavity. Reciprocating ball-on-plate tests were carried out at 37°C, pH 7, 2 N, and 1 Hz, during 2 h, using Ti6Al4V balls as pins and Y-TZP plates.

Subcutaneous delivery of monoclonal antibodies: How do we get there?

The convenience of subcutaneous (SC) administration and the increasing interest in monoclonal antibody (mAb)-based therapies for chronic diseases, hint their potential for SC delivery in a near future. In addition, there is a common interest among patients, clinicians and pharmaceutical industry in moving from intravenous to SC administration of mAbs due to benefits of improved patient compliance and reduced costs to the healthcare system. Despite the wide use of this route of administration in diseases like diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis, SC bioavailability of mAbs has been shown to be incomplete and variable in most preclinical and clinical studies.

Endoscopic pilonidal sinus treatment versus total excision with primary closure for sacrococcygeal pilonidal sinus disease in the pediatric population.

Purpose: To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of Endoscopic Pilonidal Sinus Treatment (EPSiT) in the pediatric population and compare it with excision followed by primary closure (EPC) regarding intra- and postoperative outcomes.

Methods: A retrospective analysis of all patients with chronic sacrococcygeal pilonidal sinus submitted to EPSiT and EPC during a 12-month period in our institution was performed. Data concerning patients' demographics and surgical outcomes were collected and compared between the two groups.

Pruritic hyperpigmented patch on back.

The location of the pruritic area on this patient's back and the darkened patch that followed helped us to identify the cause of her chronic discomfort.

Probing insulin bioactivity in oral nanoparticles produced by ultrasonication-assisted emulsification/internal gelation.

Alginate-dextran sulfate-based particles obtained by emulsification/internal gelation technology can be considered suitable carriers for oral insulin delivery. A rational study focused on the emulsification and particle recovery steps was developed in order to reduce particles to the nanosize range while keeping insulin bioactivity. There was a decrease in size when ultrasonication was used during emulsification, which was more pronounced when a cosurfactant was added.