Exploring the role of antibiotics and steroids in managing respiratory diseases.

Respiratory diseases (RDs), such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cystic fibrosis, asthma, and pneumonia, are associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Treatment usually consists of antibiotics and steroids. Relevant published literature reviews, studies, and clinical trials were accessed from institutional and electronic databases.

Targeting intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) to reduce rhinovirus-induced acute exacerbations in chronic respiratory diseases.

The chronic respiratory non-communicable diseases, asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are among the leading causes of global mortality and morbidity. Individuals suffering from these diseases are particularly susceptible to respiratory infections caused by bacterial and/or viral pathogens, which frequently result in exacerbation of symptoms, lung function decline, frequent hospital emergency visits and increased socioeconomic burden. Human rhinoviruses (HRV) remain the major viral pathogen group implicated in exacerbations of both asthma and COPD.

Protein and peptide delivery to lungs by using advanced targeted drug delivery.

The challenges and difficulties associated with conventional drug delivery systems have led to the emergence of novel, advanced targeted drug delivery systems. Therapeutic drug delivery of proteins and peptides to the lungs is complicated owing to the large size and polar characteristics of the latter. Nevertheless, the pulmonary route has attracted great interest today among formulation scientists, as it has evolved into one of the important targeted drug delivery platforms for the delivery of peptides, and related compounds effectively to the lungs, primarily for the management and treatment of chronic lung diseases.

An Appraisal of the Current Scenario in Vaccine Research for COVID-19.

The recent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak has drawn global attention, affecting millions, disrupting economies and healthcare modalities. With its high infection rate, COVID-19 has caused a colossal health crisis worldwide. While information on the comprehensive nature of this infectious agent, SARS-CoV-2, still remains obscure, ongoing genomic studies have been successful in identifying its genomic sequence and the presenting antigen.

Interleukin-13: A pivotal target against influenza-induced exacerbation of chronic lung diseases.

Non-communicable, chronic respiratory diseases (CRDs) affect millions of individuals worldwide. The course of these CRDs (asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and cystic fibrosis) are often punctuated by microbial infections that may result in hospitalization and are associated with increased risk of morbidity and mortality, as well as reduced quality of life. Interleukin-13 (IL-13) is a key protein that regulates airway inflammation and mucus hypersecretion.

Targeting LIN28: a new hope in prostate cancer theranostics.

The mortality and morbidity rates for prostate cancer have recently increased to alarming levels, rising higher than lung cancer. Due to a lack of drug targets and molecular probes, existing theranostic techniques are limited. Human LIN28A and its paralog LIN28B overexpression are associated with a number of tumors resulting in a remarkable increase in cancer aggression and poor prognoses.

Treatment of chronic airway diseases using nutraceuticals: Mechanistic insight.

Respiratory diseases, both acute and chronic, are reported to be the leading cause of morbidity and mortality, affecting millions of people globally, leading to high socio-economic burden for the society in the recent decades. Chronic inflammation and decline in lung function are the common symptoms of respiratory diseases. The current treatment strategies revolve around using appropriate anti-inflammatory agents and bronchodilators.

Asperuloside Enhances Taste Perception and Prevents Weight Gain in High-Fat Fed Mice.

Asperuloside is an iridoid glycoside found in many medicinal plants that has produced promising anti-obesity results in animal models. In previous studies, three months of asperuloside administration reduced food intake, body weight, and adipose masses in rats consuming a high fat diet (HFD). However, the mechanisms by which asperuloside exerts its anti-obesity properties were not clarified.

Quality of Glucosamine Products: Is it a Potential Reason for Inconsistent Clinical Outcomes in Osteoarthritis?

Background: Clinical studies have reported inconsistent outcomes of glucosamine therapy in osteoarthritis patients. One possible reason could be the use of glucosamine products of varying quality.

Objective: Hence, this study aimed to assess the quality of glucosamine products marketed in Australia and India.

An overview of vaccine development for COVID-19.

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to endanger world health and the economy. The causative SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus has a unique replication system. The end point of the COVID-19 pandemic is either herd immunity or widespread availability of an effective vaccine.

The complex interplay between endoplasmic reticulum stress and the NLRP3 inflammasome: a potential therapeutic target for inflammatory disorders.

Inflammation is the result of a complex network of cellular and molecular interactions and mechanisms that facilitate immune protection against intrinsic and extrinsic stimuli, particularly pathogens, to maintain homeostasis and promote tissue healing. However, dysregulation in the immune system elicits excess/abnormal inflammation resulting in unintended tissue damage and causes major inflammatory diseases including asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, atherosclerosis, inflammatory bowel diseases, sarcoidosis and rheumatoid arthritis. It is now widely accepted that both endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and inflammasomes play critical roles in activating inflammatory signalling cascades.

Rutin-loaded liquid crystalline nanoparticles attenuate oxidative stress in bronchial epithelial cells: a PCR validation.

In the present study, the inhibitory potential of rutin-loaded liquid crystalline nanoparticles (LCNs) on oxidative stress was determined in human bronchial epithelial cells (BEAS-2B) by analysing the expression levels of different antioxidant (NADPH quinine oxidoreductase-1 (); γ-glutamyl cysteine synthetase catalytic subunit ()) and pro-oxidant (NADPH oxidase ; ) genes. Our findings revealed that the rutin-loaded LCNs inhibited the genes, namely  and , which caused oxidative stress. In addition, these nanoparticles demonstrated an upregulation in the expression of the antioxidant genes  and in a dose-dependent manner.

Targeting eosinophils in respiratory diseases: Biological axis, emerging therapeutics and treatment modalities.

Eosinophils are bi-lobed, multi-functional innate immune cells with diverse cell surface receptors that regulate local immune and inflammatory responses. Several inflammatory and infectious diseases are triggered with their build up in the blood and tissues. The mobilization of eosinophils into the lungs is regulated by a cascade of processes guided by Th2 cytokine generating T-cells.

Advanced drug delivery systems can assist in targeting coronavirus disease (COVID-19): A hypothesis.

The highly contagious coronavirus, which had already affected more than 2 million people in 210 countries, triggered a colossal economic crisis consequently resulting from measures adopted by various goverments to limit transmission. This has placed the lives of many people infected worldwide at great risk. Currently there are no established or validated treatments for COVID-19, that is approved worldwide.

Smoking and COVID-19: What we know so far.

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has placed a spotlight on infectious diseases and their associations with host factors and underlying conditions. New data on the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus are entering the public domain at a rapid rate such that their distillation often lags behind. To minimise weak associations becoming perceived as established paradigms, it is imperative that methodologies and outputs from different studies are appropriately critiqued and compared.

UASt-09 Upregulates Goblet Cell Activity in Colonic Epithelial Cells to a Greater Degree than other Probiotic Strains.

Probiotics have been widely used in maintaining gastrointestinal health, despite their actual mechanism remaining obscure. There are several hypotheses behind the beneficial effects of probiotics including the regulation of intestinal barrier function and improvement in immune responses in the gastrointestinal system. Multiple probiotics have been introduced in the market as effective dietary supplements in improving gastrointestinal integrity, but there are no or few studies that demonstrate their underlying mechanism.

Emerging concepts and directed therapeutics for the management of asthma: regulating the regulators.

Asthma is a common, heterogeneous and serious disease, its prevalence has steadily risen in most parts of the world, and the condition is often inadequately controlled in many patients. Hence, there is a major need for new therapeutic approaches. Mild-to-moderate asthma is considered a T-helper cell type-2-mediated inflammatory disorder that develops due to abnormal immune responses to otherwise innocuous allergens.

Variation in the pharmacokinetics of glucosamine in healthy individuals.

Objectives: Clinical trial data for the efficacy of glucosamine in OA are conflicting. Reportedly, Rotta-manufactured glucosamine products are more likely to be effective, and a possible explanation is greater bioavailability than other brands. Specifically, the aim was to compare the steady-state pharmacokinetics of Rotta- and non-Rotta-manufactured glucosamine products in healthy volunteers and examine the interindividual variability.

Variation in Plasma Levels of Glucosamine With Chronic Dosing: A Possible Reason for Inconsistent Clinical Outcomes in Osteoarthritis.

Purpose: Glucosamine is widely used by patients with osteoarthritis (OA) to provide symptomatic relief and to delay disease progression. However, clinical studies have reported inconsistent clinical outcomes. The current study hypothesized that the reported inconsistent clinical results could be, in part, due to variable bioavailability and elimination of glucosamine.

Plasma levels of enoxaparin oligosaccharides, antifactor-Xa and thrombin generation in patients undergoing haemodialysis.

: Low molecular weight heparins are used during haemodialysis for thromboprophylaxis of the dialysis circuit, with plasma antifactor-Xa (anti-Xa) activity used as a surrogate measure for effective anticoagulation. However, this pharmacokinetic parameter does not always correlate with pharmacodynamic effects in patients. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between actual plasma levels of the low molecular weight heparins enoxaparin, anti-Xa activity, and global coagulation measurement of thrombin generation during haemodialysis.

A novel and sensitive HILIC-CAD method for glucosamine quantification in plasma and its application to a human pharmacokinetic study.

The clinical effect of glucosamine, the most widely used supplement in patients with osteoarthritis, on joint pain and function improvement, is reported to be inconsistent. Inter-patient variability in the pharmacokinetics of glucosamine, especially its oral absorption, could contribute to the inconsistent clinical outcomes. To test this hypothesis, a novel but simple Hydrophilic Interaction Liquid Chromatography coupled with Charged Aerosol Detector method was developed and validated.