From antioxidant to neuromodulator: The role of ascorbate in the management of major depression disorder.

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a debilitating mental illness. For years, the research and development of drugs to be used in MDD focused on the monoaminergic system, leading to the introduction in the market of tricyclic antidepressants, selective serotonin/noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors and monoamine oxidase inhibitors. Nonetheless, patients continue to experience low remission rates, frequent relapses and persistent functional impairment.

Encapsulated Escitalopram and Paroxetine Intranasal Co-Administration: Evaluation.

Depression is a common mental disorder. Its treatment with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) is effective only in a fraction of patients, and pharmacoresistance is increasing steadily. Intranasal (IN) drug delivery to the brain stands out as a promising strategy to improve current therapeutic approaches by operating as a shuttle to overcome the blood-brain barrier.

Cyclodextrin-based delivery systems for in vivo-tested anticancer therapies.

Cyclodextrins (CDs) are naturally occurring macromolecules widely used as excipients on pharmaceutical formulations, evidencing a large spectrum of applications in the pharmaceutical industry. Their unique ability to act as molecular containers by entrapping a wide range of guest molecules in their internal cavity makes them a remarkable excipient to improve drug apparent solubility, stability, and bioavailability, and a valuable tool for the assembly of new drug delivery systems. These features are especially useful when it comes to chemotherapy, as most of the anticancer drugs present both low permeability and reduced water solubility.

Loading, release profile and accelerated stability assessment of monoterpenes-loaded solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN).

Glycerol monostearate solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN) were produced by hot high-pressure homogenization technique to load alpha-pinene, citral, geraniol or limonene. SLN were composed of 1 wt.% monoterpene, 4 wt.

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.

Effect of Polysaccharide Sources on the Physicochemical Properties of Bromelain-Chitosan Nanoparticles.

Bromelain, a set of proteolytic enzymes potential pharmaceutical applications, was encapsulated in chitosan nanoparticles to enhance enzyme stability, and the effect of different chitosan sources was evaluated. Chitosan types (i.e.

Development and Optimization of Alpha-Pinene-Loaded Solid Lipid Nanoparticles (SLN) Using Experimental Factorial Design and Dispersion Analysis.

The encapsulation of bicyclic monoterpene α-pinene into solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN) is reported using experimental factorial design, followed by high-end dispersion analyzer LUMiSizer. This equipment allows the characterization of the α-pinene-loaded SLN instability phenomena (e.g.

Metabolic Acidosis Due To Pyroglutamic Acid.

Unlabelled: Metabolic acidosis is a common clinical disturbance due to increased plasma acidity caused by a primary decrease in serum HCO3- concentration. It is classified as normal or high anion gap metabolic acidosis. High anion gap metabolic acidosis can result from either a decrease in unmeasured cations (K, Ca2, Mg2) or an increase in unmeasured anions (PO , albumin).

Anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer activity of citral: Optimization of citral-loaded solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN) using experimental factorial design and LUMiSizer®.

Essential oils containing monoterpenes are widely used in pharmaceuticals and cosmetic products on account of their wide range of bioactive properties (including anti-cancer activity). Two monoterpenes (citral and geraniol) were firstly tested for their anti-inflammatory activity in a RAW 264.7 cell line, demonstrating citral to have enhanced capacity to inhibit NO production (ca.

biomass increases dendritic arborization of newly-generated neurons in mouse hippocampal dentate gyrus.

Brain cognitive reserve refers to the ability of the brain to manage different challenges that arise throughout life, making it resilient to neuropathology. Hippocampal adult neurogenesis has been considered to be a relevant contributor for brain cognitive reserve and brain plasticity. (CV), a common healthful mushroom, has been receiving increasing attention by its antitumoral, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antibacterial, and immunomodulatory properties, including in the hippocampus.

Optimization of linalool-loaded solid lipid nanoparticles using experimental factorial design and long-term stability studies with a new centrifugal sedimentation method.

Linalool (CHO), also known as 3, 7-dimethyl-1, 6-octadien-3-ol, is the most common acyclic monoterpene tertiary alcohol present in essential oils of several aromatic plant species. Previous studies indicate that linalool is a valuable compound with a wide range of therapeutic properties. The promising therapeutic effects of linalool are however limited by its poor water solubility and volatility.

Blind spot: blindness as initial presentation of subarachnoid haemorrhage.

A 47-year-old Caucasian man with arterial hypertension was admitted after a seizure. At the emergency department, he presented with high blood pressure, bilateral vision loss (evidenced by unresponsiveness to threatening stimuli), right hemiplegia and severe agitation. The brain CT angiography showed a diffuse basal cisterns subarachnoid haemorrhage with a ruptured basilar aneurysm.

Simultaneous measurements of ascorbate and glutamate in vivo in the rat brain using carbon fiber nanocomposite sensors and microbiosensor arrays.

Nanocomposite sensors consisting of carbon fiber microelectrodes modified with Nafion® and carbon nanotubes, and ceramic-based microelectrode biosensor arrays were used to measure ascorbate and glutamate in the brain with high spatial, temporal and chemical resolution. Nanocomposite sensors displayed electrocatalytic properties towards ascorbate oxidation, translated into a negative shift from +0.20V to -0.

IgG4-related disease presenting with an epidural inflammatory pseudotumor: a case report.

Background: Inflammatory pseudotumor is a rare clinical condition that can be related to immunoglobulin G4 disease. Only a few cases of spinal inflammatory pseudotumors have been reported in the literature and an association with immunoglobulin G4 disease was not conclusive in any of them. We describe what we believe to be the first biopsy-proven case of an epidural inflammatory pseudotumor related to immunoglobulin G4 disease.

Post-malaria neurological syndrome or viral encephalitis?

We present a case of a 60-year-old Caucasian man recently returned from Angola, where he had been successfully treated for a severe (non-cerebral) falciparum malaria infection. He was presented to the emergency room, with a subacute onset encephalopathy, ataxia and a generalised tonic-clonic seizure. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis revealed lymphocytic pleocytosis (123 cells/µL) and hyperproteinorrhachia (188 mg/dL).

Pantoprazole-related Symptomatic Hyponatremia.

Unlabelled: Hyponatremia is the most common electrolyte balance disorder, especially in the elderly and polymedicated population. The authors report the case of an 83-year-old man with symptomatic severe hyponatremia due to Syndrome of Inappropriate Antidiuretic Hormone Secretion (SIADH) related to pantoprazole. Pantoprazole was discontinued and serum sodium levels reached normal values in two months.

Severe hypercalcaemia and colon ischaemia: dehydration as an unusual cause?

Hypercalcaemia is an emergency with severe consequences. Dehydration can be an uncommon cause of hypercalcaemia, as seen in this case. A 63-year-old woman with type 2 diabetes mellitus, hypothyroidism and osteoporosis, was admitted to the emergency room with abdominal distension and vomiting for 24 h.

Coupling of ascorbate and nitric oxide dynamics in vivo in the rat hippocampus upon glutamatergic neuronal stimulation: a novel functional interplay.

Background: Ascorbate and neuronal-derived nitric oxide (NO) play regulatory roles in the brain that tare dependent on their compartmentalization and diffusion. Glutamatergic activation triggers both ascorbate fluxes toward extracellular medium and NO production. The information on the profiles of change in time and space upon glutamatergic activation is scarce and yet this knowledge is important for the understanding of ascorbate and NO functions in vivo, in particular in the case of a coupled interaction between both dynamics.

The redox interplay between nitrite and nitric oxide: From the gut to the brain.

The reversible redox conversion of nitrite and nitric oxide ((•)NO) in a physiological setting is now widely accepted. Nitrite has long been identified as a stable intermediate of (•)NO oxidation but several lines of evidence support the reduction of nitrite to nitric oxide in vivo. In the gut, this notion implies that nitrate from dietary sources fuels the longstanding production of nitrite in the oral cavity followed by univalent reduction to (•)NO in the stomach.