Emerging avenues for the management of cerebral malaria.

Objectives: Cerebral malaria (CM) is a lethal complication of Plasmodium falciparum infection. The multifactorial pathogenesis of the disease involving parasitic invasion of erythrocytes and sequestration of infected erythrocytes within the cerebral blood vessels leading to neuroinflammation and blood-brain barrier (BBB) disruption demands a multi-pronged treatment strategy. This article gives a brief overview of the pathogenesis of CM, challenges associated with its treatment and potential strategies to combat the same.

Nanocarriers as versatile delivery systems for effective management of acne.

Acne vulgaris is a chronic inflammatory skin disorder affecting mostly females. It has a negative impact on the social life and psychological well-being of the individual. Its pathogenesis involves an exaggerated secretion of sebum, hyperkeratinisation of hair follicles, colonization of anaerobic microbes in the hair follicles, and inflammation.

Cancer cell fusion: a potential target to tackle drug-resistant and metastatic cancer cells.

Cell fusion is an integral, established phenomenon underlying various physiological processes in the cell cycle. Although research in cancer metastasis has hypothesised numerous molecular mechanisms and signalling pathways responsible for invasion and metastasis, the origin and progression of metastatic cells within primary tumours remains unclear. Recently, the role of cancer cell fusion in cancer metastasis and development of multidrug resistance (MDR) in tumours has gained prominence.

Emerging vistas in theranostic medicine.

Recent years have witnessed a paradigm shift in the focus of healthcare towards development of customized therapies which cater to the unmet needs in a myriad of disease areas such as cancer, infections, cardiovascular diseases, neurodegenerative disorders and inflammatory disorders. The term 'theranostic' refers to such multifunctional systems which combine the features of diagnosis and treatment in a single platform for superior control of the disease. Theranostic systems enable detection of disease, treatment and real time monitoring of the diseased tissue.

Nanosoldiers: A promising strategy to combat triple negative breast cancer.

The phenomenal rise in cancer over the past few years has made it the second leading cause of death worldwide. Breast cancer constitutes the predominant cancer encountered in women. Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is the most notorious form of breast cancer which involves absence of the estrogen, progesterone and human epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) on breast cancer cells.

Nanostructured lipid carriers of artemether-lumefantrine combination for intravenous therapy of cerebral malaria.

Patients with cerebral malaria (CM) are unable to take oral medication due to impaired consciousness and vomiting thus necessitating parenteral therapy. Quinine, artemether, and artesunate which are currently used for parenteral malaria therapy have their own drawbacks. The World Health Organization (WHO) has now banned monotherapy and recommends artemisinin-based combination therapy for malaria treatment.

Artemether-lumefantrine nanostructured lipid carriers for oral malaria therapy: Enhanced efficacy at reduced dose and dosing frequency.

Artemether-lumefantrine (ARM-LFN) is a World Health Organization (WHO) approved fixed-dose combination having low solubility and poor oral bioavailability. Nanostructured lipid carriers (NLC) were developed to enhance the oral efficacy of this combination using the microemulsion template technique. They were characterized for drug content, entrapment efficiency, size distribution, in vitro release, antimalarial efficacy, and toxicity.

Bioavailability enhancement of atovaquone using hot melt extrusion technology.

Emerging parasite resistance and poor oral bioavailability of anti-malarials are the two cardinal issues which hinder the clinical success of malaria chemotherapy. Atovaquone-Proguanil is a WHO approved fixed dose combination used to tackle the problem of emerging resistance. However, Atovaquone is a highly lipophilic drug having poor aqueous solubility (less than 0.

Dissolution enhancement of atorvastatin calcium by co-grinding technique.

Atorvastatin calcium (AC) is a BCS class II drug which shows poor bioavailability due to inadequate dissolution. Solid dispersions present a promising option to enhance the solubility of poorly soluble drugs. Co-grinding with hydrophilic excipients is an easy and economical technique to improve the solubility of poorly soluble drugs and is free from usage of organic solvents.

Parasite impairment by targeting Plasmodium-infected RBCs using glyceryl-dilaurate nanostructured lipid carriers.

Antimalarial therapy is a major contributor to declining malaria morbidity and mortality. However, the high toxicity and low bioavailability of current antimalarials and emerging drug resistance necessitates drug-delivery research. We have previously developed glyceryl-dilaurate nanolipid carriers (GDL-NLCs) for antimalarial drug delivery.

The upcoming field of theranostic nanomedicine: an overview.

Nanocarriers have drastically changed the face of health care by making a mark in diverse arenas of diagnosis, drug delivery, and gene delivery to name a few. The recent feat in nanotechnology has been the birth of nanotheranostics which aims at blending both therapeutic and diagnostic functions within a single nanoscaffold. The field of theranostic nanomedicine is a result of fruitful advances in fields of material science, imaging modalities, formulation development, and molecular biology.

Novel targets for malaria therapy.

Malaria has emerged as one of the most debilitating parasitic infection with about 500 million cases reported annually and one million deaths worldwide. Currently, Plasmodium falciparum has developed resistance to almost all classes of antimalarials, thus precluding the use of those agents which once formed the cornerstone of malaria therapy. In lieu of this phenomenon, and taking into consideration the absence of an effective vaccine for malaria, the only way to combat the deadly parasite is to enrich the antimalarial cache with new molecules acting on fresh targets in the parasite.