Can amphotericin B and itraconazole be co-delivered orally? Tailoring oral fixed-dose combination coated granules for systemic mycoses.

The incidence and prevalence of invasive fungal infections have increased significantly over the last few years, leading to a global health problem due to the lack of effective treatments. Amphotericin B (AmB) and itraconazole (ITR) are two antifungal drugs with different mechanisms of action. In this work, AmB and ITR have been formulated within granules to elicit an enhanced pharmacological effect, while enhancing the oral bioavailability of AmB.

Self-assembling, supramolecular chemistry and pharmacology of amphotericin B: Poly-aggregates, oligomers and monomers.

Antifungal drugs such as amphotericin B (AmB) interact with lipids and phospholipids located on fungal cell membranes to disrupt them and create pores, leading to cell apoptosis and therefore efficacy. At the same time, the interaction can also take place with cell components from mammalian cells, leading to toxicity. AmB was selected as a model antifungal drug due to the complexity of its supramolecular chemical structure which can self-assemble in three different aggregation states in aqueous media: monomer, oligomer (also known as dimer) and poly-aggregate.

Lyophilized Autologous Serum Eyedrops: Experimental and Comparative Study.

Purpose: To analyze the biological stability of autologous serum eyedrops after lyophilization.

Design: Prospective, comparative experimental study.

Methods: This was a comparative study with serum obtained from 12 healthy volunteers.

Coagulation, Thrombogenesis, and Insulin Resistance Markers in Increased-Cardiovascular-Risk Subjects Consuming Improved-Fat Meat Products.

Objectives: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk is prevalent in high-meat-product consumers. The effect of consuming lipid-improved pâtés/frankfurters on plasma low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol, thromboxane A (as TXB), prostacyclin I (as 6-keto-PGF), activated partial thromboplastin time, fibrinogen, antithrombin, and insulin-resistance/sensitivity markers in volunteers at high CVD risk was studied.

Subjects/methods: Eighteen male volunteers enrolled in a blind crossover-controlled study consumed improved products during three 4-week periods: reduced fat (RF), n-3-enriched-RF (n-3RF), and normal fat (NF), separated by 4-week washouts.

Effect of a grapevine-shoot waste extract on red wine aromatic properties.

Background: The use of a grapevine-shoot extract (VIN) is being studied as an alternative to sulfur dioxide (SO ). VIN stabilizes anthocyanins and preserves polyphenolic compounds, and thus improves chromatic wine properties. In this study, selected aroma compounds (esters, C -norisoprenoids, oxidation and vine-shoot-related compounds), sensory analysis and the olfactometric profile were determined in the wines treated with VIN at two concentrations.

Sulfur free red wines through the use of grapevine shoots: Impact on the wine quality.

Following a preliminary study to determine the possibility of using a grapevine shoot extract (VIN) as a sustainable alternative to sulfur dioxide (SO), in this study, the chromatic features, phenolic composition, and sensory analysis of wines treated with VIN at two concentrations were studied during storage in bottle for the first time. The highest differences were found in phenolic compounds after 12months of storage in bottle. The VIN wines had a low content of free anthocyanins and were high in vinyl-pyranoanthocyanins, and B-type vitisins.

Grapevine-shoot stilbene extract as a preservative in red wine.

This paper reports the use of a grapevine-shoot stilbene extract (Vineatrol®) as a preservative in red wine. Its effectiveness to preserve red wine quality under two different winemaking systems (traditional and Ganimede) was studied at bottling and after twelve months of storage in bottle. Enological parameters, color related parameters, volatile composition, sensory analysis and olfactometric profile were evaluated.

Stability of Growth Factors in Autologous Serum Eyedrops After Long-Term Storage.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to assess the stability of the growth factors (GF) in autologous serum eyedrops under different storage conditions.

Methods: The concentration of epidermal growth factor (EGF), transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β1), platelet-derived growth factor AB (PDGF-AB), and albumin was measured in fresh and defrosted samples of autologous serum under different storage conditions. The fresh and defrosted samples were cooled at 4 °C, and they were studied immediately after preparation, or after defrosting, and after 1, 2, 3, and 4 weeks.

Autologous serum eye drops diluted with sodium hyaluronate: clinical and experimental comparative study.

Purpose: To assess the efficacy of sodium hyaluronate as vehicle for diluting autologous serum.

Methods: The concentration and temporal stability of EGF, TGF-β, PDGF-AB and albumin in fresh and frozen samples of autologous serum diluted with sodium hyaluronate and saline solution, as well as the pH, osmolarity and density was studied. In parallel, the clinic effects of autologous serum diluted to 20% with sodium hyaluronate were compared with another solution of autologous serum diluted to 20% with saline in a prospective, comparative, randomized and double-blind study in 26 patients (52 eyes) with Sjögren syndrome.

Insulin resistance in penile arteries from a rat model of metabolic syndrome.

Background And Purpose: Metabolic and cardiovascular abnormalities accompanying metabolic syndrome, such as obesity, insulin resistance and hypertension, are all associated with endothelial dysfunction and are independent risk factors for erectile dysfunction. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the vascular effects of insulin in penile arteries and whether these effects are impaired in a rat model of insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome.

Experimental Approach: Penile arteries from obese Zucker rats (OZR) and their counterpart, lean Zucker rats (LZR), were mounted on microvascular myographs and the effects of insulin were assessed in the absence and presence of endothelium and of specific inhibitors of nitric oxide (NO) synthesis, phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK).

Low-dosage statins reduce choroidal damage in hypercholesterolemic rabbits.

Purpose: To describe the ultrastructural changes in the choroid of long-term hypercholesterolemic rabbits after a low-dosage statin treatment and to evaluate some pleiotropic effects of these drugs on the morphology of endothelial cells (EC) and vascular smooth-muscle cells (VSMC).

Methods: New Zealand rabbits were divided into three groups: G0, fed a standard diet; G1, fed a 0.5% cholesterol-enriched diet for 8 months and G2, fed a 0.

Enhanced histamine-mediated contraction of rabbit penile dorsal artery in diet-induced hypercholesterolemia.

The present study was designed to establish whether penile dorsal arteries isolated from rabbits fed a high cholesterol diet show an enhanced contractile and/or impaired vasodilator response to histamine, and to characterize the histamine receptor subtype involved through in vitro isometric techniques. New Zealand White rabbits were fed a normal diet or a 1% cholesterol diet for 16 weeks. Arteries from cholesterol-fed rabbits retained the ability to relax in response to acetylcholine, whereas histamine and noradrenaline induced a greater contraction response compared to that observed in controls.