Management of recurrent urinary tract infections in adults

Many women will experience one or more urinary tract infection (UTI) during their life. The most unfortunate will have many. Men presenting with infections, and women with recurrent episodes, require further investigation. A diagnosis of a UTI is often based on a typical spectrum of symptoms, with confirmatory urine cultures lagging a few days behind. Unfortunately, symptoms of a UTI may not be typical, and other conditions can manifest similarly. Treatment of UTI with antibiotics is usually required, but there is increasing awareness of the need for antimicrobial stewardship to avoid the misuse and overuse of antibiotics, even as patients are increasingly reluctant to take them. Recurrent UTI can cause significant morbidity and disruption to daily activities yet investigations rarely demonstrate a reversible cause. There are a host of different antibiotic and non-antibiotic interventions that aim to lower the risk of further infections. However, these are not reliably effective, bring side effects of their own and are often proposed to this desperate population of patients on the back of weak evidence of efficacy.     

Intra-arterial administration of cell-based biological agents for ischemic stroke therapy

Introduction: Ischemic stroke is becoming a primary cause of disability and death worldwide. To date, therapeutic options remain limited focusing on mechanical thrombolysis or administration of thrombolytic agents. However, these therapies do not promote neuroprotection and neuro-restoration of the ischemic area of the brain.

Areas covered: This review highlights the option of minimal invasive, intra-arterial, administration of biological agents for stroke therapy. The authors provide an update of all available studies, discuss issues that influence outcomes and describe future perspectives which aim to improve clinical outcomes. New therapeutic options based on cellular and molecular interactions following an ischemic brain event, will be highlighted.

Expert opinion: Intra-arterial administration of biological agents during trans-catheter thrombolysis or thrombectomy could limit neuronal cell death and facilitate regeneration or neurogenesis following ischemic brain injury. Despite the initial progress, further meticulous studies are needed in order to establish the clinical use of stem cell-induced neuroprotection and neuroregeneration.     

Fragmentation of care as a barrier to optimal ESKD management

Caring for patients with end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) in the United States is challenging, due in part to the complex epidemiology of the disease's progression as well as the ways in which care is delivered. As CKD progresses toward ESKD, the number of comorbidities increases and care involves multiple healthcare providers from multiple subspecialties. This occurs in the context of a fragmented US healthcare delivery system that is traditionally siloed by provider specialty, organization, as well as systems of payment and administration. This article describes the role of care fragmentation in the delivery of optimal ESKD care and identifies research gaps in the evidence across the continuum of care. We then consider the impact of care fragmentation on ESKD care from the patient and health system perspectives and explore opportunities for system-level interventions aimed at improving care for patients with ESKD.     

An off-the-shelf plasma-based material to prevent pacemaker pocket infection

Bacterial infection of subcutaneous “pockets” housing cardiovascular implantable electronic devices is a significant clinical complication. In this study, pacemakers encapsulated in a blood plasma-based material (PBM) composited with antibiotics were investigated for use as prophylactics against such infections. PBMs, which are made from pooled allogeneic plasma and platelets, are off-the-shelf biomaterials that can be manufactured in the form of complex 3D shapes, extrudable putties, or injectable pastes. In vitro studies with PBM pastes formulated with rifampicin and minocycline demonstrated antibiotic release over 6 days, activity against Escherichia coli, and reduced cytotoxic effects of the antibiotics on fibroblasts. The materials were also evaluated in vivo in a rabbit model in which pacemaker pockets were inoculated with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) strain and examined 1 week later. The pockets containing the pacemaker plus S. aureus were grossly purulent and culture positive, whereas pockets into which PBM with antibiotics were injected around the pacemaker were free of purulence and culture negative (p < 0.001). None of the pockets into which PBM without antibiotics were placed demonstrated purulence, but 60% were culture positive. These results demonstrate the potential of PBMs to deliver antibiotics to diminish the incidence of pocket infections for pacemakers and other implantable devices.     

Biomedical microelectromechanical systems (BioMEMS): Revolution in drug delivery and analytical techniques

Advancement in microelectromechanical system has facilitated the microfabrication of polymeric substrates and the development of the novel class of controlled drug delivery devices. These vehicles have specifically tailored three dimensional physical and chemical features which together, provide the capacity to target cell, stimulate unidirectional controlled release of therapeutics and augment permeation across the barriers. Apart from drug delivery devices microfabrication technology’s offer exciting prospects to generate biomimetic gastrointestinal tract models. BioMEMS are capable of analysing biochemical liquid sample like solution of metabolites, macromolecules, proteins, nucleic acid, cells and viruses. This review summarized multidisciplinary application of biomedical microelectromechanical systems in drug delivery and its potential in analytical procedures.     

A highly tumor-targeted nanoparticle of podophyllotoxin penetrated tumor core and regressed multidrug resistant tumors

Podophyllotoxin (PPT) exhibited significant activity against P-glycoprotein mediated multidrug resistant (MDR) tumor cell lines; however, due to its poor solubility and high toxicity, PPT cannot be dosed systemically, preventing its clinical use for MDR cancer. We developed a nanoparticle dosage form of PPT by covalently conjugating PPT and polyethylene glycol (PEG) with acetylated carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC-Ac) using one-pot esterification chemistry. The polymer conjugates self-assembled into nanoparticles (NPs) of variable sizes (20–120 nm) depending on the PPT-to-PEG molar ratio (2–20). The conjugate with a low PPT/PEG molar ratio of 2 yielded NPs with a mean diameter of 20 nm and released PPT at ∼5%/day in serum, while conjugates with increased PPT/PEG ratios (5 and 20) produced bigger particles (30 nm and 120 nm respectively) that displayed slower drug release (∼2.5%/day and ∼1%/day respectively). The 20 nm particles exhibited 2- to 5-fold enhanced cell killing potency and 5- to 20-fold increased tumor delivery compared to the larger NPs. The biodistribution of the 20 nm PPT-NPs was highly selective to the tumor with 8-fold higher accumulation than all other examined tissues, while the larger PPT-NPs (30 and 120 nm) exhibited increased liver uptake. Within the tumor, >90% of the 20 nm PPT-NPs penetrated to the hypovascular core, while the larger particles were largely restricted in the hypervascular periphery. The 20 nm PPT-NPs displayed significantly improved efficacy against MDR tumors in mice compared to the larger PPT-NPs, native PPT and the standard taxane chemotherapies, with minimal toxicity.