Novel β-Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2): Current and future aspects of pharmacological treatments

The novel coronavirus outbreak has reported to be rapidly spreading across the countries and becomes a foremost community health alarm. At present, no vaccine or specific drug is on hand for the treatment of this infectious disease. This review investigates the drugs, which are being evaluated and found to be effective against nCOVID-19 infection. A thorough literature search was performedon the recently published research papers in between January 2020 to May 2020, through various databases like “Science Direct”, “Google Scholar”, “PubMed”,“Medline”, “Web of Science”, and “World Health Organization (WHO)”. We reviewed and documented the information related with the current and future aspects for the management and cure of COVID-19. As of 21st July 2020 a total of 14,562,550 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 607,781 deaths have been reported world-wide. The main clinical feature of COVID-19 ranges from asymptomatic disease to mild lower respiratory tract illness to severe pneumonia, acute lung injury, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), multiple organ dysfunction, and death. The drugs at present used in COVID-19 patients and ongoing clinical trials focusing on drug repurposing of various therapeutic classes of drug e.g. antiviral, anti-inflammatory and/or immunomodulatory drugs along with adjuvant/supportive care. Many drugs on clinical trials shows effective results on preliminary scale and now used currently in patients. Adjuvant/supportive care therapy are used in patients to get the best results in order to minimize the short and long-term complications. However, further studies and clinical trials are needed on large scale of population to reach any firm conclusion in terms of its efficacy and safety.     

甲磺酸阿帕替尼片用于标准治疗失败后卵巢癌治疗的有效性和安全性

目的:观察甲磺酸阿帕替尼用于标准治疗失败后卵巢癌的有效性和安全性，为多线耐药的卵巢癌患者提供一种治疗方式。方法:选取2015年6月至2018年3月二线及二线后化疗失败的晚期卵巢癌患者26例，口服甲磺酸阿帕替尼后观察疗效及毒副反应。结果:1例患者CR，17例患者PR,2例患者SD,6例患者PD，客观有效率69%，疾病控制率77%，中位PFS达4.3个月。患者总体耐受性良好，常见的不良反应为1-3级的胃肠道反应，包括腹痛、恶心及呕吐，其中以腹痛最为常见。结论:对于经标准治疗失败后的晚期卵巢癌患者，阿帕替尼具有良好的疗效和安全性。     

Quantification and validation of nine nonsteroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs in equine urine using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry for doping control

Nonsteroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are commonly used in therapeutic doses in human and veterinary medicine for the treatment of inflammation, pain, and fever. A method for the simultaneous determination of nine NSAIDs, known as therapeutic prohibited substances, in equine urine was developed and fully validated according to the European Commission Decision 2002/657/EC and Association of Official Racing Chemists criteria. The validation was performed for naproxen, flunixin, ketoprofen, diclofenac, eltenac, meclofenamic acid, phenylbutazone, vedaprofen, and carprofen in equine urine in accordance with the International Screening Limits (ISL) regulated by International Federation of Horseracing Authorities. After basic hydrolysis, samples were extracted with a C18 cartridge using automated solid‐phase extraction. Several derivatization reagents were investigated, and trimethylphenylammonium hydroxide/methanol (20/80, v/v) was selected. Analyses were carried out using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry with selected ion monitoring mode, but the method can be applied to a large number of analytes. The within‐laboratory reproducibility was not more than 12.8% (≤15%), and mean relative recoveries ranged from 91.1% to 104.1% for inter‐day and intra‐day precision. The decision limits (CCα) and detection capabilities (CCβ) were evaluated at concentrations near the ISL for each therapeutic substance. The validation results demonstrated that the method is highly reproducible, easily applicable, and suitable for the analysis of some NSAIDs in equine urine that have not been previously published. Finally, the method was also applied to known positive samples.     

An update on polymer-lipid hybrid systems for improving oral drug delivery

Introduction: A promising approach that has recently emerged to overcome the complex biobarriers and interrelated challenges associated with oral drug absorption is to combine the benefits of polymeric and lipid-based nanocarriers within one hybrid system. This multifaceted formulation strategy has given rise to a plethora of polymer-lipid hybrid (PLH) systems with varying nanostructures and biological activities, all of which have demonstrated the ability to improve the biopharmaceutical performance of a wide range of challenging therapeutics.

Areas covered: The multitude of polymers that can be combined with lipids to exert a synergistic effect for oral drug delivery have been identified, reviewed and critically evaluated. Specific focus is attributed to preclinical studies performed within the past 5 years that have elucidated the role and mechanism of the polymer phase in altering the oral absorption of encapsulated therapeutics.

Expert opinion: The potential of PLH systems has been clearly identified; however, improved understanding of the structure–activity relationship between PLH systems and oral absorption is fundamental for translating this promising delivery approach into a clinically relevant formulation. Advancing research within this field to identify optimal polymer, lipid combinations and engineering conditions for specific therapeutics are therefore encouraged.     

不同类型抗癫痫药物对开颅手术患者术后早期高氨血症发病率的影响

目的：评价开颅手术患者应用左乙拉西坦、丙戊酸钠和卡马西平等3种不同抗癫痫药（AEDs）诱发高氨血症（AHA）的发生率、发作程度，并分析患者发生AHA的危险因素。方法：纳入2014年4月至2018年9月间在某院神经外科进行开颅手术的108患者，并将其随机分为左乙拉西坦组（n=36）、丙戊酸钠组（n=36）与卡马西平组（n=36）。3组患者术后分别口服左乙拉西坦片、丙戊酸钠片与卡马西平片进行癫痫预防治疗，在术前，手术当天，术后第1，3，7天检测并比较3组患者的血氨浓度、肝功能和凝血指标，评价3组患者术后AHA发生率、血氨浓度、血氨变化趋势及AEDs对患者肝功能和凝血功能的影响。根据术后患者是否发生AHA，将患者分为术后AHA组（n=70）与术后血氨正常组（n=38），比较2组患者的临床特征，评价患者发生AHA的危险因素。结果：左乙拉西坦组、丙戊酸组与卡马西平组分别有24（66.7%）例、29（80.6%）例及17（47.2%）例患者发生AHA，丙戊酸组患者AHA发生率显著高于卡马西平组（χ²=8.669，P=0.003）。丙戊酸钠组患者术后第3天和第7天血氨浓度及术后血氨的平均浓度均显著高于卡马西平组患者（P=0.023，<0.001，0.028）。术后第7天丙戊酸组患者ALT指标显著低于左乙拉西坦组与卡马西平组（均P<0.001）。影响患者术后发生AHA的危险因素包括：较低的年龄（t=2.061，P=0.042）与较高的术前血氨浓度（t=7.986，P<0.001）。AHA组患者术后总胆红素（t=3.788，P<0.001）、直接胆红素（t=3.329，P=0.001）和血清白蛋白（t=11.624，P<0.001）较术前显著降低，血浆凝血酶原时间显著延长（t=4.109，P<0.001）。而衡量急性肝炎的指标丙氨酸转氨酶没有显著变化（t=0.956，P=0.341）。结论：卡马西平对患者术后血氨浓度影响较小，是开颅手术患者的首选AEDs药物，而丙戊酸钠更适合肝脏氨基转移酶异常的患者。     

Ocular dysfunctions and toxicities induced by antiepileptic medications: Types,pathogenic mechanisms,and treatment strategies

Introduction: Ocular dysfunctions and toxicities induced by antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) are rarely reviewed and not frequently received attention by treating physicians compared to other adverse effects (e.g. endocrinologic, cognitive and metabolic). However, some are frequent and progressive even in therapeutic concentrations or result in permanent blindness. Although some adverse effects are non-specific, others are related to the specific pharmacodynamics of the drug.

Areas covered: This review was written after detailed search in PubMed, EMBASE, ISI web, SciELO, Scopus, and Cochrane Central Register databases (from 1970 to 2019). It summarized the reported ophthalmologic adverse effects of the currently available AEDs; their risks and possible pathogenic mechanisms. They include ocular motility dysfunctions, retinopathy, maculopathy, glaucoma, myopia, optic neuropathy, and impaired retinal vascular autoregulation. In general, ophthalmo-neuro- or retino-toxic adverse effects of AEDs are classified as type A (dose-dependent), type B (host-dependent or idiosyncratic) or type C which is due to the cumulative effect from long-term use.

Expert opinion: Ocular adverse effects of AEDs are rarely reviewed although some are frequent or may result in permanent blindness. Increasing knowledge of their incidence and improving understanding of their risks and pathogenic mechanisms are crucial for monitoring, prevention, and management of patients’ at risk.     

New derivative of 1,2,4-triazole-3-thione (TP427) potentiates the anticonvulsant action of valproate,but not that of carbamazepine,phenytoin or phenobarbital in the mouse tonic-clonic seizure model

Background

To assess the effects of 5-(3-chlorobenzyl)-4-hexyl-2,4-dihydro-3H-1,2,4-triazole-3-thione (TP427) on the protective anticonvulsant action of four classical antiepileptic drugs (carbamazepine, phenobarbital, phenytoin and valproate) in the tonic-clonic seizure model in mice, an isobolographic transformation of data was used.

LC-MS/MS based detection and characterization of covalent glutathione modifications formed by reactive drug of abuse metabolites

1. Conjugation with the tripeptide glutathione (GSH) is a common mechanism of detoxification of many endogenous and exogenous compounds. This phenomenon typically occurs through the formation of a covalent bond between the nucleophilic free thiol moiety of GSH and an electrophilic site on the compound of interest.

2. While GSH adducts have been identified for many licit drugs, there is a lack of information on the ability of drugs of abuse to adduct GSH. The present study utilized a metabolic assay with GSH as a nucleophilic trapping agent to bind reactive drug metabolites formed in situ.

3. Extracted ion MS spectra were collected via LC-QqQ-MS/MS for all potentially significant ions and examined for fragmentation common to GSH-containing compounds, followed by confirmation of adduction and structural characterization performed by LC-QTOF-MS/MS.

4. In addition to the two positive controls, of the 14 drugs of abuse tested, 10 exhibited GSH adduction, with several forming multiple adducts, resulting in a total of 22 individual identified adducts. A number of these are previously unreported in the literature, including those for diazepam, naltrexone, oxycodone and Δ⁹-THC.

     

Radiotherapy in combination with systemic therapies for brain metastases: current status and progress

Brain metastases (BMs) are the most common cause of intracranial neoplasms in adults with poor prognosis. Most BMs originate from lung cancer, breast cancer, or melanoma. Radiotherapy (RT), including whole brain radiotherapy (WBRT) and stereotactic radiation surgery (SRS), has been widely explored and is considered a mainstay anticancer treatment for BMs. Over the past decade, the advent of novel systemic therapies has revolutionized the treatment of BMs. In this context, there is a strong rationale for using a combination of treatments based on RT, with the aim of achieving both local disease control and extracranial disease control. This review focuses on describing the latest progress in RT as well as the synergistic effects of the optimal combinations of RT and systemic treatment modalities for BMs, to provide perspectives on current treatments.