Radiolabeled compounds in the development of cytotoxic agents

With the help of radiolabeled compounds, drug development can be made faster; especially with microdosing and radiopharmacokinetics, some elements of phase I and II trials necessary for conventional cancer drug development can be avoided. Imaging may proof the principle of actual targeting. However, radiopharmacokinetics is dependent on the radionuclide, the radionuclide linker with the drug and the size of the drug molecule. Optimally, some of the drug molecule atoms may be replaced with a radionuclide that can be visualized. In this article drug development utilizing radionuclides both in PET and SPET has been reviewed.     

TLRs as pharmacological targets for plant-derived compounds in infectious and inflammatory diseases

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are generally involved in host immune responses against microbial invasions. Dysfunction of TLRs is closely related to infectious and inflammatory diseases, for which therapeutic manipulation with TLRs agonists and antagonists represent a promising drug strategy. Medicinal plants were used traditionally for the prevention and treatment of infectious and inflammatory diseases. Active compounds derived from these plants were also found with unique features as TLRs agonists and antagonists. These findings bring about new hopes for the application of these naturally existed TLRs modulators. They also provide evidences encouraging further research work of continued characterization for these compounds, which will become promising drug candidates in TLRs-based therapy in the future.     

Nanotechnology and the diagnosis of dermatological infectious disease

Despite advances in diagnostics and therapeutics, infectious diseases continue to be a major cause of morbidity and mortality, surpassing cardiovascular diseases and cancer. Accurate identification of causative pathogens is critical to prevent the spread of infectious diseases and to deliver appropriate and timely therapy. Various limitations ranging from cost to lengthy yield times of current diagnostic modalities highlight the need for new approaches. Nanotechnology represents an innovative direction offering many advantages for pathogen detection and identification. Through surface modifications, nanoparticles can be tailored to bind microbial surface markers, nucleic acids, and toxins. Combining these nanoparticles with both standard and developing detection technologies has led to the development of faster, more sensitive, and more economical diagnostic assays. This review will focus on the diagnostic advances that utilize fluorescent, metallic, and magnetic nanomaterials, highlighting their potential applications in the diagnosis of infectious dermatological conditions.     

Metabolic bone disease is present at diagnosis in patients with inflammatory bowel disease

AIM: To establish whether bone disease is present at diagnosis in inflammatory bowel disease and to identify contributory metabolic abnormalities. METHODS: Newly diagnosed patients with inflammatory bowel disease (19 males, 15 females; mean age, 44 years; range, 17-79 years; 23 ulcerative colitis, 11 Crohn's disease) were compared against standard reference ranges and a control group with irritable bowel syndrome (eight males, 10 females; mean age, 40 years; range, 19-64 years). Bone mineral density (g/cm2, dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry: lumbar spine and femoral neck) and biochemical bone markers were measured. RESULTS: Femoral neck bone mineral density, T- and Z-scores (mean +/- s.d., respectively) were lower in inflammatory bowel disease patients than in irritable bowel syndrome controls (0.78 +/- 0.12 vs. 0.90 +/- 0.16, P = 0.0046; - 0.88 +/- 0.92 vs. 0.12 +/- 1.17, P = 0.0018; - 0.30 +/- 0.89 vs. 0.61 +/- 1.10, P = 0.0030). Lumbar spine bone mineral density and T-scores were also significantly lower in patients than controls (0.98 +/- 0.15 vs. 1.08 +/- 0.13, P = 0.0342; - 1.05 +/- 1.39 vs. - 0.14 +/- 1.19, P = 0.0304). Compared with controls, the urinary deoxypyridinoline : creatinine ratio was increased (7.66 vs. 5.70 nmol/mmol, P = 0.0163) and serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D was decreased (18.7 vs. 28.5 micro g/L, P = 0.0016); plasma osteocalcin and serum parathyroid hormone did not differ (P > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The bone mineral density is reduced at diagnosis, prior to corticosteroid treatment, in both Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. Our data suggest that this is attributable to increased resorption rather than decreased bone formation.     

C反应蛋白在儿科感染性疾病早期诊断中的应用

目的探讨C反应蛋白（CRP）在儿科感染性疾病早期诊断和鉴别诊断中的应用价值。方法选择临床确诊为细菌感染的患儿45例（细菌感染组）、病毒感染的患儿41例（病毒感染组）和健康儿童40名（对照组）,分别在入院时和抗感染治疗72h后采用HITACH17060全自动生化分析仪检测其CRP含量、采用东亚KX-21血球计数仪进行WBC计数,并对结果进行统计学分析处理。结果细菌感染组患儿CRP水平（57．2±19．5）mg／L和WBC计数（18．6±8．31×10^9／L均明显高于病毒感染组的f5．9±3．2）mg／L、（7．9±4．4）×10^9／L和正常对照组的（5．2±1,7）mg／L、（7．7±2．5）×10^9／L,胸〈0．05;细菌感染组患JLCRP的阳性率（86．7％1明显高于WBC的阳性率（71．1％）,P〈0．01,且其CRP和WBC的阳性率均明显高于病毒感染组（9．8％,12．2％）,胸〈0．001。细菌感染组患儿经抗感染治疗72h后CRP水平为（5．8±4．5）mg／L,基本恢复正常,WBC计数下降幅度则不大,至（12．9±7．1）×10^9／L（P〈0．01）。结论CRP检测有助于儿科感染性疾病的早期诊断,对于细菌感染和病毒感染的鉴别诊断具有重要价值。     

消化内镜在炎症性肠病诊治中的临床应用

目的探讨消化内镜在炎症性肠病诊治中的临床价值,为今后炎症性肠病的诊治提供临床依据。方法回顾性分析我院2008年7月至2010年8月收治的45例炎症性肠病(IBD)患者的临床资料,总结镜下所见并评价内镜诊断价值。结果镜下可见IBD患者黏膜充血、糜烂、溃疡、水肿、黏膜脆性增加及容易出血等变化,与手术后病检或上级医院诊断相比,内镜诊断准确性为84.44%,其中溃疡性结肠炎(UC)和克罗恩病(CD)的诊断准确性分别为92.43%和60%。结论内镜在IBD的诊断中有相对特异性,具有重要的临床价值。     

Modulation of drug metabolism in infectious and inflammatory diseases

During inflammation, expression of various P450 genes is modulated differentially. Both the downregulation of some P450s and the induction of others may be the result of a complex interaction involving inflammatory cytokines, stress hormones, and metabolic perturbations. Our results suggest that NO is not an important mediator for the downregulation of CYP2C11 in rat liver.     

血常规检验对炎症性肠病的诊断价值探讨

目的 研究血常规检验对炎症性肠病的诊断价值.方法 选取98例病理学诊断为炎症性肠病的患者作为研究组,另选取98例健康体检者作为参照组.两组研究对象均进行血常规检验.分析比较两组研究对象平均红细胞比容、C反应蛋白、平均红细胞血红蛋白浓度、血红蛋白浓度及血小板计数.结果 研究组平均红细胞比容(84.02±10.03)fl、...     

Chitosan nanoparticles in drug therapy of infectious and inflammatory diseases

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Chitosan, a polymer from the chitin family has diverse pharmaceutical and bio-medical utility because of its easy widespread availability, non-toxicity, biocompatibility, biodegradability, rich functionalities and high drug-loading capacity. Recent pharmaceutical research has examined the use of chitosan-based systems for drug delivery applications in various diseases. The availability of functional groups permits the conjugation of specific ligands and thus helps to target loaded drugs to the site of infection/inflammation. Slow biodegradation of chitosan permits controlled and sustained release of loaded moieties; reduces the dosing frequency and is useful for improving patient compliance in infectious drug therapy. The muco-adhesion offered by chitosan makes it an attractive candidate for anti-inflammatory drug delivery, where rapid clearance of the active moiety due to the increased tissue permeability is the major problem. The pH-dependent swelling and drug release properties of chitosan present a means of passive targeting of active drug moieties to inflammatory sites.

Areas covered: Development of chitosan-based nanoparticulate systems for drug delivery applications is reviewed. The current state of chitosan-based nanosystems; with particular emphasis on drug therapy in inflammatory and infectious diseases is also covered.

Expert opinion: The authors believe that chitosan-based nanosystems, due to the special and specific advantages, will have a promising role in the management of infectious and inflammatory diseases.     

肝素的抗感染作用

通过对肝素并结合硫酸乙酰肝素在抗感染方面的文献加以综述,总结了研究方法与研究现状,为肝素作为广谱的抗感染制剂进行药物开发提供参考。     

碱性磷酸酶组化染色在炎症性肠病鉴别诊断中的价值

目的探讨碱性磷酸酶组化染色在炎症性肠病鉴别诊断中的价值。方法应用BCIP/NBT组化染色检测34例克罗恩病(CD组)、36例溃疡性结肠炎(UC组)及15例非炎症性肠病(NIBD组,包括12例肠结核、2例细菌性肠道感染和1例缺血性结肠炎)肠黏膜中肠碱性磷酸酶表达水平。结果 CD组碱性磷酸酶组化染色阳性率显著高于UC组和NIBD组(85.29%vs.5.56%和0)(P<0.05)。碱性磷酸酶组化染色诊断CD的敏感性为93.55%,特异性为90.74%,阳性预测率为85.29%,阴性预测率为96.08%;其与CD病变部位、是否伴有肛周病变、活动度及病变类型无明显相关性(P>0.05)。结论碱性磷酸酶BCIP/NBT组化染色可以作为CD诊断的一个辅助指标。     

Value of alkaline phosphatase histochemical staining in differential diagnosis of inflammatory bowel disease

目的 探讨碱性磷酸酶组化染色在炎症性肠病鉴别诊断中的价值.方法 应用BCIP／NBT组化染色检测34例克罗恩病(CD组)、36例溃疡性结肠炎(UC组)及15例非炎症性肠病(NIBD组,包括12例肠结核、2例细菌性肠道感染和1例缺血性结肠炎)肠黏膜中肠碱性磷酸酶表达水平.结果 CD组碱性磷酸酶组化染色阳性率显著高于UC组和NIBD组(85.29％vs.5.56％和0)(P＜0.05).碱性磷酸酶组化染色诊断CD的敏感性为93.55％,特异性为90.74％,阳性预测率为85.29％,阴性预测率为96.08％;其与CD病变部位、是否伴有肛周病变、活动度及病变类型无明显相关性(P＞0.05).结论 碱性磷酸酶BCIP/NBT组化染色可以作为CD诊断的一个辅助指标.     

Radiopharmaceuticals for the visualization of infectious and inflammatory lesions

Many radiopharmaceuticals have been introduced for the scintigraphic demonstration of infectious and inflammatory lesions and some of them are currently in clinical use. They can be classified into two major categories according to their specificity. Specific radiopharmaceuticals include in vitro labeled leukocytes, radio-labelled monoclonal antibodies, and receptor specific small proteins and peptides. Nonspecific radiopharmaceuticals include radiolabelled nanocolloids, liposomes, macromolecules such as human immunoglobulin, dextran and human serum albumin, various small molecules and ions. In this review article radiopharmaceuticals in their respective groups are discussed as to the efficacy, and other parameters such as the physical characteristics of the radionuclides used, radiochemistry involved, availability, cost and biodistribution, emphasizing recent developments.     

Dapsone - the treatment of infectious and inflammatory diseases in dermatology

Dapsone is known as useful in the treatment of infectious diseases. The use of the drug in infectious and inflammatory diseases in dermatology is reviewed.     

降钙素原在儿科感染性疾病诊断中的应用

目的探讨降钙素原在儿科感染性疾病诊断中应用的临床意义。方法采用血清半定量免疫色谱法测定120例患儿和40例健康儿童PCT水平,120例患儿分为局部感染组50例,重症感染组40例和病毒感染组30例,比较分析各组测定结果和阳性率,进行统计学分析。结果重症感染与局部感染组比较,差异有显著性(P<0.01);重症感染与病毒感染组比较,差异有显著性(P<0.01);重症感染与健康组比较,差异均有统计学意义(P<0.01)。结论 PCT有助于临床鉴别全身重症感染与局部轻症感染、病毒及结核感染与细菌感染、非感染性疾病与感染性疾病,其也可作为儿科败血症及严重感染时一个重要指标和诊断参数,指标与病情严重程度相关。     

Recombinant antibodies in infectious disease

Antibody-based therapies have a proven record of efficacy against many diseases. However, passive immunotherapy is presently underdeveloped in the field of infectious diseases. The emergence of new recombinant technologies for the generation of therapeutic antibodies provides significant opportunities for the development of effective antibody-based drugs. Obstacles to the broader use of antibodies as anti-infectives include a continuous emphasis in the field on the use of microbicidal chemotherapy, the fact that antibodies are usually pathogen-specific drugs with relatively small markets, expense of production, the necessity for early and accurate diagnosis prior to use and the complex logistics necessary for therapeutic use. Nevertheless, many opportunities for developing antibody-based drugs now exist in areas where the available antimicrobial therapies are inadequate. As reflected in patents published in the years 2000 – 2003, activity in this field is increasingly focused on novel antibody drug candidates and it is likely that, in the near future, several antibody reagents will be developed for clinical anti-infective use.