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Pharmaceuticals, Volume 6, Issue 7 (July 2013) – 6 articles , Pages 788-914

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Research

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428 KiB  
Article
Diamidines versus Monoamidines as Anti-Pneumocystis Agents: An in Vivo Study
by Dimitri Stanicki, Muriel Pottier, Nausicaa Gantois, Claire Pinçon, Delphine Forge, Isabelle Mahieu, Sébastien Boutry, Jean Jacques Vanden Eynde, Anna Martinez, Eduardo Dei-Cas and El-Moukhtar Aliouat
Pharmaceuticals 2013, 6(7), 837-850; https://doi.org/10.3390/ph6070837 - 01 Jul 2013
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 7553
Abstract
Some compounds articulated around a piperazine or an ethylenediamine linker have been evaluated in vitro to determine their activity in the presence of a 3T6 fibroblast cell line and an axenic culture of Pneumocystis carinii, respectively. The most efficient antifungal derivatives, namely [...] Read more.
Some compounds articulated around a piperazine or an ethylenediamine linker have been evaluated in vitro to determine their activity in the presence of a 3T6 fibroblast cell line and an axenic culture of Pneumocystis carinii, respectively. The most efficient antifungal derivatives, namely N,N′-bis(benzamidine-4-yl)ethane-1,2-diamine (compound 6, a diamidine) and N-(benzamidine-4-yl)-N′-phenylethane-1,2-diamine (compound 7, a monoamidine), exhibited no cytotoxicity and were evaluated in vivo in a rat model. Only the diamidine 6 emerged as a promising hit for further studies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Antimicrobial Agents)
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Review

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260 KiB  
Review
Voltage-Gated Calcium Channel Antagonists and Traumatic Brain Injury
by Gene Gurkoff, Kiarash Shahlaie, Bruce Lyeth and Robert Berman
Pharmaceuticals 2013, 6(7), 788-812; https://doi.org/10.3390/ph6070788 - 26 Jun 2013
Cited by 58 | Viewed by 19671
Abstract
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of death and disability in the United States. Despite more than 30 years of research, no pharmacological agents have been identified that improve neurological function following TBI. However, several lines of research described in this [...] Read more.
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of death and disability in the United States. Despite more than 30 years of research, no pharmacological agents have been identified that improve neurological function following TBI. However, several lines of research described in this review provide support for further development of voltage gated calcium channel (VGCC) antagonists as potential therapeutic agents. Following TBI, neurons and astrocytes experience a rapid and sometimes enduring increase in intracellular calcium ([Ca2+]i). These fluxes in [Ca2+]i drive not only apoptotic and necrotic cell death, but also can lead to long-term cell dysfunction in surviving cells. In a limited number of in vitro experiments, both L-type and N-type VGCC antagonists successfully reduced calcium loads as well as neuronal and astrocytic cell death following mechanical injury. In rodent models of TBI, administration of VGCC antagonists reduced cell death and improved cognitive function. It is clear that there is a critical need to find effective therapeutics and rational drug delivery strategies for the management and treatment of TBI, and we believe that further investigation of VGCC antagonists should be pursued before ruling out the possibility of successful translation to the clinic. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Calcium Antagonists)
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682 KiB  
Review
Current Challenges and Future Directions in Recombinant AAV-Mediated Gene Therapy of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy
by Takashi Okada and Shin'ichi Takeda
Pharmaceuticals 2013, 6(7), 813-836; https://doi.org/10.3390/ph6070813 - 27 Jun 2013
Cited by 31 | Viewed by 10310
Abstract
Various characteristics of adeno-associated virus (AAV)-based vectors with long-term safe expression have made it an exciting transduction tool for clinical gene therapy of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). Although host immune reactions against the vector as well as transgene products were detected in some [...] Read more.
Various characteristics of adeno-associated virus (AAV)-based vectors with long-term safe expression have made it an exciting transduction tool for clinical gene therapy of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). Although host immune reactions against the vector as well as transgene products were detected in some instances of the clinical studies, there have been promising observations. Methods of producing AAV vectors for considerable in vivo experimentation and clinical investigations have been developed and a number of studies with AAV vector-mediated muscle transduction were attempted. Notably, an intravenous limb perfusion transduction technique enables extensive transgene expression in the skeletal muscles without noticeable adverse events. Furthermore, cardiac transduction by the rAAV9-microdystrophin would be promising to prevent development of cardiac dysfunction. Recent achievements in transduction technology suggest that long-term transgene expression with therapeutic benefits in DMD treatment would be achieved by the rAAV-mediated transduction strategy with an adequate regimen to regulate host immune response. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Gene Therapy)
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476 KiB  
Review
Role of Diuretics and Ultrafiltration in Congestive Heart Failure
by Dmitry Shchekochikhin, Fawaz Al Ammary, Jo Ann Lindenfeld and Robert Schrier
Pharmaceuticals 2013, 6(7), 851-866; https://doi.org/10.3390/ph6070851 - 04 Jul 2013
Cited by 18 | Viewed by 16255
Abstract
Volume overload in heart failure (HF) results from neurohumoral activation causing renal sodium and water retention secondary to arterial underfilling. Volume overload not only causes signs and symptoms of congestion, but can impact myocardial remodeling and HF progression. Thus, treating congestion is a [...] Read more.
Volume overload in heart failure (HF) results from neurohumoral activation causing renal sodium and water retention secondary to arterial underfilling. Volume overload not only causes signs and symptoms of congestion, but can impact myocardial remodeling and HF progression. Thus, treating congestion is a cornerstone of HF management. Loop diuretics are the most commonly used drugs in this setting. However, up to 30% of the patients with decompensated HF present with loop-diuretic resistance. A universally accepted definition of loop diuretic resistance, however, is lacking. Several approaches to treat diuretic-resistant HF are available, including addition of distal acting thiazide diuretics, natriuretic doses of mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists (MRAs), or vasoactive drugs. Slow continuous veno-venous ultrafiltration is another option. Ultrafiltration, if it is started early in the course of HF decompensation, may result in prominent decongestion and a reduction in re-hospitalization. On the other hand, ultrafiltration in HF patients with worsening renal function and volume overload after aggressive treatment with loop diuretics, failed to show benefit compared to a stepwise pharmacological approach, including diuretics and vasoactive drugs. Early detection of congested HF patients for ultrafiltration treatment might improve decongestion and reduce readmission. However, the best patient characteristics and best timing of ultrafiltration requires further evaluation in randomized controlled studies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Diuretics)
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524 KiB  
Review
Protein-Based Blood Substitutes: Recent Attempts at Controlling Pro-Oxidant Reactivity with and Beyond Hemoglobin
by Violeta-Florina Scurtu, Augustin C. Moţ and Radu Silaghi-Dumitrescu
Pharmaceuticals 2013, 6(7), 867-880; https://doi.org/10.3390/ph6070867 - 04 Jul 2013
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 7517
Abstract
Reviewed here are recent attempts to produce protein-based artificial oxygen carriers (“blood substitutes”). Most of these involve chemical or physical modifications on hemoglobin, although a recent line of research using hemerythrin instead of hemoglobin is also described. The focus is set on the [...] Read more.
Reviewed here are recent attempts to produce protein-based artificial oxygen carriers (“blood substitutes”). Most of these involve chemical or physical modifications on hemoglobin, although a recent line of research using hemerythrin instead of hemoglobin is also described. The focus is set on the extent to which these modifications alter the redox reactivity of the proteins, and on ways in which this can be done systematically and purposefully, within the framework of a working hypothesis where redox side-reactions hold an important role in the physiological outcome of experimental transfusions with artificial oxygen carriers. Full article
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971 KiB  
Review
New Aspects of Gene-Silencing for the Treatment of Cardiovascular Diseases
by Olivia Koenig, Tobias Walker, Nadja Perle, Almuth Zech, Bernd Neumann, Christian Schlensak, Hans-Peter Wendel and Andrea Nolte
Pharmaceuticals 2013, 6(7), 881-914; https://doi.org/10.3390/ph6070881 - 19 Jul 2013
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 12088
Abstract
Coronary heart disease (CHD), mainly caused by atherosclerosis, represents the single leading cause of death in industrialized countries. Besides the classical interventional therapies new applications for treatment of vascular wall pathologies are appearing on the horizon. RNA interference (RNAi) represents a novel therapeutic [...] Read more.
Coronary heart disease (CHD), mainly caused by atherosclerosis, represents the single leading cause of death in industrialized countries. Besides the classical interventional therapies new applications for treatment of vascular wall pathologies are appearing on the horizon. RNA interference (RNAi) represents a novel therapeutic strategy due to sequence-specific gene-silencing through the use of small interfering RNA (siRNA). The modulation of gene expression by short RNAs provides a powerful tool to theoretically silence any disease-related or disease-promoting gene of interest. In this review we outline the RNAi mechanisms, the currently used delivery systems and their possible applications to the cardiovascular system. Especially, the optimization of the targeting and transfection procedures could enhance the efficiency of siRNA delivery drastically and might open the way to clinical applicability. The new findings of the last years may show the techniques to new innovative therapies and could probably play an important role in treating CHD in the future. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue RNAi-Based Therapeutics)
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