Epilepsy, a neurological disease characterized by recurrent seizures, is often associated with a history of previous lesions in the nervous system. Impaired regulation of the activation and resolution of inflammatory cells and molecules in the injured neuronal tissue is a critical factor to the development of epilepsy. However, it is still unclear as to how that unbalanced regulation of inflammation contributes to epilepsy. Therefore, one of the goals in epilepsy research is to identify and elucidate the interconnected inflammatory pathways in systemic and neurological disorders that may further develop epilepsy progression. In this paper, inflammatory molecules, in neurological and systemic disorders (rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn’s, Type I Diabetes, etc.) that could contribute to epilepsy development, are reviewed.Understanding the neurobiology of inflammation in epileptogenesis will contribute to the development of new biomarkers for better screening of patients at risk for epilepsy and new therapeutic targets for both prophylaxis and treatment of epilepsy.
ANCA (anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody) vasculitides are systemic autoimmune diseases in which anti-neutrophilic cytoplasmic antibodies activate primed neutrophils, thereby generating an inflammatory cascade resulting in the damage of small sized blood vessels in various organs of the body, including the heart. Pleuropericardial involvement is underrecognized as a complication of ANCA vasculitis and is highlighted in this case report of a 51-year-old male who presented with an initial symptomatic presentation of pleuropericardial effusion progressing to pericardial tamponade in the setting of a later renal biopsy proven pauci-immune crescentic glomerulonephritis with high ANA titres along with positive cANCA (cytoplasmic ANCA) and PR3 (proteinase 3) antibodies. He was found to have acute renal failure which progressively got better with cyclophosphamide.
Antibiotic resistance is increasing at an alarming rate and is now widely recognized as a global issue that requires urgent attention. Globally, the demand for new drugs has increased due to multidrug-resistant pathogens and emerging viruses. One promising avenue of research involves antibiotic resistance breakers (ARBs), which may or may not have direct antibacterial effects and can either be co-administered with or conjugated with failing antibiotics. This strategy may increase an antibiotic’s spectrum and its efficacy against bacteria that have acquired resistance against it and reduce the dosage necessary for an antibiotic. In this chapter, we have discussed antibiotic resistance breakers, their classification, and mechanisms of action in combating microbial resistance. Moreover, this chapter will also focus on the nanotechnological approach, a novel delivery platform using nano-carriers used to overcome the permeability barrier encountered in resistant bacteria. Nano-carriers are also used to selectively deliver high concentrations of antibiotics locally, thus avoiding systemic side effects. Several strategies have been studied to deliver antibiotics such as the use of antimicrobial polymers, nanoparticles, and liposomes. The current study will help to understand how the resistance ability of bacteria can be overcome or reversed through antibiotic resistance breakers and nano-antibiotics.
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