Smart polymers have enormous potential in various applications. In particular, smart polymeric drug delivery systems have been explored as “intelligent” delivery systems able to release, at the appropriate time and site of action, entrapped drugs in response to specific physiological triggers. These polymers exhibit a non-linear response to a small stimulus leading to a macroscopic alteration in their structure/properties. The responses vary widely from swelling/contraction to disintegration. Synthesis of new polymers and crosslinkers with greater biocompatibility and better biodegradability would increase and enhance current applications. The most fascinating features of the smart polymers arise from their versatility and tunable sensitivity. The most significant weakness of all these external stimuli-sensitive polymers is slow response time. The versatility of polymer sources and their combinatorial synthesis make it possible to tune polymer sensitivity to a given stimulus within a narrow range. Development of smart polymer systems may lead to more accurate and programmable drug delivery. In this review, we discuss various mechanisms by which polymer systems are assembled in situ to form implanted devices for sustained release of therapeutic macromolecules, and we highlight various applications in the field of advanced drug delivery.
Wandering fibroids, commonly referred to as parasitic fibroids, are a relatively uncommon kind of extrauterine benign tumour in women of reproductive age. It has no myometrial connections and frequently develops in conjunction with other abdominopelvic structures' blood supply. Due to their odd placements and symptoms, these fibroids are challenging to diagnose by imaging. There are several hypotheses on the origin of parasitic fibroids, including the iatrogenic seeding of fibroid pieces after morcellation in laparoscopic myomectomy, and pedunculated subserosal fibroid separating from its stalk and joining other abdominopelvic structures.
We discuss a case of parasitic fibroid in a 41-year-old nulliparous woman who suffered from abdominal pain and whose usg findings were indicative of an atypical fibroid in this report (broad ligament fibroid).
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