Tumor hypoxia, or low oxygen concentration, is a result of disordered vasculature that lead to distinctive hypoxic microenvironments not found in normal tissues. Many traditional anti-cancer agents are not able to penetrate into these hypoxic zones, whereas, conventional cancer therapies that work by blocking cell division are not effective to treat tumors within hypoxic zones. Under these circumstances the use of magnetic nanoparticles as a drug delivering agent system under the influence of external magnetic field has received much attention, based on their simplicity, ease of preparation, and ability to tailor their properties for specific biological applications. Hence in this review article we have reviewed current magnetic drug delivery systems, along with their application and clinical status in the field of magnetic drug delivery.

The culminating experience of the capstone course gave students a thorough review of practical, clinical, and communication skills and provided faculty members with feedback regarding the curriculum through robust assessment.

BackgroundCurrently, various phone apps have been developed to assist patients. Many of these apps are developed to assist patients in the self-management of chronic diseases such as diabetes. It is essential to analyze these various apps to understand the key features that would potentially be instrumental in helping patients successfully achieve goals in disease self-management.ObjectiveThe objective of this study was to conduct a review of all the available diabetes-related apps in the iOS App Store to evaluate which diabetic app is more interactive and offers a wide variety of operations such as monitoring glucose, water, carbohydrate intake, weight, body mass index (BMI), medication, blood pressure (BP) levels, reminders or push notifications, food database, charts, exercise management, email, sync between devices, syncing data directly to the prescribers, and other miscellaneous functions such as (Twitter integration, password protection, retina display, barcode scanner, apple watch functionality, and cloud syncing).MethodsData was gathered using the iOS App Store on an iPad. The search term “diabetes” resulted in 1209 results. Many of the results obtained were remotely related to diabetes and focused mainly on diet, exercise, emergency services, refill reminders, providing general diabetes information, and other nontherapeutic options. We reviewed each app description and only included apps that were meant for tracking blood glucose levels. All data were obtained in one sitting by one person on the same device, as we found that carrying out the search at different times or on different devices (iPhones) resulted in varying results. Apps that did not have a feature for tracking glucose levels were excluded from the study.ResultsThe search resulted in 1209 results; 85 apps were retained based on the inclusion criteria mentioned above. All the apps were reviewed for average customer ratings, number of reviews, price, and functions. Of all the apps surveyed, 18 apps with the highest number of user ratings were used for in-depth analysis. Of these 18 apps, 50% (9/18) also had a medication adherence function. Our analysis revealed that the Diabetes logbook used by the mySugr app was one of the best; it differentiated itself by introducing fun as a method of increasing adherence.ConclusionsA large variation was seen in patient ratings of app features. Many patient reviewers desired simplicity of app functions. Glucose level tracking and email features potentially helped patients and health care providers manage the disease more efficiently. However, none of the apps could sync data directly to the prescribers. Additional features such as graph customization, availability of data backup, and recording previous entries were also requested by many users. Thus, the use of apps in disease management and patient and health-care provider involvement in future app refinement and development should be encouraged.

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Objective: To review the epidemiology, clinical features, proposed mechanisms, risk factors, and management of statin-associated myopathy. Data Sources: Literature searches were conducted in PubMed (1948 to April 2013), TOXLINE, International Pharmaceutical Abstracts (1970 to April 2013, and Google Scholar using the terms statin, hydroxymethylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase inhibitors, myopathy, myalgia, safety, and rhabdomyolysis. Results were limited to English publications. Study Selection and Data Extraction: All relevant original studies, guidelines, metaanalyses, and reviews of statin-associated myopathy and safety of statins were assessed for inclusion. References from selected articles were reviewed to identify additional citations. Data Synthesis: The 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase inhibitors remain one of the most effective medications for reducing low-density-lipoprotein cholesterol. Statins are well tolerated by most patients; however, it is estimated that 10% to 15% of patients develop statinrelated muscle adverse effects known as statin-associated myopathy. Although clinicians may be aware of statin-associated myopathy, they may not be aware of its clinical presentation. Providers should assess individual patient risk factors before choosing the appropriate statin. A variety of skeletal muscle aches that may not present as a danger to the patient, may affect patient adherence and quality of life. There are several steps that providers can take to properly treat and manage patients with myalgia complaints. Conclusions: Statin-associated myopathy is a clinical problem that contributes to statin therapy discontinuation. Patients who are statin intolerant may be treated with alternative treatment options such as lowdose statins, switching statins, using alternative dosing strategies in statins with longer half-lives, non-statin lipid-lowering agents, and complementary therapies.