No abstract

No abstract

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), a novel corona virus, causing COVID-19 with Flu-like symptoms is the first alarming pandemic of the third millennium. SARS-CoV-2 belongs to beta coronavirus as Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV). Pandemic COVID-19 owes devastating mortality and destructively exceptional consequences on Socio-Economics life around the world. Therefore, the current review is redirected to the scientific community to owe comprehensive visualization about SARS-CoV-2 to tackle the current pandemic. As systematically shown through the current review, it indexes unmet medical problem of COVID-19 in view of public health and vaccination discovery for the infectious SARS-CoV-2; it is currently under-investigational therapeutic protocols, and next possible vaccines. Furthermore, the review extensively reports the precautionary measures to achieve" COVID-19/Flatten the curve". It is concluded that vaccines formulation within exceptional no time in this pandemic is highly recommended, via following the same protocols of previous pandemics; MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV, and excluding some initial steps of vaccination development process.

No abstract

that by 2040, neurodegenerative diseases will surpass cancer as the second reason of death after cardiovascular diseases in such aged populations. [1,2] As per a 2017 report, neurological diseases cost the United States of America about $800 billion annually and this number is expected to increase even further over the coming years as the percentage of aged citizens increases. [3] Unlike most other major diseases, the pace of drug development and delivery in case of neurodegenerative diseases has been stationary, partially due to lack of biomarkers that can diagnose such diseases long before the neurological symptoms arise and the challenges associated with identification of targets for drugs that can terminate or minimize neurodegeneration. Most importantly, delivering new cerebral therapeutic agents is impeded by the extensive and robust blood-brain barrier (BBB) which prevents the vast majority of drugs from crossing to the brain after systemic administration. During brain infections, intracerebral hemorrhage, or in neurodegenerative disorders, the BBB is altered in such a way that it allows easy access of inflammatory inducing molecules that may cause adverse neuronal damage. [4] Given the importance of early diagnosis and treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, new drug delivery technologies have appeared in the last decade.As shown in Scheme 1, unique nanomaterials have been reported and several nanosized drug delivery systems including liposomes, dendrimers, carbon nanotubes (CNTs), inorganic and hybrid nanoparticles, and polymeric micelles have gained attention and have been tested for targeted drug delivery not only for neurodegenerative diseases but also for several other ailments. [5][6][7][8][9][10] The discovery of MCM-41 was recognized as a major breakthrough in materials science and since then mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs), thanks to their superior physiochemical properties such as large porosity, high surface areas, low toxicity, controllable sizes, and wide range of morphologies compared to conventional nanoparticles (NPs) have emerged as favorable tools in biomedical applications as nanocarriers for encapsulation and delivery of therapeutic medicines. [11][12][13][14] Designing biocompatible MSNs and their multifunctional derivatives for drug transport as well as theranostics is one of the hottest areas of research in the field of nanobiotechnology and nanomedicine. [15][16][17][18][19] High loading capacity, acceptable biocompatibility, and limitless possibilities of surface functionalization for specific cellular recognition Mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) have gained wide attention for their role in biomedicine and as drug delivery vehicles. Their structural tunability, high surface area, and easy functionalization impart significant advantages over conventional materials. In this Review, recent advances in the synthesis, drug delivery, and therapeutic roles of MSNs in the treatment of various neurodegenerative and neuroinflammatory diseases are presented. The intention is to...

BACKGROUND: Self-medication is a practice with major global implications, especially with antibiotics intake. Self-medication among future health-care professionals could affect their way in prescribing medication in the future. AIM: This study was conducted to estimate the magnitude and the determinants of antibiotics self-medication practices and to describe the pattern of antibiotics abuse among undergraduate university students. METHODS: A cross-section study was conducted among 563 medical students from public and private universities in Cairo, Egypt, using a questionnaire. RESULTS: About 77.7% of the students used antibiotics without prescriptions with no statistical differences by age, sex, residence, or type of universities. More than half of the students (51.7%) do not know the effect of antibiotics abuse on microbial resistance. Most self-treated antibiotics were used to manage gastroenteritis symptoms (70%), respiratory symptoms (63%), and dental infections (36%), other causes such as headache or prophylactic reasons (21%). About 91.7% of the self-medicated students reported access to antibiotics from the pharmacy without a prescription and 71% of them mentioned discontinuation of a course of antibiotics at least once during the last year. About 81% of the students who do not know the effect of antibiotic abuse are self-medicated versus 75% of their counterpart who know and this difference is statistically significant. The multivariate analysis identified the residence as an independent predictor of their knowledge (area of residence = 1.6, 95% confidence interval [1.1–2.3]). CONCLUSION: The prevalence of self-medication with antibiotics among university students in Cairo is high. Our findings highlight the urgent need for tailored interventions to control this practice.

BackgroundExtracellular hydrolases (phospholipase, aspartyl protease and haemolysin) and biofilm production are considered as major virulence factors of the opportunistic pathogenic fungus Candida albicans. However, the impact of antifungal therapy on such virulence attributes is not well investigated. The common antifungal agents may disturb the production of secreted hydrolases as well as biofilm formation. Accordingly, this study addressed the effect of subinhibitory concentrations (sub-MICs) of selected antifungal agents on some virulence factors of C. albicans clinical isolates.MethodsC. albicans isolates (n = 32) were recovered from different clinical samples and their identification was confirmed to the species level. Antifungal susceptibility profiles of isolates were determined against (nystatin, fluconazole and micafungin) and minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) were interpreted according to Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute guidelines. Virulence determinants comprising secreted hydrolases (phospholipase, aspartyl protease and haemolysin) and biofilm formation were investigated in the presence of the sub-MICs of the tested antifungal agents.ResultsTreatment of clinical C. albicans isolates with subinhibitory nystatin, fluconazole and micafungin concentrations significantly decreased production of extracellular hydrolases. Nystatin had the greatest inhibitory effect on phospholipase and aspartyl protease production. However, micafungin showed the highest reducing effect on the hemolytic activity of the treated clinical isolates. Moreover, nystatin and micafungin, but not fluconazole, had a noticeable significant impact on inhibiting biofilm formation of C. albicans clinical isolates.ConclusionOur findings highlighted the significant influences of commonly prescribed antifungal agents on some virulence factors of C. albicans. Accordingly, antifungal therapy may modulate key virulence attributes of C. albicans.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12879-019-3685-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

No abstract