Anaplastic thyroid carcinoma (ATC) is a very rare subtype of thyroid carcinoma and one of the most lethal malignancies. Poor prognosis is mainly associated with its undifferentiated nature, inoperability, and failing to respond to the typically used therapies for thyroid cancer. Photothermal Therapy (PTT) entails using light to increase tissues’ temperature, leading to hyperthermia-mediated cell death. Tumours are more susceptible to heat as they are unable to dissipate it. By using functionalized gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) that transform light energy into heat, it is possible to target the heat to the tumour. This study aims to formulate ATC-targeted AuNPs able to convert near-infrared light into heat, for PTT of ATC. Different AuNPs were synthetized and coated. Size, morphology, and surface plasmon resonances band were determined. The optimized coated-AuNPs were then functionalized with ligands to assess ATC’s specificity. Safety, efficacy, and selectivity were assessed in vitro. The formulations were deemed safe when not irradiated (>70% cell viability) and selective for ATC. However, when irradiated, holo-transferrin-AuNPs were the most cytotoxic (22% of cell viability). The biodistribution and safety of this formulation was assessed in vivo. Overall, this novel formulation appears to be a highly promising approach to evaluate in a very near future.

ResumoDiante das críticas à falta de sistematização da prática psicológica na área da saúde, objetivou-se apresentar uma revisão sistemática em bases de dados on-line de acesso livre e analisar artigos científi cos analítico-comportamentais, publicados entre 2005 e 2014, na área da Psicologia da Saúde. Foram feitos dois procedimentos na Biblioteca Virtual em Saúde (BVS) -Psicologia Brasil, especifi camente no Index Psi Periódicos Técnico-Científi cos, na Scientifi c Electronic Library On-line e na Literatura Latino-Americana e do Caribe em Ciências da Saúde. Na Coleta 1, foi utilizada a estratégia de busca "análise do comportamento" AND saúde OR "medicina do comportamento" OR "psicologia médica", cujos termos deveriam constar como "palavras" ou "em todos os índices". Na Coleta 2, utilizou-se "psicologia" AND outros termos referentes a 45 especialidades da Medicina, presentes no "resumo". A Ficha Cadastral dos Artigos Científi cos orientou a análise quanti-qualitativa em função de sete itens: referência, ano de publicação, tipo de estudo, objetivos, participantes, procedimentos e conclusões. Os resultados sugeriram a aplicabilidade da Análise do Comportamento à área da saúde, ainda que o número de artigos recuperados tenha sido restrito devido a entraves conceituais e metodológicos. Verifi cou-se a necessidade de aproximação dos critérios de análise desses materiais pelos profi ssionais da Ciência da Informação e da Análise do Comportamento.Palavras-chave: Psicologia da Saúde, Medicina do Comportamento, Literatura de Revisão.

No abstract

Currently, insulin can only be administered through the subcutaneous route. Due to the flaws associated with this route, it is of interest to orally deliver this drug. However, insulin delivered orally has several barriers to overcome as it is degraded by the stomach’s low pH, enzymatic content, and poor absorption in the gastrointestinal tract. Polymers with marine source like chitosan are commonly used in nanotechnology and drug delivery due to their biocompatibility and special features. This work focuses on the preparation and characterization of mucoadhesive insulin-loaded polymeric nanoparticles. Results showed a suitable mean size for oral administration (<600 nm by dynamic laser scattering), spherical shape, encapsulation efficiency (59.8%), and high recovery yield (80.6%). Circular dichroism spectroscopy demonstrated that protein retained its secondary structure after encapsulation. Moreover, the mucoadhesive potential of the nanoparticles was assessed in silico and the results, corroborated with ex-vivo experiments, showed that using chitosan strongly increases mucoadhesion. Besides, in vitro and in vivo safety assessment of the final formulation were performed, showing no toxicity. Lastly, the insulin-loaded nanoparticles were effective in reducing diabetic rats’ glycemia. Overall, the coating of insulin-loaded nanoparticles with chitosan represents a potentially safe and promising approach to protect insulin and enhance peroral delivery.

In drug discovery and drug development, it is estimated that around 40% of commercialized and 90% of under-study drugs have inadequate pharmaceutical properties, severely impairing its therapeutic efficacy. Thus, there is a strong demand to find strategies to enhance the delivery of such drugs. Ionic liquids are a novel class of liquids composed of a combination of organic salts that are of particular interest alone or in combination with drug delivery systems. This review is focused on the recent efforts using ionic liquids in drug solubility, formulation and drug delivery with specific emphasis on nanotechnology. The latest developments using hybrid delivery systems obtained upon the combination of drug delivery systems and ionic liquids will also be addressed.

Head and neck cancer (HNC), also known as the cancer that can affect the structures between the dura mater and the pleura, is the 6th most common type of cancer. This heterogeneous group of malignancies is usually treated with a combination of surgery and radio- and chemotherapy, depending on if the disease is localized or at an advanced stage. However, most HNC patients are diagnosed at an advanced stage, resulting in the death of half of these patients. Thus, the prognosis of advanced or recurrent/metastatic HNC, especially HNC squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), is notably poorer than the prognosis of patients diagnosed with localized HNC. This review explores the epidemiology and etiologic factors of HNC, the histopathology of this heterogeneous cancer, and the diagnosis methods and treatment approaches currently available. Moreover, special interest is given to the novel therapies used to treat HNC subtypes with worse prognosis, exploring immunotherapies and targeted/multi-targeted drugs undergoing clinical trials, as well as light-based therapies (i.e., photodynamic and photothermal therapies).

A terapia infantil baseada nos princípios da Análise do Comportamento tem passado por avanços teóricos e conceituais, que a levaram a abranger contextos mais amplos do que apenas o comportamento problema, abordando comportamentos privados e aumentando a participação da criança no processo terapêutico. A utilização de estratégias lúdicas é uma forma de auxiliar a inclusão da criança na terapia, tornando o processo mais divertido e dinâmico, facilitando a obtenção de dados relevantes, entre outros benefícios. A presente pesquisa investigou o uso das estratégias lúdicas por terapeutas comportamentais infantis por meio de um formulário. Participaram da pesquisa vinte e sete psicólogos analistas do comportamento que atuam no contexto infantil. Os resultados indicaram que os participantes utilizam ampla variedade de recursos desde a intervenção até o encerramento da terapia, com objetivos relacionados à expressão emocional, fortalecimento do vínculo terapêutico, entre outros. Tais dados corroboram a literatura clínica no que tange à importância da utilização de recursos lúdicos em sessão e de objetivos bem estabelecidos para tais recursos, pautados na avaliação funcional de cada caso.

Over the course of the last 20 years, numerous studies have identified the benefits of an array of marine natural ingredients for cosmetic purposes, as they present unique characteristics not found in terrestrial organisms. Consequently, several marine-based ingredients and bioactive compounds are under development, used or considered for skin care and cosmetics. Despite the multitude of cosmetics based on marine sources, only a small proportion of their full potential has been exploited. Many cosmetic industries have turned their attention to the sea to obtain innovative marine-derived compounds for cosmetics, but further research is needed to determine and elucidate the benefits. This review gathers information on the main biological targets for cosmetic ingredients, different classes of marine natural products of interest for cosmetic applications, and the organisms from which such products can be sourced. Although organisms from different phyla present different and varied bioactivities, the algae phylum seems to be the most promising for cosmetic applications, presenting compounds of many classes. In fact, some of these compounds present higher bioactivities than their commercialized counterparts, demonstrating the potential presented by marine-derived compounds for cosmetic applications (i.e., Mycosporine-like amino acids and terpenoids’ antioxidant activity). This review also summarizes the major challenges and opportunities faced by marine-derived cosmetic ingredients to successfully reach the market. As a future perspective, we consider that fruitful cooperation among academics and cosmetic industries could lead to a more sustainable market through responsible sourcing of ingredients, implementing ecological manufacturing processes, and experimenting with inventive recycling and reuse programs.