Neurodegenerative diseases (NDDs) are incurable and debilitating conditions that result in progressive degeneration and/or death of nerve cells in the central nervous system (CNS). Identification of viable therapeutic targets and new treatments for CNS disorders and in particular, for NDDs is a major challenge in the field of drug discovery. These difficulties can be attributed to the diversity of cells involved, extreme complexity of the neural circuits, the limited capacity for tissue regeneration, and our incomplete understanding of the underlying pathological processes. Drug discovery is a complex and multidisciplinary process. The screening attrition rate in current drug discovery protocols mean that only one viable drug may arise from millions of screened compounds resulting in the need to improve discovery technologies and protocols to address the multiple causes of attrition. This has identified the need to screen larger libraries where the use of efficient high-throughput screening (HTS) becomes key in the discovery process. HTS can investigate hundreds of thousands of compounds per day. However, if fewer compounds could be screened without compromising the probability of success, the cost and time would be largely reduced. To that end, recent advances in computer-aided design, in silico libraries, and molecular docking software combined with the upscaling of cell-based platforms have evolved to improve screening efficiency with higher predictability and clinical applicability. We review, here, the increasing role of HTS in contemporary drug discovery processes, in particular for NDDs, and evaluate the criteria underlying its successful application. We also discuss the requirement of HTS for novel NDD therapies and examine the major current challenges in validating new drug targets and developing new treatments for NDDs.

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The impact of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2, or COVID-19) has been detrimental to human health, economy, and wellbeing. Little information is known on the epidemiology and outcome of the disease in a localized community within Iraq. We carried out an audit of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the Kirkuk General Hospital. Data from the 20th of June to the 31st of July, 2020, were collected and analyzed. Suspected COVID-19 cases were confirmed by real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Data on clinical symptoms, age, and treatment protocols were analyzed concerning the outcome. Our study included a total of 200 individual confirmed COVID-19 patients. The majority of cases 55% (n = 110) displayed severe symptoms, while 32.5% (65 cases) and 12.5% (25 cases) of patients displayed moderate to mild symptoms, respectively. The rate of death in the referred patients was 5%. Most patients admitted to the hospital for treatment recovered and were discharged from the hospital within 5 to 30 days post-diagnosis. Statistical analysis revealed that patients treated with oseltamivir, hydroxychloroquine, and azithromycin in combination with vitamins C and D have shorter hospital stay compared to patients receiving the same therapeutic protocol in combination with steroids. Moreover, a higher mortality rate (4.5%) was observed in patients treated with oseltamivir, hydroxychloroquine, ceftriaxone, and steroids. This study highlights a significant relationship between age, secondary ailments, and the choice of medications as simple predictors of the outcome of COVID-19.

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At the end of 2019, the whole world was witnessing the birth of a new member of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) family in Wuhan city, China. Since then, the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has rapidly invaded every corner of the world. Before the end of September 2020, nearly 32 million cases worldwide were recorded, with a death toll of approximately 1 million cases. As COVID-19 has spread across the world, certain groups of people prove more susceptible than others. Elderly patients and people with chronic medical conditions such as heart disease or diabetes are more likely to experience or even suffer from serious diseases. As a population, senior citizens take more medicines than young people. Similarly, people with chronic illnesses who are several taking drugs to control their illness. All this poses a significant query in managing COVID-19 cases: can a standard drug regimen be paired with one or more experimental drugs? For example, some of the most widely prescribed medicines—including antibacterial drugs, antifungals, heart-related medications, neuroleptics, contraceptives, and sedatives —can have extensive and often even severe interactions with some of the experimental COVID-19 therapy. Therefore, to reduce the morbidity and mortality rate associated with COVID-19, this issue needs to be answered in detail. This review addressed the key points related to the drug-drug and drug-disease interaction in patients with COVID-19. To help health care providers locate the answers they need in the shortest possible time, the information contained in this review has been included in easy-to-read tables. Keywords:  Drug interactions; DDIs; Polypharmacy; SARS-CoV-2; COVID-19.

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Multiparticulate drug delivery systems are mainly oral dosage form, consist of small discrete units that exhibit different characteristics especially in release pattern and drug bioavailability. These systems are represented by granules, pellets, microspheres, microcapsules, and minitablets. Pellets offer high flexibility in the design, formulation, and development of oral dosage forms such as sachet, suspension, capsule, and tablet. Multiparticulate tablets manufactured by compaction of multiple unite pellets is one of the latest and, yet, challenging technologies. Multiparticulate tablets combine the benefits of both a tablet and a pellet-filled capsule in one dosage form but their manufacturing experience many difficulties. The oral multiparticulate products consist of polymer-coated subunits or pellets, which are embedded in an inert excipients’ matrix, formulated to overcome the difficulty in administering capsules and improve the physicochemical stability of suspension and offer predictable release and uniform distribution in the gastro-intestinal tract compared to the plain tablet. This review discusses the advantages and drawbacks of MUPS, the properties of an ideal MUPS, various pharmaceutical applications of MUPS, the challenges and key variables that to be considered in the tableting process for successful production of MUPS Keywords: MUPS®, Pellets, Multiparticulate tablets.