PurposeTreatment options in Graves’ disease are clearly defined, but management practices and the perceptions of success are varied. The outcomes of treatment in large consecutive cohorts of Graves’ disease have not been well characterised. The study describes the epidemiology, management strategies and medium term outcomes following anti-thyroid drug treatment, radio-iodine ablation and surgery in Graves’ disease.MethodsAll patients (n = 659) who received treatment for a new diagnosis of Graves’ disease in secondary care over a 5 year period were included with a median (interquartile range) follow-up of 42.9 (29–57.5) months.ResultsThe age adjusted incidence of adult onset Graves’ disease in Sheffield, UK was 24.8 per 100,000 per year. Excluding 35 patients lost to follow-up, 93.1% (n = 581) were controlled on anti-thyroid drug treatment. Of these, 73.6% went into remission following withdrawal of anti-thyroid drugs; 5.2% were still undergoing initial therapy; 13.3% lost control whilst on anti-thyroid drugs; and 7.9% went on to have either surgery or radio-iodine ablation whilst controlled on anti-thyroid drugs. Of the 428 patients who achieved remission, 36.7% relapsed.Of 144 patients who had radio-iodine ablation treatment, 5.6% relapsed and needed further treatment. Of 119 patients having surgery, 5.2% had long-term hypoparathyroidism and none had documented long-term recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy.ConclusionsIn the follow-up, 39.9% of patients underwent surgery or radio-iodine ablation with little morbidity. Up to two-thirds of patients who achieved remission did not relapse. Data on effectiveness and risks of treatments for Graves’ disease presented in this study will help clinicians and patients in decision making.
Purpurin is a naturally occurring anthraquinone isolated from the roots of Rubia cordifolia. Historically, it has been used as a red dye. However, its photosensitizing property and biological effects have deciphered its novel application. Purpurin shows antigenotoxic, anticancer, neuromodulatory, and antimicrobial potential associated with antioxidant action in in vivo and in vitro experiments. A robust antioxidant nature of purpurin is responsible for the majority of its pharmacological effects. It produces anti-inflammatory activity by reducing oxidative stress, which is a fundamental property to target diseases involving endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondrial stress. It can cross the blood-brain barrier and produce neuroprotective effects, including antidepressant and anti-Alzheimer action. It shows antimutagenic property via inhibiting essential CYP-450 enzymes. Interestingly, it gets photosensitized by UVlight and produces target-specific ROS-dependent apoptosis in cancer cells. Therefore, it owns cell killing and cell survival potential subject to the influence of external conditions. Hitherto, limited research studies are performed with purpurin to understand its therapeutic potential. Hence, this review describes and discusses different in vivo, in vitro, and in silico studies performed using purpurin. It also covers physicochemical, pharmacokinetics, and toxicology aspects of purpurin. Moreover, in the end, the prospect of purpurin in the management of cancer has also been proposed.
Background:
In cancer chemotherapy, conventional drugs aim to target the rapidly growing and dividing cells at
the early stages. However, at an advanced stage, cancer cells become less susceptible because of the
multidrug resistance and the recruitment of alternative salvage pathways for their survival. Besides,
owing to target non-selectivity, healthy proliferating cells also become vulnerable to the damage.
The combination therapies offered using flavonoids to cure cancer not only exert an additive effect
against cancer cells by targetting supplementary cell carnage pathways but also hampers the drug
resistance mechanisms. Thus, the review aims to discuss the potential and pharmacokinetic
limitations of flavonoids in cancer treatment. Further successful synergistic studies reported using
flavonoids to treat cancer has been described along with potential drug delivery systems.
Methods:
A literature search was done by searching various online databases like Pubmed, Scopus, and
Google Scholar with the specific keywords like “Anticancer drugs,” “flavonoids,” “oncology
research,” and “pharmacokinetics.”
Results:
Dietary phytochemicals, mainly flavonoids, hinder cell signalling responsible for multidrug
resistance and cancer progression, primarily targeting cancer cells sparing normal cells. Such
properties establish flavonoids as a potential candidate for synergistic therapy. However, due to low
absorption and high metabolism rates, the bioavailability of flavonoids becomes a challenge. Such
challenges may be overcome using novel approaches like derivatization, and single or co-delivery
nano-complexes of flavonoids with conventional drugs. These new approaches may improve the
pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic of flavonoids.
Conclusion:
This review highlights the application of flavonoids as a potential anticancer phytochemical class in
combination with known anti-cancer drugs/nanoparticles. It also discusses flavonoid’s
pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics issues and ways to overcome such issues. Moreover, it
covers successful methodologies employed to establish flavonoids as a safe and effective
phytochemical class for cancer treatment.
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