Metabolic diseases have become a serious threat to human health worldwide. It is crucial to look for effective drugs from natural products to treat metabolic diseases. Curcumin, a natural polyphenolic compound, is mainly obtained from the rhizomes of the genus Curcuma. In recent years, clinical trials using curcumin for the treatment of metabolic diseases have been increasing. In this review, we provide a timely and comprehensive summary of the clinical progress of curcumin in the treatment of three metabolic diseases, namely type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), obesity and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). The therapeutic effects and underlying mechanisms of curcumin on these three diseases are presented categorically. Accumulating clinical evidence demonstrates that curcumin has good therapeutic potential and a low number of side effects for the three metabolic diseases. It can lower blood glucose and lipid levels, improve insulin resistance and reduce inflammation and oxidative stress. Overall, curcumin may be an effective drug for the treatment of T2DM, obesity and NAFLD. However, more high-quality clinical trials are still required in the future to verify its efficacy and determine its molecular mechanisms and targets.
Rapid and strong adhesion of hydrogel adhesives is required
for
instant wound closure and hemostasis. However, in situ hydrogel formation
and sufficient adhesion at target tissue sites in biological environments
are severely compromised by the presence of blood and body fluids.
In this work, an underwater adhesive hydrogel (named SHCa) is fabricated
with rapid in situ gelation, enhanced mechanical toughness, and robust
underwater adhesion. The SHCa can undergo rapid UV irradiation-induced
gelation under water within 5 s and adhere firmly to underwater surfaces
for 6 months. The synergistic effects of crystalline β-sheet
structures and dynamic energy-dissipating mechanisms enhance the mechanical
toughness and cohesion, supporting the balance between adhesion and
cohesion in wet environments. Importantly, the SHCa can achieve rapid
in situ gelation and robust underwater adhesion at various tissue
surfaces in highly dynamic fluid environments, substantially outperforming
the commercially available tissue adhesives. The lap shear adhesion
strength and wound closure strength of SHCa on blood-covered substrates
are 7.24 and 12.68 times higher than those of cyanoacrylate glue,
respectively. Its fast hemostasis and wound sealing performance are
further demonstrated in in vivo animal models. The proposed hydrogel
with strong underwater adhesion provides an effective tool for fast
wound closure and hemostasis.
Myocardial infarction (MI) is the leading causes of cardiovascular disease-related deaths. Local ischemia and cardiomyocyte death lead to a series of pathological remodeling of infarcted extracellular matrix (ECM) that are...
As conventional treatments for diabetic wounds often fail to achieve rapid satisfactory healing, the development of effective strategies to accelerate diabetic wound repair is highly demanded. Herein, fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) and metformin co-loaded multifunctional polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) hydrogel were fabricated for improved diabetic wound healing. The in vitro results proved that the hydrogel was adhesive and injectable, and that it could particularly scavenge reactive oxygen species (ROSs), while the in vivo data demonstrated that the hydrogel could promote angiogenesis by recruiting endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) through upregulation of Ang-1. Both ROSs’ removal and EPCs’ recruitment finally resulted in enhanced diabetic wound healing. This work opens a strategy approach to diabetic wound management by combining biological macromolecules and small chemical molecules together using one promising environmental modulating drug delivery system.
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