Current Drug Discovery Technologies - Volume 12, Issue 1, 2015

Cancer is one of the leading causes of death in the United States along with heart disease. The hallmark of cancer treatment has been conventional chemotherapy. Chemotherapeutic drugs are designed to target not only rapidly dividing cells, such as cancer cells, but also certain normal cells, such as intestinal epithelium. Over the past several years, a new generation of cancer treatment has come to the forefront Read More

This review presents an overview on plants identified to possess hair growth activity in various ethno-botanical studies and surveys of tradition medicinal plants. It also highlights the developments in hair rejuvenation strategies from 1926 till-date and reviews the potential of herbal drugs as safer and effective alternatives. There are various causes for hair loss and the phenomenon is still not fully understood. The treatments Read More

Neurodevelopmental toxicity of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) remains largely unknown. In this study, we applied a neurosphere assay for neurodevelopmental effects of AgNPs. The neural stem cells were isolated from rat mesencephalon. They were cultured as a sphere. In an assay with coated plates, cells appeared by anchoraging on the dish and then started to migrate along the radial axis from the neurosphere. A Read More

In spite of the need for sensing bisdemethoxycurcumin analog (BDMCA), there is no detection system available so far. For the first time, we have demonstrated a sensing system for detecting BDMCA. Initially, chitosan thin films of three different molecular weights (low, average, high) were tested for the conductivity. The high molecular weight chitosan film was found to produce higher conductance and hence, used as the s Read More

Sodium arsenite (NaAsO2) is a metalloid which is present widely in the environment and its chronic exposure can contribute to the induction of oxidative stress, resulting in disturbances in various metabolic functions including liver cell death. Hence, there is a need to develop drugs from natural sources, which can reduce arsenic toxicity. While there have been reports regarding the antioxidant and protective potentials of Read More