Current Pharmaceutical Design - Volume 23, Issue 24, 2017

The global volume of skin damage or injuries has major healthcare implications and, accounts for about half of the world's annual expenditure in the healthcare sector. In the last two decades, tissue-engineered skin constructs have shown great promise in the treatment of various skin-related disorders such as deep burns and wounds. The treatment methods for skin replacement and repair have evolved from utilization of auto Read More

Tendon injury is a clinical, societal and economical issue. Moreover, tendon repair represents an important clinical challenge, partly due to the mechanical constraints that occur at the junctions with muscle and bone. Several strategies have been developed for tendon repair. In this review, we first assess the importance of tendon injuries from different sites and their causes. After a short overview of tendon three-dimension Read More

Incorporating therapeutic molecules into biomorphic ceramics for in situ drug release can be used to generate novel systems for tissue regeneration. These systems couple the complex hierarchical porous structures of biomorphic ceramics with the therapeutic activity of drugs. There are a large number of natural precursors available to be used as templates to obtain biomorphic silicon carbide ceramics. Additio Read More

Nanotechnology is an exciting emerging field with multiple applications in skin regeneration. Nanofibers have gained special attention in skin regeneration based on their structural similarity to the extracellular matrix. A wide variety of polymeric nanofibers with distinct properties have been developed and tested as scaffolds for skin regeneration. Besides providing support for tissue repair, nanofibrous materials can act Read More

A cut or break on the surface of the skin is usually referred to as a wound. Any wound has a potential to heal by itself through a complex cascade of events. However, some wounds show delayed healing due to their underlying physiology and are referred to as chronic wounds like diabetic ulcers, venous ulcers, pressure ulcers and chronic infected ulcers. Extensive care has to be taken for the management of chronic wound Read More

Nanobiomaterials can be defined as materials interacting with and influencing the biological microenvironment at a nanointerface. Recently the basic as well as applied research related to nanobiomaterials - a conjugation of nano-, material- and life-sciences - has immensely evolved for therapeutics and related biotechnology areas. The current overview focused on the potential of nanobiomaterial-based substrates towa Read More

Our review is focused on the use of methotrexate in drug therapy of two autoimmune diseases, psoriasis and rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The article describes the pathogenesis of psoriasis and RA, the role of methotrexate in the treatment of these diseases with more focused review on the mechanism behind the clinical benefits of methotrexate therapy. Methotrexate due to its cytotoxic, anti-inflammatory and immune mod Read More

Tissue engineering is considered one of the most important therapeutic strategies of regenerative medicine. The main objective of these new technologies is the development of substitutes made with biomaterials that are able to heal, repair or regenerate injured or diseased tissues and organs. These constructs seek to unlock the limited ability of human tissues and organs to regenerate. In this review, we highlight the co Read More

Natural products remain the best resources of drugs and drug leads. Recently, there is growing recognition that identifying new small molecules to promote bone regeneration is a laudable translational goal. In fact, new approaches for bone repair and regeneration that involve inexpensive naturally-derived compounds would have an important impact on the treatment of bone disorders and injuries. Over the past several de Read More

The emergence of injectable hydrogels as biomaterials has been a revolutionary breakthrough in the field of on-demand drug delivery and tissue engineering. The promising features of these systems include their biodegradability, biocompatibility, permeability, ease of the surgical implantation, and most importantly exhibit minimally invasiveness. These hydrogels have been explored as sustained and on-demand re Read More

Following fertilization, the blastocyst has to complete two distinct steps to assure further development of pregnancy. After apposition it establishes a firm connection with the luminal epithelium of the endometrium (attachment) and subsequently enters the decidualizing stroma (invasion). If this step is not achieved successfully, fertility problems arise. Development of the placenta ensures an adequate supply of nutrients and gas Read More

Gene therapy may be capable of treating a variety of diseases, a prerequisite of which is the successful delivery of polynucleic acids (e.g., DNA, RNA) to a patient’s cells. Delivery can be achieved technologically (e.g., using electroporation), using viruses (natural gene delivery vectors) or non-viral vectors (e.g., lipids, nanoparticles, polymers). This article aims to give the reader an overview of the use of organic electronic mate Read More