Current Pharmaceutical Design - Volume 24, Issue 23, 2018

RNA interference (RNAi), as a novel technique in which RNA molecules limit or silence the gene expression, is currently a hot research topic for producing novel therapeutic materials for challenging diseases. In the development of RNAi-based therapies, nanoscale particles, with a varying diameter along with facile modification methods that can mediate effective RNAi with targeting potential, are gaining wide interest. The Read More

Background: Gene therapy is a new approach to discover and treat many diseases. It has attracted considerable attention from researchers in the last decades. The gene therapy through RNA interference has been considered one of the most recent and revolutionary approaches used in individualized therapy. In the last years, we have witnessed the rapid development in the field of the gene silencing and knockdown by to Read More

Background: RNA interference is a promising therapeutic tool for the treatment of a variety of diseases, with great potential for cancer therapy. Small interfering RNA (siRNA), however, presents several drawbacks that hamper its therapeutic application. Lipid nanoparticles, including liposomes, are delivery systems with great potential for siRNA delivery, protecting it from degradation, enhancing its cell uptake with the Read More

Background: RNA interference (RNAi)-based therapy has gained attention because of its potent genesilencing effect and high specificity. However, the efficient delivery of nucleic acids to the target site is a major challenge to the clinical implementation. Recently, ultrasound-mediated gene delivery systems have been developed and attracted interest due to its safety and site-specificity. By the combination with contrast agen Read More

Background: The search for the effective treatment strategies to combat a disease that is characterized by abnormal cell growth and known as cancer is still required to reach its destiny. To address the problem, recently several gene therapies based on novel RNA interference (RNAi) have been proposed such as siRNA, micro RNA, shRNA, etc. out of which, siRNAs (silencing RNA) promises to show significant progress in phar Read More

Background: Ischaemia-reperfusion injury (IRI), a major complication occurring during organ transplantation, involves an initial ischemia insult, due to loss of blood supply, followed by an inflammation-mediated reperfusion injury. A variety of molecular targets and pathways involved in liver IRI have been identified. Gene silencing through RNA interference (RNAi) by means of small interference RNA (siRNA) targeting mediators o Read More

Colorectal Cancer (CRC) is one of the most common cancers with a high rate of morbidity and mortality worldwide. It has been demonstrated that epigenetic alterations which may cause changes in the expression of microRNA, DNA methylation and histone acetylation that results in inheritable modifications in gene expression in colorectal epithelial cells, plays a crucial role in the development of CRC. Recently, targeting epigene Read More

Inter-individual differences in drug response are an important cause of failure in anticancer treatment and adverse drug events in cancer patients. Gene polymorphisms related to these outcomes have been investigated in an effort to find new genetic biomarkers to predict toxicity and response to anticancer drugs. Evaluating the value single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the genes involved in transportation, activation and Read More

Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) are promising biomedical agents in terms of both imaging and therapy, exhibiting excellent physical and chemical characteristics. The actions of AuNPs can be remotely controlled using strong near-infrared (NIR) light, associated with minimal lateral invasion. Employing the photoacoustic (PA) principle, AuNPs integrate imaging and temperature control, affording both diagnosis and treatment Read More

Background and objective: Oxidative stress and inflammation are key parameters in developing metabolic disorders. Hence, antioxidant intake might be an appropriate approach. Several studies have evaluated the effect of coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) supplementation on lipid profile among patients with metabolic diseases, though findings are controversial. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to determi Read More

Background: Patients treated with antithrombotic therapy that require abdominal surgical procedures have progressively increased over time. The management of antithrombotics during both the peri- and postoperative period is of crucial importance. Methods: The goal of this review is to present current data concerning the management of antiplatelets in patients with coronary artery disease and of anticoagulants in patie Read More