Current Pharmaceutical Design - Volume 26, Issue 14, 2020

Fungal diseases are life-threatening to human health and responsible for millions of deaths around the world. Fungal pathogens lead to a high number of morbidity and mortality. Current antifungal treatment comprises drugs, such as azoles, echinocandins, and polyenes and the cure is not guaranteed. In addition, such drugs are related to severe side effects and the treatment lasts for an extended period. Thus, setting new Read More

In the Fall of 1999, we presented at medical “Grand Rounds” to a number of Infectious Diseases physicians at Vancouver General Hospital about the co-administration of several antifungal compounds in the treatment of blood-borne fungal infections to patients who were immunocompromised (i.e. cancer patients, patients waiting organ transplantation, HIV/AIDs patients, etc.). During the presentation, a physician from the back Read More

Background: Onychomycosis is a chronic nail infection caused by fungi frequently resistant to antifungal treatments. Recalcitrance in nail infections is a result of reduced antifungal penetration due to biofilm formation, combined with poor patient compliance with the treatment, which can be as long as 18 months. Objective: Metal-drug complexation is a widely used strategy to increase drug efficacy. Therefore, the aim of this wo Read More

Background: Fusarium solani f. sp. piperis is a phytopathogen that causes one of the most destructive diseases in black pepper crops, resulting in significant economic and crop production losses. Consequently, the control of this fungal disease is a matter of current and relevant interest in agriculture. Objective: The objective was to synthesize eugenol derivatives with antifungal activity. Methods: In this study, using bimolecu Read More

Background: Topical therapy is preferred for the management of ocular fungal infections due to its superiorities which include overcoming potential systemic side effects risk of drugs, and targeting of drugs to the site of disease. However, the optimization of effective ocular formulations has always been a major challenge due to restrictions of ocular barriers and physiological conditions. Posaconazole, an antifungal and highly Read More

Background: Vaginal infections caused by non-albicans species have become common in women of all age groups. The resistance of species such as Candida parapsilosis to the various antifungal agents is a risk factor attributed to these types of infections, which instigates the search for new sources of active compounds in vulvovaginal candidiasis (VCC) therapy. Objective: This study evaluated the antifungal activity of Syngon Read More

In recent years, the development of new pharmaceutical formulations for the treatment of sporotrichosis has become a relevant research field. In this work, we aimed to develop an emulgel containing itraconazole and clotrimazole to ensure therapeutic effectiveness against Sporothrix brasiliensis. The topical use of a formulation that combines both drugs represents an interesting option for the complementary treatme Read More

Background: Advanced heart failure (HF) is a progressive disease with high mortality and limited medical therapeutic options. Long-term mechanical circulatory support and heart transplantation remain goldstandard treatments for these patients; however, access to these therapies is limited by the advanced age and multiple comorbidities of affected patients, as well as by the limited number of organs available. Metho Read More

Cupressus sempervirens, Platycladus orientalis, Juniperus communis, J. excelsa, J. foetidissima, J. polycarpos var. turcomanica, J. sabina, and Taxus baccata are conifers in Iran. These plants have a long reputation in different systems of traditional medicines for a variety of diseases. This review aims to provide comprehensive and up-to-date information about the ethnopharmacological uses, chemical constituents, and pharmaco Read More

Background: Ghrelin (GHRL) is a polypeptide that can specifically bind to the growth hormone secretagogue receptor (GHSR). The expression of GHSR is significantly different in normal and prostate cancer (PC) tissues in humans. It is important to find an effective diagnostic method for the diagnosis and prognosis of invasive PC/neuroendocrine prostate cancer (NEPC). Methods: GHRL and GHSR mRNA levels were determine Read More

Background/Objective: KRAS-mutant colorectal cancers (CRC) are tumors that are associated with poor prognosis. However, no effective treatments are available to target them. Therefore, we designed and synthesized novel chalcone analogs, small organic molecules, to investigate their effects on KRAS-mutant CRC cells. Methods: Fourteen new chalcone analogs were synthesized, optimized, characterized, and teste Read More