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Obesity is an alarming medical condition, whereby, its prevalence has escalated tremendously across the globe. The aetiology of obesity is obscure and multifactorial, which primarily involves complex interactions between genetic background, social and environmental factors, as well as developmental and biological factors. Multiple comorbidities have been linked with obesity, such as hypertension, diabetes, cancer, and stroke. Therefore, appropriate behavioural and lifestyle modifications are essential to achieve weight loss in obese patients. There are several conventional drugs and pharmacological modalities available for the therapeutic management of obesity. Nevertheless, many of these conventional anti-obesity agents are associated with severe adverse effects and long-term complications. These factors have prompted extensive research for the discovery and development of novel anti-obesity agents. A vast range of natural products have been explored and studied for their anti-obesity potential. Compounds from plant sources have demonstrated improved toxicological profiles and multipronged synergistic actions. In this review, we have discussed the influence of various natural products on obesity. We have also elaborated the various mechanisms of action underlying the anti-obesity effects of notable natural substances.

The present study aimed to formulate celastrol into liquid crystalline nanoparticles (LCNPs) through ultrasonication to enhance its therapeutic efficacy in the treatment of asthma. The physiochemic...

Objective Oral cancer is amenable to early detection but remains a prominent cause of mortality in the Asia Pacific region. This study aimed to identify barriers to early detection and management of oral cancer in the Asia Pacific region. Methods A mixed-methods approach was employed triangulating findings from a survey and focus groups. The survey was conducted among seven representative members of the Asia Pacific Oral Cancer Network (APOCNET) across six countries. Focus groups were conducted to gain deeper insights into the findings of the survey. Results The identified barriers were a lack of national cancer control strategies and cancer registries and the limited availability of trained health care professionals. Overcoming these challenges in the Asia Pacific region where resources are scarce will require collaborative partnerships in data collection and novel approaches for continuous professional training including eLearning. Further, to overcome the lack of trained health care professionals, innovative approaches to the management of oral potentially malignant lesions and oral cancer including telemedicine were suggested. Conclusion The findings of this study should be taken into account when charting national cancer control plans for oral cancer and will form the basis for future collaborative studies in evaluating effective measures to improve oral cancer detection and management in low- and middle-income countries.

Viral respiratory tract infections have significantly impacted global health as well as socio-economic growth. Respiratory viruses such as the influenza virus, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and the recent SARS-CoV-2 infection (COVID-19) typically infect the upper respiratory tract by entry through the respiratory mucosa before reaching the lower respiratory tract, resulting in respiratory disease. Generally, vaccination is the primary method in preventing virus pathogenicity and it has been shown to remarkably reduce the burden of various infectious diseases. Nevertheless, the efficacy of conventional vaccines may be hindered by certain limitations, prompting the need to develop novel vaccine delivery vehicles to immunize against various strains of respiratory viruses and to mitigate the risk of a pandemic. In this review, we provide an insight into how polymer-based nanoparticles can be integrated with the development of vaccines to effectively enhance immune responses for combating viral respiratory tract infections., Graphical abstract Unlabelled Image

Brain tumors are one of the deadly cancers with very high mortality rate and a very difficult to treat. The survival rate for patients suffering from brain and central nervous system cancers was reported to be as low as 36%, with an average survival duration of between 15 and 22 months. Owning to the other underlying complications and severe effects on the physiological functions, the posttreatment survival period is very low. Glioblastoma tumors belong to type IV brain cancers that pose a tremendous socioeconomic burden to the families and the community healthcare system. The conventional treatment of brain cancer consists of surgical resection, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy. However, factors such as systemic toxicity, resistance to treatment, lack of specificity, and presence of blood-brain barrier limit the effectiveness of conventional treatment; hence, there is an incipient need for new therapeutic strategies to overcome these factors. The current chapter aims to present cell- and gene-based therapies, one of the emerging technological trends and advancements in oncology. Cell- and gene-based therapies can offer alternate approaches by fostering either attacking selectively the cancel cells or block the cancer molecular pathways. Individual sections of this chapter elaborate on different types of cell and gene products. A summary of preclinical studies that provided promising results and a few ongoing or concluded clinical trials have been provided. High-level pharmacological effects of these advanced medical products have been presented along with their innate challenges in translating them from bench to bedside.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has reported that chronic respiratory diseases such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, interstitial lung disease, and lung cancer are among the major chronic human diseases that posed a huge challenge to public health and socioeconomic growth. Pharmacotherapy is crucial in the management of these diseases; however, the utilization of conventional treatments is found to be futile, as most patients remained poorly controlled with low quality of life. This has prompted the discovery and development of novel therapeutic agents to improve treatment outcomes. Over the years, researchers have studied a vast range of natural products for their potential in managing chronic respiratory diseases. It has been demonstrated that chemical moieties obtained from plant sources improved pharmacokinetic and toxicological profiles, with a robust multi-prolonged action. Hence, they are held in high regard as possible replacements to address the limitations faced by current therapies. In this chapter, such a phytochemical approach with respect to their molecular mechanisms targeting signalling pathways involved in various chronic respiratory diseases will be discussed. We have also summarized some of the experimental evidence that supports the use of plant-based chemical moieties in chronic respiratory diseases.

Neuroblastoma is an extracranial solid tumor commonly observed in the pediatric population. Although various management strategies have been developed over the years, its characteristic aggressiveness and its heterogeneous clinical behavior have greatly hampered therapeutic success, especially in patients with relapsed or refractory cases. Moreover, extensive use of therapeutics in these patients has also led to short-term and long-term toxicities, as well as the emergence of treatment resistance. These limitations have strongly encouraged the design and development of next-generation therapeutics to combat the disease. Recently, nanomedicine has gained increasing attention in modern medicine, as nanomedicine-based strategies can produce greater effectiveness as compared to conventional therapies. At the same time, they are found to minimize the occurrence of adverse events. In terms of neuroblastoma, various innovative drug and gene delivery strategies have been vigorously studied for their potential in disease diagnosis and treatment, whereby some of these studies have successfully shown promising outcomes. Nevertheless, the exact mechanisms and therapeutic roles of nanomedicine in neuroblastoma have yet to be fully elucidated, and most nanoformulations are only studied at the preclinical stage. Thus, further investigations, including clinical studies, are crucial to evaluate the risk-to-benefit ratio of such novel approaches. In this chapter, the advantages and limitations of conventional neuroblastoma therapeutics will be discussed, with special focus on the use of nanomedicine-based strategies with respect to their benefits.

Chronic respiratory diseases such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cystic fibrosis, and lung cancer are among the leading causes of global mortality and morbidity, whereby these diseases have brought enormous healthcare, economic, and social burden in many countries. Multiple components of the respiratory system are affected by chronic respiratory diseases, which include the respiratory airways, lung parenchyma, as well as pulmonary vasculature. Recent advances in medical research have led to the development of various pharmacotherapeutic agents for the management of chronic respiratory diseases, such as bronchodilators, corticosteroids, and antibiotics. Despite that, the use of conventional therapeutics has been futile as they are only capable of alleviating the symptoms associated with the diseases but did not effectively cure or prevent the progression of these diseases. This chapter discusses the pathogenesis of various chronic respiratory disorders and the limitations of current therapeutic strategies.

Cancer continues to be one of the most challenging diseases to be treated and is one of the leading causes of deaths around the globe. Cancers account for 13% of all deaths each year, with cancer-related mortality expected to rise to 13.1 million by the year 2030. Although, we now have a large library of chemotherapeutic agents, the problem of non-selectivity remains the biggest drawback, as these substances are toxic not only to cancerous cells, but also to other healthy cells in the body. The limitations with chemotherapy and radiation have led to the discovery and development of novel strategies for safe and effective treatment strategies to manage the menace of cancer. Researchers have long justified and have shed light on the emergence of nanotechnology as a potential area for cancer therapy and diagnostics, whereby, nanomaterials are used primarily as nanocarriers or as delivery agents for anticancer drugs due to their tumor targeting properties. Furthermore, nanocarriers loaded with chemotherapeutic agents also overcome biological barriers such as renal and hepatic clearances, thus improving therapeutic efficacy with lowered morbidity. Theranostics, which is the combination of rationally designed nanomaterials with cancer-targeting moieties, along with protective polymers and imaging agents has become one of the core keywords in cancer research. In this review, we have highlighted the potential of various nanomaterials for their application in cancer therapy and imaging, including their current state and clinical prospects. Theranostics has successfully paved a path to a new era of drug design and development, in which nanomaterials and imaging contribute to a large variety of cancer therapies and provide a promising future in the effective management of various cancers. However, in order to meet the therapeutic needs, theranostic nanomaterials must be designed in such a way, that take into account the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamics properties of the drug for the development of effective carcinogenic therapy.

Over the years, the attention of researchers in the field of modern drug discovery and development has become further intense on the identification of active compounds from plant sources and traditional remedies, as they exhibit higher therapeutic efficacies and improved toxicological profiles. Among the large diversity of plant extracts that have been discovered and explored for their potential therapeutic benefits, asperuloside, an iridoid glycoside, has been proven to provide promising effects as a therapeutic agent for several diseases. Although, this potent substance exists in several genera, it is primarily found in plants belonging to the genus Eucommia. Recent decades have seen a surge in the research on Asperuloside, making it one of the most studied natural products in the field of medicine and pharmacology. In this review, we have attempted to study the various reported mechanisms of asperuloside that form the basis of its wide spectrum of pharmacological activities.

© 2018 The Authors In the recent years, much attention has been focused on identifying bioactive compounds from medicinal plants that could be employed in therapeutics, which is attributed to their potent pharmacological actions and better toxicological profile. One such example that has come into the light with considerable interest is the pentacyclic triterpenoid, celastrol, which has been found to provide substantial therapeutic properties in a variety of diseases. In an effort to further accelerate its potential to be utilized in clinical practice in the future; along with advancing technologies in the field of drug discovery and development, different researchers have been investigating on the various mechanisms and immunological targets of celastrol that underlie its broad spectrum of pharmacological properties. In this review, we have collated the various research findings related to the molecular modulators responsible for different pharmacological activities shown by celastrol. Our review will be of interest to the herbal, biological, molecular scientist and by providing a quick snapshot about celastrol giving a new direction in the area of herbal drug discovery and development.