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Selected AbstractsHyaluronidase reduces human breast cancer xenografts in SCID miceINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CANCER, Issue 2 2002Svetlana Shuster Abstract A hyaluronan-rich environment often correlate with tumor progression. and may be one mechanism for the invasive behavior of malignancies. Eradication of hyaluronan by hyaluronidase administration could reduce tumor aggressiveness and would provide, therefore, a new anti-cancer strategy. Hyaluronan interaction with its CD44 receptor and the resulting signal transduction events may be among the mechanisms for hyaluronan-associated cancer progression. We have shown previously that hyaluronidase treatment of breast cancer cells in vitro not only eradicates hyaluronan but also modifies expression of CD44 variant exons of tumor cells. We now determine if such effects occur in vivo and if it is accompanied by tumor regression. SCID mice bearing xenografts of human breast carcinomas were given intravenous hyaluronidase. Tumor volumes decreased 50% in 4 days. Tumor sections showed decreased hyaluronan. Intensity of staining for CD44s was not affected, whereas staining for specific CD44 variant exon isoforms was greatly reduced in residual tumors. Necrosis was not evident. Hyaluronidase, used previously as an adjunct in cancer treatment, presumably to enhance penetration of chemotherapeutic drugs, may itself have intrinsic anti-cancer activity. Removing peritumor hyaluronan appears to cause an irreversible change in tumor metabolism. Continuous hyaluronan binding to CD44 variant exon isoforms may also be required to stabilize inherently unstable isoforms that participate perhaps in tumor progression. Further investigation is required to confirm a cause and effect relationship between loss of hyaluronan, changes in CD44 variant exon expression and tumor reduction. If confirmed, hyaluronidase may provide a new class of anti-cancer therapeutics and one without toxic side effects. © 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Injectable and thermosensitive poly(organophosphazene) hydrogels for a 5-fluorouracil deliveryJOURNAL OF APPLIED POLYMER SCIENCE, Issue 6 2009Sun Mi Lee Abstract The drug solubility and its release profiles of an anticancer drug from an injectable thermosensitive poly(organophosphazene) hydrogel bearing hydrophobic L -isoleucine ethyl ester and hydrophilic ,-amino-,-methoxy-poly(ethylene glycol) with and without hydrolysis-sensitive glycyl lactate ethyl ester or functional glycyl glycine have been investigated. 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) was used as a model anticancer drug. The aqueous solutions of 5-FU incorporated poly(organophosphazenes) were an injectable fluid state at room temperature and formed a transparent gel at body temperature. The poly(organophosphazene) solution could enhance the solubility of 5-FU and its solubility (34.26 mg/mL) was increased up to 10-fold compared to that in phosphate-buffered saline (3.39 mg/mL, pH 7.4, 4°C). The in vitro drug release profiles from poly(organophosphazene) hydrogels were established in phosphate-buffered saline at pH 7.4 at 37°C and the release of 5-FU was significantly affected by the diffusion-controlled stage. The results suggest that the injectable and thermosensitive poly(organophosphazene) hydrogel is a potential carrier for 5-FU to increase its solubility, control a relatively sustained and localized release at target sites and thus decrease systemic side effects. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2009 [source] Development of patch and spray formulations for enhancing topical delivery of sinomenine hydrochlorideJOURNAL OF PHARMACEUTICAL SCIENCES, Issue 4 2010Xinru Li Abstract The purpose of this work was to investigate feasibility of a promising topical drug delivery system (TDDS) for sinomenine hydrochloride (SMH), extracted from the Chinese medicinal plant sinomenine acutum and currently used for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. It was found that SMH was a weak base (pKa, 7.98,±,0.04) with pH-dependent solubility and partition coefficient. The result of in vitro permeation studies demonstrated that the permeation enhancer azone was the most effective. In contrast, spray had higher accumulative permeated amounts of SMH than patch, but permeated duration of spray was shorter than that of patch. The efficacy on Freund's complete adjuvant-induced arthritis suggested that there was near arthritis index for SMH spray with medium dose (i.e., 15,mg/rat) and oral solution at a dose of 12,mg/rat, indicating that topical SMH delivery system could achieve the similar anti-inflammatory efficacy with oral administration. Pharmacokinetic parameters including Cmax and AUC for both topical preparations were lower than those for oral preparation, which hinted that systemic side effect could be ignored. Therefore, the spray and patch were promising formulations for successful topical delivery of SMH through the skin instead of oral administration with side effects. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. and the American Pharmacists Association J Pharm Sci 99: 1790,1799, 2010 [source] Grip force abnormalities in de novo Parkinson's diseaseMOVEMENT DISORDERS, Issue 5 2004Stuart J. Fellows PhD Abstract In recent years it has been shown that a variety of movement disorders are associated with abnormalities of the fine motor control of the hand. In Parkinson's disease (PD), these changes consist of a slowing of the rate of grip force development and the use of abnormally large grip forces both during lifting and static holding of an object. It has been suggested, however, that these changes are a direct effect of the patient's levodopa medication or associated with levodopa induced dyskinesias. Accordingly, we examined the performance of de novo Parkinson patients in a precision lifting task. All patients (n = 6) were newly diagnosed and showed rigidity, bradykinesia, or both, but were unaffected by tremor or dyskinesia. None of the patients had received antiparkinson medication. Grip force was abnormally high in both the lifting and hold phases. This exaggeration was equal in magnitude to that observed previously in medicated patients. Thus we conclude that the abnormalities in grip force observed here are intrinsic features of PD and not the result of dopamine medication or its side effects. © 2004 Movement Disorder Society [source] |