The anti-inflammatory 5-aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA) is the main therapeutic option used in the prevention and treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases. The upper intestinal tract performs rapid and almost complete absorption of this drug when administered orally., making local therapeutic levels of the molecule in the inflamed colonic mucosa difficult to achieve. Micro and nanoparticle systems are promising for 5-ASA incorporation because the reduced dimensions of these structures can improve the drug's pharmacodynamics and contribute to more efficient and localized therapy. Together, the association of these systems with polymers will allow the release of 5-ASA through specific targeting mechanisms to the colon, as demonstrated in mesalazine modified-release dosage form. In this review, the challenges for the oral administration of 5-ASA and the different colon-specific delivery strategies using polymers will be summarized and discussed.

Metformin has seen use as an oral anti-hyperglycaemic drug since the late 1950s; however, following the release in 1998 of the findings of the 20-year United Kingdom Prospective Diabetes Study (UKPDS) metformin use rapidly increased and today is the first-choice anti-hyperglycaemic drug for patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D). Metformin is in daily use by an estimated 150 million people worldwide. Historically, the benefits of metformin as an anti-diabetic and cardiovascular-protective drug have been linked to effects in the liver, where it acts to inhibit gluconeogenesis and lipogenesis, as well as reducing insulin resistance and enhancing peripheral glucose utilization. However, direct protective effects on the endothelium and effects in the gut prior to metformin absorption are now recognized as being important. In the gut, metformin modulates the glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1)- gut-brain axis as well as impacting the intestinal microbiota. As the apparent number of putative tissue and cellular targets for metformin has increased, so has interest in re-purposing metformin to treat other diseases that include polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), cancer, neurodegenerative diseases and COVID-19. Metformin is also being investigated as an anti-ageing drug. Of particular interest is whether metformin provides the same level of vascular protection in individuals other than those with T2D, including obese individuals with metabolic syndrome, or in the setting of vascular thromboinflammation caused by SARS-CoV-2. In this review we critically evaluate the literature to highlight clinical settings in which metformin might be therapeutically repurposed for the prevention and treatment of vascular disease.

Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is a serious complication of diabetes mellitus and one of the main causes of end-stage renal disease (ESRD). There are many factors causing the progression of DN. Lipid metabolism disorder is a common clinical manifestation of DN, and ectopic renal lipid deposition was recently proposed as a key factor promoting the development of DN. Lipophagy is a newly discovered type of selective autophagy, that can remove excessive lipids in cells in time to maintain lipid homeostasis in cells. Recently, abnormalities in lipophagy have also been implicated in the progression of DN. Here, we discuss the formation of lipid droplets, describe lipophagy and its key regulatory signals, summarize the current research progress of lipophay in DN, and finally propose on lipophagy may be a potential target for the treatment of DN.

Recently released Globocan-2020 report has been disclosed an increase in new cancer cases, cancer deaths, and 5-year prevalence cases worldwide. The higher percent proportions of cancer deaths as compared to their incidence percentage in Asia and Africa. Cancer is a genetic but not inheritable disease that consists of various abnormal cells. Depending upon the nature and site of availability of cells cancer can spread all over the body. These abnormal cells can grow infinitely in which tyrosine kinases (TKs) play an important role as mediators for cellular signal transduction processes during migration, metabolism, proliferation and differentiation, apoptotic cell death, etc. TKs belong to a specific family of an enzyme that catalyses the transferring of phosphate groups from ATP to selected tyrosine residues of a target protein during the biological process to maintain the homeostasis. They work in various steps of development and progression pathways of cancer by affecting signal transduction. The aberrant and deregulated functioning of TKs results in a defective signal transduction pathway which leads to abnormality in cell transformation, proliferation, and differentiation, thus the development of cancer. Since their discovery in 1990 to date, more than 90 TKs have been reported and divided into two categories receptor and non-receptor TKs. Higher expression levels of TKs paved their status of oncoprotein and thus, they provide a potential target for the development of anti-cancer therapeutics. Here, we provided updated cancer demographic status, cancer types, and available therapeutic options targeted cancer therapeutic strategies and the role of different TKs in cancers along with recently identified molecules that target TKs. Moreover, we also included the binding interactions of chemical inhibitors with TKs.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection commonly leads to neurologic manifestations. In the present review, we aimed to investigate potential neuroimaging markers of early diagnosis and prognosis of neurologic manifestations in COVID-19. METHODS: Our study was registered in the Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO) under the protocol CDR42021265443. Based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, we selected 51 studies for whole-manuscript analysis. RESULTS: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was the most common imaging method. The pattern, sites of lesion, signs, and symptoms of neurologic injury varied. Such manifestations possibly resulted from a direct viral infection or, most likely, from indirect mechanisms including coagulation disturbances, hypoxemia, and immunological responses. CONCLUSION: The heterogeneity of the studies precludes any generalization of the findings. Brain MRI is the most informative imaging exam. Population studies including the entire spectrum of COVID-19 are missing. There is still a need for future population studies evaluating neurologic manifestations of all COVID-19 severities acutely and chronically.