In silico prediction of clinical efficacy

Drug development is a high risk and costly process, and the ability to predict clinical efficacy in silico (in a computer) can save the pharmaceutical industry time and resources. Additionally, such an approach will result in more targeted, personalized therapies. To date, a number of in silico strategies have been developed to provide better information about the human response to novel therapies earlier in the drug development process. Some of the most prominent include physiological modeling of disease and disease processes, analytical tools for population pharmacodynamics, tools for the analysis of genomic expression data, Monte Carlo simulation technologies, and predictive biosimulation. These strategies are likely to contribute significantly to reducing the failure rate of drugs entering clinical trials.     

The efficacy of non-surgical platelet-rich fibrin application on clinical periodontal parameters and periostin level in periodontitis: Clinical trial

Platelet-rich fibrin (PRF) has been widely used in regenerative dentistry due to many growth factors produced. Periostin, a matricellular protein, is a reliable marker for tissue regeneration. Periostin is part of the cellular matrix and regulates bone homeostasis. This study aims to explore the efficacy of PRF in improvement of the clinical periodontal parameters as an adjunct to the scaling and root planing and to evaluate periostin level in gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) at baseline, 1- and 3-month recall visits. Fourteen periodontitis patients who met the inclusion criteria were recruited in this study. Two contralateral periodontal pockets with 4–6 mm in depth in each patient were selected. The sites in every participant were randomly allocated into control sites or test sites. In control sites, only conventional scaling and root planing was carried out. In test sites, however, scaling and root planing method and PRF were applied. Periostin level in GCF and clinical periodontal parameters were measured. The test sites revealed greater relative attachment gain (2.614 ± 0.606 mm and 3.321 ± 0.668 mm) than control sites (1.285 ± 0.671 mm and 1.839 ± 0.632 mm) and a significant pocket reduction (2.535 ± 0.664 mm and 3.321 ± 0.668 mm) than the control sites (1.21 ± 0.508 mm and 1.892 ± 0.655 mm) at 1- and 3-month recall visits respectively. In the test sites, level of periostin (48.83 ± 9.3 ng/μl and 98.90 ± 24.94 ng/μl) were greater than periostin levels in the control sites (42.65 ± 7.03 ng/μl and 49.29 ± 15.14 ng/μl) at 1- and 3-month recall visits respectively. In conclusion, the non-surgical application of PRF as an adjunct to scaling and root planing significantly improved the clinical periodontal parameters through raising periostin level in GCF.     

Streptokinase--biochemistry and clinical application

Plasminogen activation to plasmin is due to enzymatic cleavage of a single peptide bond in the zymogen molecule. Streptokinase is not an enzyme and its activation of plasminogen is indirect. Streptokinase forms stoichiometric complexes with plasmin and plasminogen and these complexes activate plasminogen to plasmin. Streptokinase is species selective in its action.     

Veterinary vaccinology

Veterinary vaccinology is a very interesting and rapidly developing field. In fact veterinary vaccines are not only used for the prevention of infectious diseases in the animal health sector, but also help to solve problems of public health, to reduce detrimental environmental impact of the use of some veterinary drugs and prevent the emergence of resistance of micro-organisms or parasites. After a short introduction, this paper will deal with the use of vaccines for animal health and welfare, including new developments in the veterinary field such as marker vaccines and vectored vaccines, the special case of equine influenza-inactivated vaccines and the use of veterinary vaccines in public health. The conclusions will analyse the reasons as to why develop veterinary vaccines and the obstacles to their development.     

Veterinary vaccines

Vaccination of animals for the prevention of infectious diseases has been practised for a number of years with little change in product composition. Recent advances in molecular biology, pathogenesis and immunology have laid the groundwork for the development of a new generation of veterinary vaccines based on pure subunits as well as live vectored bacteria and viruses. Along with novel methods of antigen preparation, the use of new adjuvants and delivery systems will permit targeting of the appropriate immune response as well as offering flexibility in terms of vaccination protocols. These new technologies are also being applied to the development of vaccines to enhance animal productivity and to control reproduction.     

Melatonin and clinical application.

A review of the different publications dealing with melatonin in humans shows that this field has been very active in the last few years. Normative melatonin values have been defined. Various relationships between melatonin and other traits have been studied, such as sleep, circadian rhythm, surgical stress and anaesthesia. Age-related melatonin studies and melatonin during depression and other psychiatric disorders have been reviewed. Finally, some studies have been performed to use melatonin as a medication for sleep disturbance in depression, for jet-lag and as a skin protector for ultraviolet light.