Therapeutic Potential of Zeolites/Vitamin B12 Nanocomposite on Complete Freund's Adjuvant-Induced Arthritis as a Bone Disorder: In Vivo Study and Bio-Molecular Investigations

Correction: Belal et al. Therapeutic Potential of Zeolites/Vitamin B12 Nanocomposite on Complete Freund's Adjuvant-Induced Arthritis as a Bone Disorder: In Vivo Study and Bio-Molecular Investigations. Pharmaceuticals 2023, 16, 285

In the original publication [...].

Nanotechnology-empowered combination therapy for rheumatoid arthritis: principles, strategies, and challenges

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease with multifactorial etiology and intricate pathogenesis. In RA, repeated monotherapy is frequently associated with inadequate efficacy, drug resistance, and severe side effects. Therefore, a shift has occurred in clinical practice toward combination therapy. However, conventional combination therapy encounters several hindrances, including low selectivity to arthritic joints, short half-lives, and varying pharmacokinetics among coupled drugs. Emerging nanotechnology offers an incomparable opportunity for developing advanced combination therapy against RA. First, it allows for co-delivering multiple drugs with augmented physicochemical properties, targeted delivery capabilities, and controlled release profiles. Second, it enables therapeutic nanomaterials development, thereby expanding combination regimens to include multifunctional nanomedicines. Lastly, it facilitates the construction of all-in-one nanoplatforms assembled with multiple modalities, such as phototherapy, sonodynamic therapy, and imaging. Thus, nanotechnology offers a promising solution to the current bottleneck in both RA treatment and diagnosis. This review summarizes the rationale, advantages, and recent advances in nano-empowered combination therapy for RA. It also discusses safety considerations, drug-drug interactions, and the potential for clinical translation. Additionally, it provides design tips and an outlook on future developments in nano-empowered combination therapy. The objective of this review is to achieve a comprehensive understanding of the mechanisms underlying combination therapy for RA and unlock the maximum potential of nanotechnology, thereby facilitating the smooth transition of research findings from the laboratory to clinical practice.

Design, preparation, and performance of different adsorbents based on carboxymethyl chitosan/sodium alginate hydrogel beads for selective adsorption of Cadmium (II) and Chromium (III) metal ions

Developing cost-effective and efficient adsorbents for heavy metals in multicomponent systems is a challenge that needs to be resolved to meet the challenges of wastewater treatment technology. Two adsorbents were synthesized, characterized, and investigated for the removal of Cd2+ and Cr3+ as model heavy metals in their single and binary solutions. The first adsorbent (ACZ) was a nanocomposite formed of O-Carboxymethyl chitosan, sodium alginate, and zeolite. While, the other (ACL) contained ZnFe layered double hydroxides instead of the zeolite phase. Adsorbents were characterized using XRD, FTIR, SEM, and swelling degree analysis. For single heavy metal adsorption isotherms, data for both adsorbents was best fitted and indicated a multilayer adsorption nature. For binary adsorption, Langmuir model with interacting parameters showed the best results compared to other models for both pollutants. For single system, Avrami model was found to be the best model representing the adsorption kinetics data, which indicates that the mechanism of adsorption follows multiple kinetic orders that may change during duration of adsorption process. Numerous interaction mechanisms can occur between the heavy metals and functional groups in the synthesized hydrogels such as NH2, COOH, and OH groups leading to efficient adsorption of metal ions.

Exploring the causal association between rheumatoid arthritis and the risk of cervical cancer: a two-sample Mendelian randomization study

OBJECTIVE

Whether rheumatoid arthritis patients have an increased risk of cervical cancer remains controversial, and further research is needed on this clinical question. This study aims to investigate the association between rheumatoid arthritis and the susceptibility to cervical cancer by employing Mendelian randomization methodology, utilizing the extensive dataset from human genome-wide association data analysis.

METHODS

The publicly accessible MR base database was utilized to obtain the complete genome, relevant research findings, and summarized data pertaining to rheumatoid arthritis and cervical cancer. Genetic tool variables, specifically single-nucleotide polymorphisms closely linked to rheumatoid arthritis, were chosen for analysis. Four methods, namely inverse variance weighted analysis, weighted median analysis, weighted mode, and MR-Egger regression, were employed. Statistical analysis was conducted to explore the potential association between rheumatoid arthritis and susceptibility to cervical cancer.

RESULTS

The results of the inverse variance weighted analysis (OR = 1.096, 95% CI: 1.018-1.180, P = 0.015) indicate a significant causal relationship between rheumatoid arthritis and an increased risk of cervical cancer. Furthermore, the absence of horizontal pleiotropic effects (MR-Egger intercept = 0.00025, P = 0.574) and heterogeneity (QEgger = 2.239, I2Egger = 0.225, PEgger = 0.268, QIVW = 2.734, I2IVW = 0.220, PIVW = 0.999) suggests that the observed association is not influenced by confounding factors. Sensitivity analysis and other statistical methods also support the conclusion that genetic pleiotropy does not introduce bias to the findings.

CONCLUSION

There is a causal relationship between rheumatoid arthritis and the occurrence of cervical cancer. People with rheumatoid arthritis is one of the high-risk groups for early screening of cervical cancer. The IL-18 may play a significant role in elevating the risk of cervical cancer among rheumatoid arthritis patients.