Pharma pulse

Pharma pulse by Linu Mohan

DRUG TO PREVENT EARLY MENOPAUSE IN BREAST CANCER TREATMENT

Breast cancer is the most common invasive cancer in females worldwide. According to National Breast Cancer foundation one in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their life time. It accounts for 16% of all female cancers and 22.9% of invasive cancers in women.

Breast cancer treatment varies depending on the conditions of the patient. When the tumor is localized, the major treatment choice is surgery. If surgery is considered unsuitable, chemotherapy (drug treatment for cancer) may be used effectively and it is noted that, during chemotherapy one of the most upsetting side effects is early menopause and development of infertility.

Goserelin is a medication that mimics the actions of gonadotropin-releasing hormone, a hormone that affects the release of sex hormones such as testosterone and oestrogen. It works by decreasing oestrogen level in women results in slow or stop the growth of certain cancer cells that need these hormones to grow and spread.

Now researchers found that addition goserelin in patient's chemotherapy regimen reduces the risk of such side effects like premature ovarian failure and even improve overall survival of the patient. So the findings may help to change the current clinical practice and better patient care for women following a breast cancer diagnosis.

MASS SPECTROSCOPY TO DETECT STAPHYLOCOCCUS INFECTION

Mass spectrometry is an analytical tool used for measuring the molecular mass of a sample. Recently the technique has undergone useful technological improvements allowing for its application to proteins, peptides, carbohydrates, DNA, drugs, and many other biologically relevant molecules.

Staphylococcus is a group of bacteria that can cause a number of diseases as a result of infection of various tissues of the body. Staphylococcus aureus is a gram positive coccus bacterium, frequently found in the human respiratory tract and the skin. Infections with Staphylococcus aureus have increased recently, which may results in antibiotic resistant strains, especially methicillin resistant S.aureus (MRSA) and, more recently, vancomycin resistant strains.So an early and accurate detection of S.aureus infections is very important because the bacterium can cause a wide variety of infections that require quick treatment with the appropriate antibiotic.

Researchers have designed a new laboratory test that can quickly identify the bacterium that causes S.aureusinfections. The principle behind the test is, injecting a known amount of bacteriophage labelled with nitrogen-15 into a sample. The phage, virus can infect S.aureus cells, which subsequently multiply and amplify the phage signal. After incubation, the proteins from the phage shell willbreak into component peptides using a trypsin digest technique. The sample willanalyse using liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometric detection. Thus concentration of S.aureus will be detected.

This method helps the health care professionals, in the treatment of contagious diseases, when a large population need to be tested with in a short period in an economical way.In addition to identification of bacteria, resistance and susceptibility pattern of different antibiotics can also be determined by this method. 

OSTEOARTHRITIS-INTRA ARTICULAR INJECTION

Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis, affecting millions of people around the world. Cartilage cushions bones at the joints and keeps the bones from rubbing against each other. Osteoarthritis (OA) occurs when this cartilage wears away. The loss of cartilage results in pain, reduced range of motion, and swelling. The most common symptom of osteoarthritis is pain in the affected joints after repetitive use.

In the early stages of osteoarthritis, treatment may involve several techniques. Behavioural and lifestyle changes including losing weight and changing routines to avoid painful situations can be very effective. Usually Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are used to control pain.

Now FDA has approved an artificial material (GEL-SYN) that contains sodium hyaluronate and is injected into osteoarthritic knee joint. It acts like a shock absorber and lubricant in joint hyaluronate is highly viscous, allowing the cartilage surfaces of the bones to glide upon each other smoothly.

This method is applicable in patients who do not get enough relief from simple pain medicines such as analgesicsor from physical therapy. There are some side-effects for this treatment, which include , pain at injection site, swelling, or joint pain and the preparation should not use in patients with known hypersensitivity (allergy) to sodium hyaluronateand patients having knee joint infections, skin diseases, or infections in the area of the injection site.

Linu Mohan

Asst Prof