NANOPARTICLES TO TREAT ATHEROSCLEROTIC PLAQUES

Pharma pulse by linu mohan

NANOPARTICLES TO TREAT ATHEROSCLEROTIC PLAQUES

 Hardening and narrowing of the arteries  is known as atherosclerosis. This is progressive process which silently and slowly blocks arteries, results blood flow at risk. It leads to cardiovascular diseases like heart attack, strokes and peripheral vascular disease, which are the leading cause of death.

Plaque is a jumble of cholesterol, cells, and debris that creates a bump on the artery wall. As atherosclerosis progresses, that bump gets bigger and may create a blockage. The plaques of atherosclerosis cause the three main kinds ofcardiovascular disease

1. Coronary artery disease: Stable plaques in the artery of heart cause angina.  Sudden plaque rupture and clotting causes heart muscle to die and thereby myocardial infarction.

2. Cerebrovascular disease: Ruptured plaques in the arteries of brain causes strokes which may cause permanent brain damage.

3. Peripheral artery disease: Narrowing in the arteries of the legs caused by plaque causes poor circulation and its complications.

As atherosclerotic plaque is an invisible killer, the scientists have recently developed a nanoparticle, that can simultaneously light up and treat atherosclerotic plaques which clog arteries. This nanoparticle that functionally mimics natural high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and the treatment with this may help to prevent  heart attacks and strokes.

The existing detection methods, often fail to identify dangerous plaques, which can clog arteries orcan detach from arterial walls to block blood flow, causing a heart attack or stroke. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a good detection method for plaque visualization, but requires the use of a contrast agent to show the atherosclerotic plaques clearly.

So the principle of this new method is by making a synthetic nanoparticle which can functionally mimic HDL widely known as "good" cholesterol because of its ability to pull low-density lipoprotein, out of plaque. Since it is synthetic HDL the chances of immune reactions are totally avoided. The MRI-active HDL mimic, with encapsulated iron oxide as contrast agent, can use for both detection and treatment of plaque developed as result of atherosclerosis.

                   (Plaque formation)

HEPATITIS B VIRUS; QUANTITATIVE TEST

Hepatitis B is a potentially life-threatening liver infection caused by the hepatitis B virus. It is a major global health problem. The virus attacks the liver and can cause both acute and chronic disease and it is transmitted through contact with the blood or other body fluids of an infected person.

An estimated 240 million people are chronically infected with hepatitis. More than seven lakh people die every year due to complications of hepatitis B, including cirrhosis and liver cancer.

It is not possible, on clinical grounds, to differentiate hepatitis B from hepatitis caused by other viral agents and, hence, laboratory confirmation of the diagnosis is essential. Recently FDA had given approval for a laboratory test used to measure the amount of hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA in patient’s blood, where viral DNA is genetic material from HBV.

In this technique using patient’s blood sample, DNA is separated from serum .Separated DNA is mixed with the assay reagents and calculates the amount of HBV DNA in the patient’s blood based on the fluorescent signal measured by the analyser

This test is used together with other laboratory results and clinical information to determine whether a person has active HBV infection and also to evaluate the patient’s response to treatment.

FDA recommended that this test should not be used to screen blood or blood products for transfusion. The assay should not be used to determine if a person is infected with the hepatitis B virus or to determine the stage of HBV infection.