Manipal University

About: Manipal University is a education organization based out in Manipal, Karnataka, India. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Health care. The organization has 9525 authors who have published 11207 publications receiving 110687 citations.

Folic acid conjugation improves the bioavailability and chemosensitizing efficacy of curcumin-encapsulated PLGA-PEG nanoparticles towards paclitaxel chemotherapy.

Abstract: Nanoencapsulation has emerged as a novel strategy to enhance the pharmacokinetic and therapeutic potential of conventional drugs. Recent studies from our lab have established the efficacy of curcumin in sensitizing cervical cancer cells and breast cancer cells towards paclitaxel and 5-FU chemotherapy respectively. Factors that hinder the clinical use of curcumin as a sensitizer or therapeutic agent include its poor bioavailability and retention time. Earlier reports of improvement in bioavailability and retention of drugs upon nanoencapsulation have motivated us in developing various nanoformulations of curcumin, which were found to exhibit significant enhancement in bioavailability and retention time as assessed by our previous in vitro studies. Among the various formulations tested, curcumin-entrapped in PLGA-PEG nanoparticles conjugated to folic acid (PPF-curcumin) displayed maximum cell death. In the present study, we have demonstrated the efficacy of this formulation in augmenting the bioavailability and retention time of curcumin, in vivo, in Swiss albino mice. Further, the acute and chronic toxicity studies proved that the formulation is pharmacologically safe. We have also evaluated its potential in chemosensitizing cervical cancer cells to paclitaxel and have verified the results using cervical cancer xenograft model in NOD-SCID mice. Folic acid conjugation significantly enhanced the efficacy of curcumin in down-regulating various survival signals induced by paclitaxel in cervical cancer cells and have considerably improved its potential in inhibiting the tumor growth of cervical cancer xenografts. The non-toxic nature coupled with improved chemosensitization potential makes PPF-curcumin a promising candidate formulation for clinical trials.

Study and evaluation of the various cutaneous adverse drug reactions in Kasturba hospital, Manipal

Abstract: The present study emphasizes on implementation of the adverse drug reaction reporting and monitoring system, in the Dermatology department of Kasturba Hospital, Manipal, by a clinical pharmacist, using different promotional activities Documented adverse drug reactions were assessed and analyzed for incidence, purpose of visit, types, drug classes, individual drug causing adverse drug reactions, type of cutaneous reaction, and various predisposing factors Management and outcome of the adverse drug reactions were also studied Adverse drug reactions were also assessed for causality, using Naranjo's scale, severity, and preventability, using Hartwig et al scale Adverse drug reaction attributes to 77% of the hospital visit Incidence of reported cutaneous adverse drug reactions, were 285% Majority of the adverse drug reactions (96%) were of type B Antibiotics (30%), were the common class of drugs, causing a cutaneous adverse drug reactions Maximum number of adverse drug reactions were due to Acetaminophen, Amoxicillin, antitubercular drugs, and Phenytoin Most of the adverse drug reactions were managed by withdrawal of drug (81%), and 58% patients were recovered from the reaction Naranjos scale classifies, 29 as probable, 21 as possible, and 3 as definite adverse drug reactions Most of the adverse drug reactions were of moderate severity, however 13 adverse drug reactions were severe All the adverse drug reactions were probably preventable on extreme caution

DNA Hypermethylation as an Epigenetic mark for Oral Cancer Diagnosis

Abstract: J Oral Pathol Med (2011) 40: 665–676 Oral cancer is the largest group of cancers which fall into the head and neck category While genetic alterations in oral cancer have long been documented, the effect of epigenetic changes is more recent The recent explosion in science of how chromatin organization modulates the gene expression has highlighted the epigenetic mechanism of oral cancer pathogenesis DNA methylation, which is an important epigenetic marker, is perhaps the best characterized chemical modification of mammalian DNA and provides a stable, heritable, and critical component of epigenetic regulation This review attempts to decipher the epigenetic aspects of oral cancer by evaluating the DNA methylation status through its various stages from normal to potentially malignant to malignant states In doing so, we emphasize DNA methylation as a novel biomarker in oral cancer research, thus opening newer avenues in oral cancer research