Latest technologies from Royal College of Surgeons Ireland

Orodispersible Dosage Forms Containing Solid Drug Dispersions

joannocallaghan@rcsi.ie — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 03:30:41 GMT

Introduction The efficacy of a drug depends on its solubility and absorption into the systemic circulation and its availability at the site of action. Poorwater solubility of a drug is associated with variability in its absorption. Such variability can lead to reduced efficacy of the drug (due to poor absorption) or unwanted side effects (due to increased absorption). Variability in the bioavailability of a drug impacts on patient compliance, disease management and quality of life. It is estimated that approximately 50% of existing therapeutic agents have poor sol...

Orodispersible Tablet Technology

joannocallaghan@rcsi.ie — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 02:43:05 GMT

Introduction Oral delivery is currently the gold standard in the pharmaceutical industry where it is regarded as the safest, most convenient and most economical method of drug delivery with the highest patient compliance. The tablet is the most widely utilised oral dose format. A novel tablet concept which offers ease of oral administration and benefits of increased patient compliance is an orodispersible tablet. This tablet format is designed to readily dissolve or disintegrate in the mouth generally within <60 seconds without chewing and without water. A numb...

Breast Cancer Biomarkers: S100 beta and HOXC1

joannocallaghan@rcsi.ie — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 02:16:51 GMT

Introduction Every year approximately 1.2 million worldwide, are diagnosed with breast cancer (International Agency for Research). Currently women diagnosed with breast cancer generally undergo surgery to remove the tumour. Many will also receive either chemo or radiotherapy or a combination of both. Approximately two thirds of all breast cancers are estrogen receptor positive and it is these patients who will then receive endocrine treatment for a further 5 years. Though most patients initially respond to treatment, approximately 40% eventually relapse. Why these ...

Therapeutic Opportuitues: ALS & Neuro-degenerative Diseases

joannocallaghan@rcsi.ie — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 02:28:45 GMT

Introduction Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease in the US, is the most common neurodegenerative disorder of young and middle aged adults that is incurable and invariably fatal. The only disease-modifying therapy currently available is Riluzole®, which only extends survival by 3-6 months and has recently come off patent. This treatment is expected to show sales in excess of US $129 million for 2007. Novel disease-specific mutations in a particular gene have recently been identified in ALS patients. This gene has not previously...

Osteochondral Defect Repair Scaffold

joannocallaghan@rcsi.ie — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 02:05:22 GMT

Introduction Articular cartilage is a highly specialised tissue found covering the surfaces of the bony ends of all synovial joints in the human body. Its function is to lubricate joint movement and absorb small shock impacts within a joint. The structure and composition of articular cartilage is highly ordered into distinct but seamlessly integrated layers which vary in composition and structure according to the distance from the surface. Cartilage has a poor ability to regenerate itself due to the sparse distribution and low mitotic activity of the articular...

Bone Graft Substitute

joannocallaghan@rcsi.ie — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 08:10:09 GMT

Introduction Bone grafts are used clinically in the treatment of many forms of bone tissue defect (e.g. fracture alignment/non-union, critical-sized defects, maxillo-facial surgery and spinal fusion). They actively promote healing and new bone formation (osteogenesis) using a biocompatible, osteoconductive and osteoinductive graft structure that provides mechanical support and promotes osteogenesis. Historically, the gold standard has been either autografts (patient’s own tissue) or allografts (donor tissue). Whilst autografts are still widely used, drawbacks suc...

Blood Pressure Pharmacogenic Assay

joannocallaghan@rcsi.ie — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 07:48:37 GMT

Introduction The first direct renin inhibitor has recently been licensed for use as an anti-hypertensive drug in both the United States and Europe. Many analysts suggest that Aliskiren (Tekturna, Rasilez) (Novartis), as the first of its class to market, has blockbuster potential, with projected annual sales of > $2.5 billion by 2012. The market for blockers of the renin angiotensin system (RAS) is large - in excess of 70% of those over 50 years of age suffer from hypertension, diabetes mellitus, coronary artery disease, renal dysfunction or stroke. Use of the R...

Live Cell Imaging Software

joannocallaghan@rcsi.ie — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 04:19:17 GMT

Introduction Recent technological developments in fluorescent microscopy provide new opportunities for multi parameter imaging in living cells. However, as experiments may run for hours or days, manpower restrictions apply when controlling and evaluating the experiments. Likewise, the cell’s sensitivity to phototoxicity creates the necessity to use laser resources efficiently. This poses a challenge whenever key events happen spontaneously after hours and then proceed rapidly. Here, overly frequent temporal sampling (usually chosen at experimental set-up) might lead to prematur...

UDCA as a Treatment for Diarrhoeal disease

joannocallaghan@rcsi.ie — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 02:57:43 GMT

Introduction The global impact of diarrheal disease: Diarrhoeal diseases represent a huge global burden. In developing countries infectious diarrhoea kills 2.5 million children annually while in Western societies diarrhoea is a feature of many intestinal disorders including infectious diseases (ID), inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), celiac disease, and a number of conditions associated with bile acid malabsorption. It has been estimated by the American Gastroenterological Association that ID, IBD and IBS alone represent an annual cost to the U...

FXR Agonists as a Treatment for Diarrhoeal Disease

joannocallaghan@rcsi.ie — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 02:30:37 GMT

Introduction Diarrhoeal disease is known to cause ~ 2 million deaths per year mostly in developing countries and in children < 5 yrs old. In the Western world common causes of diarrhea include infectious diseases, Inflammatory Bowel Disease(IBD), Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBs), allergic diarrhoea, celiac disease and liver diseases. In the United states IBD, IBS and IDs alone cost the exchequer ~ $9.6 billion in 2000. Furthermore, diarrhoea is often a debilitating and dose-limiting side effect of cancer chemotherapy. Current treatments such as anti inflammatory drugs and those that ...

An Economic and Green Technology for the Manufacture of Sulfonic Acids

joannocallaghan@rcsi.ie — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 07:49:01 GMT

Introduction Novel technology developed at RCSI has produced an improved, facile, low temperature and “green” technology for the production of racemic sulfonic acids. Sulfonic acids are precious compounds that are present in a wide number of marketed compounds such as taurine (used as a functional food in many energy products and drinks, e.g., Red Bull) and saclophen (used in anti-spasmodic drugs such a Lioresal). At present, their production involves the reaction of alkenes and bisulfite at high temperature and in the presence of radical initiators. The involvement...