Central nervous system (CNS) medications and polypharmacy in later life: cross-sectional analysis of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) (2020)
Journal Article
Slater, N., White, S., & Frisher, M. (2020). Central nervous system (CNS) medications and polypharmacy in later life: cross-sectional analysis of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA). BMJ Open, 10(9), https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2019-034346

OBJECTIVES: Many central nervous system (CNS) medications are considered potentially inappropriate for prescribing in older people; however, these medications are common in polypharmacy (=5 medicines) regimens. This paper aims to determine the preval... Read More about Central nervous system (CNS) medications and polypharmacy in later life: cross-sectional analysis of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA).

Conducting competency-based assessments during the COVID-19 pandemic: Moving to remote assessments (2020)
Journal Article
(2020). Conducting competency-based assessments during the COVID-19 pandemic: Moving to remote assessments. Pharmacy Education, 31 -32. https://doi.org/10.46542/pe.2020.202.3132

At Keele University School of Pharmacy and Bioengineering, all Master of Pharmacy students undertake Competency Based Assessments (CBAs) towards the end of each academic year. CBAs simulate ‘real life’ settings in pharmacy and assess a student’s abil... Read More about Conducting competency-based assessments during the COVID-19 pandemic: Moving to remote assessments.

Liposomes for Intra-Articular Analgesic Drug Delivery in Orthopedics: State-of-Art and Future Perspectives. Insights from a Systematic Mini-Review of the Literature. (2020)
Journal Article
(2020). Liposomes for Intra-Articular Analgesic Drug Delivery in Orthopedics: State-of-Art and Future Perspectives. Insights from a Systematic Mini-Review of the Literature. Medicina, https://doi.org/10.3390/medicina56090423

Background and objectives: Liposomal structures are artificial vesicles composed of one or several lamellae of phospholipids which surround an inner aqueous core. Given the amphoteric nature of phospholipids, liposomes are promising systems for drug... Read More about Liposomes for Intra-Articular Analgesic Drug Delivery in Orthopedics: State-of-Art and Future Perspectives. Insights from a Systematic Mini-Review of the Literature..

Current evidence on the impact of medication optimization or pharmacological interventions on frailty or aspects of frailty: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials. (2020)
Journal Article
(2020). Current evidence on the impact of medication optimization or pharmacological interventions on frailty or aspects of frailty: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials. European Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00228-020-02951-8

BACKGROUND: Frailty and adverse drug effects are linked in the fact that polypharmacy is correlated with the severity of frailty; however, a causal relation has not been proven in older people with clinically manifest frailty. METHODS: A literature s... Read More about Current evidence on the impact of medication optimization or pharmacological interventions on frailty or aspects of frailty: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials..

Actual vs. Perceived Competency Development-How Can Virtual Patients Impact Pharmacist Pre-Registration Training? (2020)
Journal Article
Thompson, J., White, S., & Chapman, S. (2020). Actual vs. Perceived Competency Development-How Can Virtual Patients Impact Pharmacist Pre-Registration Training?. Pharmacy, 8(3), Article 138. https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmacy8030138

Virtual patients are an active learning pedagogical tool that simulate clinical scenarios. There is an established disparity in pre-registration examination pass rates depending on whether individuals complete their training in a community or hospita... Read More about Actual vs. Perceived Competency Development-How Can Virtual Patients Impact Pharmacist Pre-Registration Training?.

Synthesis of highly functionalised calix[4]resorcinarenes and their application as drug solubilising agents (2020)
Thesis
Abdulrahman, M. F. A. (2020). Synthesis of highly functionalised calix[4]resorcinarenes and their application as drug solubilising agents. (Thesis). Keele University

The rate-limiting step for oral absorption of hydrophobic drugs and solubility is the drug dissolution rate in the GI fluids. Several novel and traditional methods have been used to improve the solubility rates of poorly water soluble drugs. The prof... Read More about Synthesis of highly functionalised calix[4]resorcinarenes and their application as drug solubilising agents.

Controlling human platelet activation with calcium-binding nanoparticles (2020)
Journal Article
Cabrera, D., Walker, K., Moise, S., Telling, N. D., & Harper, A. G. (2020). Controlling human platelet activation with calcium-binding nanoparticles. Nano Research, 13, Article 2697–2705. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-020-2912-8

We introduce a neural method that is able to fuse concepts from a knowledge base with the context information for the task of grouping of aspect terms. Rather than only using context information, we use the corresponding concepts of aspect terms as a... Read More about Controlling human platelet activation with calcium-binding nanoparticles.

Development and validation of a bioluminescence assay for high throughput screening of potent and rapidly cytocidal compounds against intraerythrocytic Plasmodium falciparum (2020)
Thesis
Famodimu, M. T. (2020). Development and validation of a bioluminescence assay for high throughput screening of potent and rapidly cytocidal compounds against intraerythrocytic Plasmodium falciparum. (Thesis). Keele University

The emergence of P. falciparum resistant to current front-line artemisinin combination therapies underscores the urgent demand for new candidate molecules for a single exposure radical cure and prophylaxis drug. Developing a suitable candidate compon... Read More about Development and validation of a bioluminescence assay for high throughput screening of potent and rapidly cytocidal compounds against intraerythrocytic Plasmodium falciparum.

Mechanical loading of bioengineered skeletal muscle in-vitro to mimic the transcriptional and epigenetic regulation of skeletal muscle in-vivo (2020)
Thesis
Turner, D. C. (2020). Mechanical loading of bioengineered skeletal muscle in-vitro to mimic the transcriptional and epigenetic regulation of skeletal muscle in-vivo. (Thesis). Keele University

Skeletal muscle (SkM) is an extremely abundant and mechano-sensitive tissue, demonstrating increases in mass and function following mechanical loading/resistance exercise (RE). Over the past 3 decades, there has been considerable progress in the deve... Read More about Mechanical loading of bioengineered skeletal muscle in-vitro to mimic the transcriptional and epigenetic regulation of skeletal muscle in-vivo.

Human platelets use a cytosolic Ca2+ nanodomain to activate Ca2+-dependent shape change independently of platelet aggregation (2020)
Journal Article
Harper. (2020). Human platelets use a cytosolic Ca2+ nanodomain to activate Ca2+-dependent shape change independently of platelet aggregation. Cell Calcium, 90, Article 102248. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ceca.2020.102248

Human platelets use a rise in cytosolic Ca2+ concentration to activate all stages of thrombus formation, however, how they are able to decode cytosolic Ca2+ signals to trigger each of these independently is unknown. Other cells create local Ca2+ sign... Read More about Human platelets use a cytosolic Ca2+ nanodomain to activate Ca2+-dependent shape change independently of platelet aggregation.

Vulnerability of drug-resistant EML4-ALK rearranged lung cancer to transcriptional inhibition (2020)
Journal Article
Paliouras, A. R., Buzzetti, M., Shi, L., Donaldson, I. J., Magee, P., Sahoo, S., …Garofalo, M. (2020). Vulnerability of drug-resistant EML4-ALK rearranged lung cancer to transcriptional inhibition. EMBO Molecular Medicine, 12(7), Article e11099. https://doi.org/10.15252/emmm.201911099

A subset of lung adenocarcinomas is driven by the EML4-ALK translocation. Even though ALK inhibitors in the clinic lead to excellent initial responses, acquired resistance to these inhibitors due to on-target mutations or parallel pathway alterations... Read More about Vulnerability of drug-resistant EML4-ALK rearranged lung cancer to transcriptional inhibition.

Tendon and Cytokine Marker Expression by Human Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells in a Hyaluronate/Poly-Lactic-Co-Glycolic Acid (PLGA)/Fibrin Three-Dimensional (3D) Scaffold. (2020)
Journal Article
(2020). Tendon and Cytokine Marker Expression by Human Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells in a Hyaluronate/Poly-Lactic-Co-Glycolic Acid (PLGA)/Fibrin Three-Dimensional (3D) Scaffold. Cells, https://doi.org/10.3390/cells9051268

We developed a (three-dimensional) 3D scaffold, we named HY-FIB, incorporating a force-transmission band of braided hyaluronate embedded in a cell localizing fibrin hydrogel and poly-lactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA) nanocarriers as transient components... Read More about Tendon and Cytokine Marker Expression by Human Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells in a Hyaluronate/Poly-Lactic-Co-Glycolic Acid (PLGA)/Fibrin Three-Dimensional (3D) Scaffold..

A Multitargeted Approach in the Discovery of an Organorhodium Anticancer Agent Based On Vorinostat as a Potent Histone Deacetylase Inhibitor. (2020)
Journal Article
Reynisson. (2020). A Multitargeted Approach in the Discovery of an Organorhodium Anticancer Agent Based On Vorinostat as a Potent Histone Deacetylase Inhibitor. Angewandte Chemie International Edition, https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.202005758

The combination of more than one bioactive moiety in a mulitargeted anticancer agent may result in synergistic activity of its components. Using this concept, bioorganometallic compounds were designed to feature a metal center, a 2-pyridinecarbothioa... Read More about A Multitargeted Approach in the Discovery of an Organorhodium Anticancer Agent Based On Vorinostat as a Potent Histone Deacetylase Inhibitor..

Telomerase inhibition, telomere attrition and proliferation arrest of cancer cells induced by phosphorothioate ASO-NLS conjugates targeting hTERC and siRNAs targeting hTERT (2020)
Journal Article
Diala, I., Shiohama, Y., Fujita, T., Kotake, Y., Demonacos, C., Krstic-Demonacos, M., …Fujii, M. (2020). Telomerase inhibition, telomere attrition and proliferation arrest of cancer cells induced by phosphorothioate ASO-NLS conjugates targeting hTERC and siRNAs targeting hTERT. Nucleosides, Nucleotides and Nucleic Acids, 39(1-3), 407 - 425. https://doi.org/10.1080/15257770.2020.1713357

Telomerase activity has been regarded as a critical step in cellular immortalization and carcinogenesis and because of this, regulation of telomerase represents an attractive target for anti-tumor specific therapeutics. Recently, one avenue of cancer... Read More about Telomerase inhibition, telomere attrition and proliferation arrest of cancer cells induced by phosphorothioate ASO-NLS conjugates targeting hTERC and siRNAs targeting hTERT.

Pharmacological properties of rutin and its potential uses for Alzheimer’s disease. (2020)
Journal Article
Chen, R., Hassan, H., Rawlinson, C., & Morgan, D. (2020). Pharmacological properties of rutin and its potential uses for Alzheimer’s disease. Journal of Experimental Stroke and Translational Medicine, 13(2), 1-12

Rutin, a flavonoid with a wide range of biological activities, has a long history of use in nutritional supplements owing to its action against oxidative stress, inflammation, and hyperglycemia. Because of its pharmacological properties such as antio... Read More about Pharmacological properties of rutin and its potential uses for Alzheimer’s disease..

Sodium Hyaluronate Supplemented Culture Media as a New hMSC Chondrogenic Differentiation Media-Model for in vitro/ex vivo Screening of Potential Cartilage Repair Therapies. (2020)
Journal Article
(2020). Sodium Hyaluronate Supplemented Culture Media as a New hMSC Chondrogenic Differentiation Media-Model for in vitro/ex vivo Screening of Potential Cartilage Repair Therapies. Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology, 243 -?. https://doi.org/10.3389/fbioe.2020.00243

Surgical strategies to treat articular cartilage injury such as microfracture, expose human bone marrow stem cells (hMSCs) to synovial fluid and its components. High molecular weight hyaluronan (hMwt HA) is one of the most abundant bioactive macromol... Read More about Sodium Hyaluronate Supplemented Culture Media as a New hMSC Chondrogenic Differentiation Media-Model for in vitro/ex vivo Screening of Potential Cartilage Repair Therapies..

Development of a novel doxorubicin delivery system for pancreatic cancer (2020)
Thesis
Al-Ameri, J. J. M. (2020). Development of a novel doxorubicin delivery system for pancreatic cancer. (Thesis). Keele University

Pancreatic cancer is considered as the 4th most aggressive cancer in the Western world. There is a direct link between
pancreatic cancer diagnosis and patient age with high occurrence of the disease happening in the 65-75-year age group. The majori... Read More about Development of a novel doxorubicin delivery system for pancreatic cancer.

Effects of ageing on the vulnerability of the substantia nigra pars compacta dopaminergic neurons: implications in Parkinson’s disease (2020)
Thesis
Gómez Gálvez, Y. (2020). Effects of ageing on the vulnerability of the substantia nigra pars compacta dopaminergic neurons: implications in Parkinson’s disease. (Thesis). Keele University

The degeneration of dopaminergic neurons (DAn) in the midbrain substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc) is a definitive feature of Parkinson's disease (PD). Although age has been established as one of the main risk factors, the role that ageing has in t... Read More about Effects of ageing on the vulnerability of the substantia nigra pars compacta dopaminergic neurons: implications in Parkinson’s disease.

Molecular crosstalk between non-SMN-related and SMN-related spinal muscular atrophy (2020)
Journal Article
Šoltić, D., & Fuller, H. (2020). Molecular crosstalk between non-SMN-related and SMN-related spinal muscular atrophy

Most cases of spinal muscular atrophy are caused by functional loss of the survival of motor neuron 1 (SMN1) gene, while less than 5% of cases are attributed to genes other than SMN. Mutations in LMNA, the lamin A/C encoding gene, cause an adult form... Read More about Molecular crosstalk between non-SMN-related and SMN-related spinal muscular atrophy.

Pro-Inflammatory Priming of Umbilical Cord Mesenchymal Stromal Cells Alters the Protein Cargo of Their Extracellular Vesicles (2020)
Journal Article
Kehoe, O., Hyland, M., Mennan, C., Wilson, E., & Clayton, A. (2020). Pro-Inflammatory Priming of Umbilical Cord Mesenchymal Stromal Cells Alters the Protein Cargo of Their Extracellular Vesicles. Cells, https://doi.org/10.3390/cells9030726

Umbilical cord mesenchymal stromal cells (UCMSCs) have shown an ability to modulate the immune system through the secretion of paracrine mediators, such as extracellular vesicles (EVs). However, the culture conditions that UCMSCs are grown in can alt... Read More about Pro-Inflammatory Priming of Umbilical Cord Mesenchymal Stromal Cells Alters the Protein Cargo of Their Extracellular Vesicles.