Repurposing of the β-Lactam Antibiotic, Ceftriaxone for Neurological Disorders: A Review

To date, there is no cure or disease-modifying agents available for most well-known neurological disorders. Current therapy is typically focused on relieving symptoms and supportive care in improving the quality of life of affected patients. Furthermore, the traditional de novo drug discovery technique is more challenging, particularly for neurological disorders. Therefore, the repurposing of existing drugs for these conditions is believed to be an efficient and dynamic approach that can substantially reduce the investments spent on drug development. Currently, there is emerging evidence that suggests the potential effect of a beta-lactam antibiotic, ceftriaxone (CEF), to alleviate the symptoms of different experimentally-induced neurological disorders: Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, epileptic-seizure, brain ischemia, traumatic brain injuries, and neuropathic pain. CEF also affects the markers of oxidative status and neuroinflammation, glutamatergic systems as well as various aggregated toxic proteins involved in the pathogenesis of different neurological disorders. Moreover, it was found that CEF administration to drug dependent animal models improved the withdrawal symptoms upon drug discontinuation. Thus, this review aimed to describe the effects of CEF against multiple models of neurological illnesses, drug dependency, and withdrawal. It also emphasizes the possible mechanisms of neuroprotective actions of CEF with respective neurological maladies.

Antimicrobial resistance patterns of uropathogens isolated between 2012 and 2017 from a tertiary hospital in Northern Ethiopia

OBJECTIVES

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are one of the most common infections in humans. Studies have shown that antibiotics for UTIs are usually prescribed empirically before the results of urine culture are available. The aim of the study was to assess the antimicrobial resistance patterns of bacteria isolated from urine samples over 6 years in Ayder Comprehensive Specialized Hospital (ACSH), in Mekelle, Northern Ethiopia.

METHODS

A retrospective study of culture results of UTI samples was conducted in ACSH from January 2012 to December 2017. Data were collected using a structured data sheet format and were analysed using SPSS v.20.0.

RESULTS

Among 1080 urine samples tested during the 6-year period, 308 (28.5%) were positive for bacterial isolates. The majority of participants were female (57.8%). The three most commonly isolated bacteria were Escherichia coli (48.1%), Klebsiella pneumoniae (16.2%) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (6.5%). Escherichia coli was found to be most susceptible to imipenem (100%) and most resistant to ampicillin (94.9%). Similarly, K. pneumoniae was sensitive to meropenem (100%) but resistant to penicillin (100%). Multidrug resistance to two or more antimicrobials was observed in 267 isolates (86.7%), with a non-significantly higher prevalence in females (χ²=9.65, P=0.29). The overall pooled bacterial resistance was 57.8%.

CONCLUSION

This study revealed that most of the urine isolates showed high levels of antimicrobial resistance to commonly prescribed antibiotics although they remained susceptible to imipenem, nitrofurantoin and meropenem. The results call for continuous surveillance of antimicrobial resistance for better management of patients with UTIs.

Anti-nociceptive effect of methanol extract of leaves of Senna singueana in mice

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Senna singueana (Del.) Lock (Fabaceae) is a shrub or tree found in Ethiopia and other African countries. It has been traditionally used for different conditions including treatment of pain conditions in humans and animals. Although various reports are available in the literature claiming different activities of the plant, scientific studies supporting analgesic potential of S. singueana are lacking and the present study aimed to investigate the antinociceptive effect of methanol extract of leaves of S. singueana in mice.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Anti-nociceptive activity of S. singueana (200 mg/kg and 400 mg/kg, p.o) was investigated using acetic acid-induced writhing, formalin-induced paw licking, and hot plate tests. Acute oral toxicity was determined using a slightly modified guideline (423) of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

RESULTS

S. singueana extract increased the percentage of inhibition of writhing response and licking response (neurogenic and inflammatory phase) in acetic acid-induced writhing and formalin-induced paw licking tests, respectively. It also significantly (p ≤ 0.05) increased the percentage of mean maximal effect (%MPE) compared to control group in the hot-plate test. In all models, the combination of S. singueana with either diclofenac or morphine produced statistically significant increase (p ≤ 0.05) in the percentage of inhibition of writhing, paw licking, and %MPE compared to single treatment groups. It was also found that the 400 mg/kg extract produced higher antinociceptive effects (p ≤ 0.05) compared to the 200 mg/kg.

CONCLUSION

S. singueana leaves may have analgesic effect that is mediated through both peripheral and central mechanisms and could be used as adjuvant treatment to the modern analgesics.

Netrin as a Novel Biomarker and Its Therapeutic Implications in Diabetes Mellitus and Diabetes-Associated Complications

Diabetes is a multifactorial metabolic syndrome and is one of the shared long-lasting illnesses globally. It is linked to long-term microvascular and macrovascular complications that contribute to disability, compromised quality of life, and reduction in lifespan, which eventually leads to death. This disease is not only incurring significant economic burden but also adversely affects the patients, caregivers, communities, and the society at large. The interruption of diabetes progress and its complications is a primary focus of scientific communities. In spite of various diagnostic modalities for diabetes, there is a limited marker to investigate the risk and progress of its complications. Netrin has recently received more attention as a biomarker of diabetes and a broader range of long-term complication. Therefore, the impetus of this review is to exhaustively discuss the role of Netrin as a potential biomarker and its therapeutic implication in diabetes and diverse sets of microvascular and macrovascular complications of diabetes. It also discourses the possible mechanisms of Netrin for the said pharmacological effect for a better understanding of the development and progression of diabetes and its complications in relation to this protein. It enables protective measures to be applied at the subclinical stage and the responses to preventive or therapeutic measures to be scrutinized. Besides, it might also facilitate the appraisal of novel therapeutic options for diabetes and various complications through modifying the endogenous Netrin and provide surrogate endpoints for intervention.