Monday, 29 May 2017

Time-Resolved Fluoro-immunoassays (TRFIA): A Novel Method For Fast And Efficient Screening Of Bladder Cancer

Bladder cancer is a heterogeneous disease and occupies highest incidence in developed country. There are over 70,000 new cases of bladder cancer each year in the United States alone. The incidence of bladder cancer rises with age, peakingbetween age 50 years and 70 years, and is three times more common in men than in women . The high rate of recurrence is the feature of bladder cancer that makes effective detection means is crucial importance for bladder cancer patients.

Bladder Cancer
The conventional method for bladder cancer detection is morphological examination of cytology samples or cystoscopic biopsies. Urine cytology is poorly differentiated tumors and time-consuming practice for both the patient and physician. The diagnosis and monitoring of bladder cancer are facilitated by the availability of newer, simpler urine based diagnostic tests.

Monday, 8 May 2017

E-Pharmacophore Model Assisted Discovery of Novel Antagonists of nNOS



Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia characterized clinically with progressive cognitive decline and neuronal loss. Pathologically, AD affected brain shows accumulation of β-amyloid (Aβ) plaques and neurofibrillary tangles formed by the hyper phosphorylation of tau protein. Recent studies indicate that mitochondrial dysfunction, a pathological featurethat can be detected early in AD. Nitric oxide synthases (NOS) are a family of enzymes catalyzing the production of nitric oxide (NO), which functions as neuronal signalingmolecule. Altered expression of nNOS by the Aβ stimulus results in the formation of peroxy nitrite and reactive oxygen species. These peroxy-nitrite, nitrosylates the cytoplasmic protein tau and phosphorylates GSK-3β.

E-Pharmacophore Model
Nitrosylation of tau protein results in structural and conformational change of tau protein ensuring the destabilization of microtubule. This leads to dissociation of tau protein from microtubule and oligomerization of tau occurs to form neuro-fibrillary tangles (NFT’s). These tangles forms a physical road blocks within the neuronal cells and interrupts the neurotransmitter signaling.