ScienceRise: Pharmaceutical Science

Analysis of the status of provision of pharmaceutical care to patients with multiple sclerosis in Ukraine

Natalia Tkachenko, Svitlana Ryzhkova, Anzhela Olkhovska — Mon, 30 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0300

Considering modern approaches to the treatment of chronic non-communicable diseases, as well as the experience of active involvement of pharmacists in multidisciplinary teams of healthcare professionals, it is relevant to determine the professional role of a pharmacist in teams providing medical and social care to patients with multiple sclerosis (MS).

The aim: to analyze the state of pharmaceutical care (PC) provision to Ukrainian patients with multiple sclerosis (MS).

Materials and methods. The study is based on scientific works of domestic and foreign researchers on this problem, regulatory documents on the provision of medical care to patients with MS and the results of a sociological survey of patients diagnosed with MS. The study used methods of scientific information search, narrative approach, generalization, survey, statistical analysis, and others.

Results. The pharmaceutical component of the medical care process was determined and a list of drugs used in the complex therapy of MS was determined: H02AB - glucocorticoids, L01BB - structural purine analogues, L01FA - CD 20 inhibitors, L03AB - interferons, L04AA - selective immunosuppressants, L04AG - monoclonal antibodies, L04AX - other immunosuppressants.

The analysis of the availability of DMT drugs showed that only 75 % of the recommended drugs are physically available in Ukraine, with drugs with lower efficacy prevailing. The low availability of highly effective drugs (drugs) of the 3rd category for Ukrainian patients with MS is due to the lack of state funding for their purchase, which makes treatment with such drugs financially burdensome for patients.

The survey found that 64.5 % of patients would like to receive additional support from pharmacists. Possible elements of pharmaceutical care that are important for patients with MS were identified, such as counselling, coordination with public organizations, explanation of new treatment options, and symptom monitoring.

When assessing patients' adherence to PC, factors such as age, gender, location, displaced status, work restrictions, or time since diagnosis did not significantly influence patients' positive attitudes. Furthermore, these factors did not influence patients' preferences for preferred pharmacist interaction format (face-to-face, mixed, or telepharmacy).

Conclusions: There is a need to expand the availability and update the registration of drugs for the treatment of MS. Patients with MS have a positive attitude towards pharmaceutical care, but need more awareness of its possibilities. Social status affects the perception of the need for pharmaceutical care and the choice of the format of its provision

Application of clustering algorithms and pharmacophore screening for identification of thiazolidinone and pyrazoline derivatives with dual antiparasitic and anticancer activity

Anna Kryshchyshyn-Dylevych, Roman Lesyk — Mon, 30 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0300

Thiazolidinones and related heterocycles exhibiting antimicrobial, antiparasitic, anticancer, antidiabetic, and anti-inflammatory activities are considered privileged scaffolds for the development of novel, drug-like molecules. 4-Thiazolidinone-based hybrids with alkanecarboxylic acid moieties, pyrazoline, phenylindole or imidazothiadiazole fragments have been thoroughly investigated as potential antiparasitic agents. Along with numerous studies that proved their high anticancer potential, this class of compounds is attractive for the promising strategy of redirecting antiparasitic drugs for cancer treatment.

The aim of the study. We aimed to investigate the correlation between the antileukemic and antiparasitic properties of various thiazolidinone and pyrazoline derivatives.

Materials and methods. The anticancer activity of a data set of 31 compounds against five Leukemic cell lines was studied at a single concentration (10⁻⁵M). The antitrypanosomal activity data has been collected under the same assay protocol against Trypanosoma brucei brucei (Tbb). The clustering algorithms were implemented in Python using the NumPy, Pandas, Scikit-learn, Matplotlib, and Plotly libraries. LigandScout 4.4 software was used for the 3D-pharmacophore design.

Results. The compounds with antitrypanosomal activity were divided into 3 classes according to the IC₅₀ values calculated in the growth inhibition assay against Tbb. The percentage of cell growth in the in vitro assay of studied compounds on five Leukemic cell lines was used for the machine learning study. Applying both the K-means and Agglomerative hierarchical clustering algorithms, compounds from class 1 were grouped into one cluster. The pharmacophore screening using merged pharmacophore derived from BCL-2-venetoclax complexes showed good pharmacophore-fit scores for the compounds selected in one cluster by both algorithms. The same pharmacophore model, when applied to a dataset of thiazolidinone/thiazole-indole/imidazothiadiazole hybrid molecules with high antitrypanosomal activity in vitro, assigned them as active.

Conclusions. The findings of the study suggest that thiazolidine derivatives and related compounds exhibit dual anti-parasitic and anticancer properties, which may help to identify their antiproliferative mechanism of action in parasitic and cancer cells.

Spectrophotometric determination of nimodipine, nitrendipine, lacidipine in tablets via derivatization with para-dimethylaminobenzaldehyde

Mon, 30 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0300

The proposed approach involves the interaction of NIM, NIT, and LAC directly with DABA reagent to produce coloured products with its further spectrophotometric analysis by the development of simple, available, and alternative spectrophotometric methods.

Material and methods: UV-visible double beam spectrophotometer Shimadzu UV-1800 (Japan) with included UV-Probe version 2.62 software was employed. Additional equipment included a precise analytical balance RAD WAG AS 200/C (Poland), an ultrasonic bath Elmasonic EASY 60H with a frequency of 40 kHz and a water bath VB-4 were used in the developed procedure. LAC, NIM and NIT (purity ≥98% (HPLC)) were supplied from Sigma-Aldrich Chemicals Co. (St. Louis, MO, USA). NIT 10 mg tablets, NIM 30 mg tablets were purchased from local drugstore. LAC 2 mg tablets were purchased from europharm.com.ua.

Methanol was produced by Honeywell and had a purity of 99.9%. HCl conc. (fuming, by Sigma Aldrich was used. DABA utilized in the experiment was analytical grade.

Results and discussion: Simple, available and alternative visible spectrophotometric methods for the determination of nitrendipine (NIT), nimodipine (NIM), and lacidipine (LAC) in tablets through derivatization with the para-dimethylaminobenzaldehyde (DABA) have been developed. The optimal parameters for CCBs spectrophotometric analysis were as follows: detection wavelength - 577 nm for NIM, NIT and 616 nm for LAC, concentrated hydrochloric acid, 1.5 mL of 0.1% DABA solution, 15 min boiling at 100 °C. The concentration was linearly proportional to absorbance values in the range of 25 – 175 μg/mL (NIT), 25 – 200 μg/mL (NIM), 20 – 200 μg/mL (LAC). Estimation of LOD and LOQ parameters were obtained as 3.75 μg/mL and 11.38 μg/mL (NIT), 4.43 μg/mL and 13.43 μg/mL (NIM), 6.30μg/ml and 19.1μg/mL (LAC).

Conclusions. In this work, thorough scientific research was carried out with the presentation of the method of selection of the optimal reaction conditions and spectrophotometric methods for determining NIT, NIM, and LAC in tablets were developed. In addition, the three studied CCBs were quantified using easy-to-implement, simple, cost-effective spectrophotometric approaches. The proposed methods can be used as alternatives and arbitrage, which significantly expands the bank of analytical methods. Moreover, the described methods can be easily implemented for routine pharmaceutical analysis

Study of the solubility of betamethasone dipropionate and the conditions for the formation of the stable suspensions

Mon, 30 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0300

The aim. To study the solubility of betamethasone dipropionate (BD) in mixed solvents water – propylene glycol (PG) and liquid paraffin, as well as to identify the conditions necessary for the formation of stable BD suspensions.

Materials and methods. The solubility of BD in solvents water – PG was studied using spectrophotometry. The particle size distribution of BD in suspensions was analysed by laser diffraction. The suspensions and creams were subjected to optical microscopy for additional evaluation. Thermogravimetric analysis was conducted to explore the potential formation of BD crystallosolvates with PG, while differential scanning calorimetry was utilised to assess the characteristics of the dissolution processes. Additionally, the study employed the spin probe method, using a steroid spin-label.

Results. The solubility of BD in water – PG solvents was found to increase with rising temperature and to increase sharply with increasing PG concentration, provided that the PG structure dominated the system. The deviations of BD solubility from additivity at 20-35°C were negative, passing through a minimum at a PG concentration of ~35% mol, above which the transition to the structure of a nonaqueous solvent occurred. An elevation in temperature to 45-55°C resulted in a positive deviation of the BD solubility from additive values at specific PG concentrations. It has been demonstrated that PG and BD do not form crystallosolvates. The process of dissolving BD in PG is exothermic, while in liquid paraffin, it is endothermic. The steroid spin probe was found to be localized in the oil phases of creams. Suspensions in which BD particles recrystallize were formed when BD crystallized from solution in PG as a result of lowering the temperature and adding water. When BD was suspended in a water ‒ PG solvent, where the water structure predominates, or in liquid paraffin (oil phase of creams), the BD particle size increased slightly, or there was no recrystallization.

Conclusions. The solubility of BD in solvents water – PG is contingent upon the temperature and concentration of PG; it exhibits a marked increase when the structure of a nonaqueous solvent predominates in the system. It has been demonstrated that BD with PG does not form crystallosolvates. When BD suspensions were obtained by crystallization from a solution in PG, suspensions were formed in which BD particles recrystallized over time. In the case of BD suspensions in solvent water – PG, where the water structure predominates, or in liquid paraffin, recrystallization was practically not observed

A comparative retrospective study on the efficacy of Azvudine and Lianhua Qingwen capsules combination in the treatment of COVID-19 patients in China

Jingjing Gu, Simansalam Saraswathi, Thamby Sam, Xiufeng Liu — Mon, 30 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0300

The purpose of this retrospective study is to compare and analyse the efficacy of Azvudine (FNC) and Lianhua Qingwen (LHQW) capsules in the treatment of mild and moderate cases of coronavirus infection in China. The combined approach is used to evaluate treatment effectiveness in COVID-19 patients by analysing clinical data and comparing treatment outcomes. The methodology includes an analysis of clinical data and a comparison of treatment outcomes using FNC, LHQW, and their combination (FNC+LHQW) for the treatment of COVID-19 in 307 patients undergoing inpatient care at a hospital in Zibo, China. According to the findings, combination therapy proved effective in treating COVID-19 by integrating antiviral and supportive treatment, compared to monotherapy. The complementary action of these agents facilitates a more rapid reduction in overall inflammation, alleviates symptoms, and shortens recovery time. The combination treatment group demonstrated superior laboratory outcomes, including reduced C-reactive protein (CRP) levels as a primary inflammation marker and a decrease in the duration of negative nucleic acid conversion to 7 days. Moreover, the improvement time of chest computed tomography (CT) was significantly shortened in the combined treatment group (p<0.001). The total length of hospitalisation was reduced to 12 days, compared to 14 days in the monotherapy group. These parameters are the principal criteria for evaluating the efficacy of each treatment group. The combination of these drugs is particularly notable, as other treatment methods typically focus on a single aspect of the disease. The study provides valuable insights into the role of combination therapy in clinical practice with regard to COVID-19 management

Synthesis and evaluation of zinc–quercetin complex: in vitro anti-glycation and DNA methylation analysis with molecular docking studies

Mon, 30 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0300

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a growing global health concern, associated with complications driven by molecular alterations such as excessive protein glycation and abnormal DNA methylation. These processes contribute to the progression of metabolic and epigenetic dysfunctions characteristic of T2DM.

The aim. This study aimed to synthesize a zinc–quercetin complex (ZQC) and evaluate its in vitro biological activities, particularly its potential to inhibit the formation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) and modulate DNA methylation levels.

Materials and methods. ZQC was synthesized and tested for antiglycation activity using BSA–methylglyoxal and BSA–glucose model systems. DNA methylation levels were assessed via cell imaging in HEK293T and C2C12 cells using an oxazole yellow-based fluorescent probe. Molecular docking was performed to assess the interaction of ZQC with DNA methyltransferase 1 (DNMT1).

Results. ZQC exhibited dose-dependent antiglycation effects, with significantly reduced fluorescence intensity compared to untreated and quercetin-treated groups, suggesting potent inhibition of AGE formation. In DNA methylation assays, ZQC more effectively reduced methylation levels than free quercetin. Molecular docking showed a stronger binding affinity of ZQC (–11 kcal/mol) to DNMT1 compared to quercetin alone (–8.1 kcal/mol), indicating the potential for enhanced inhibitory activity.

Conclusion. The zinc–quercetin complex demonstrated superior antiglycation and epigenetic-modulating effects relative to free quercetin. These findings support the potential of ZQC as a candidate for therapeutic intervention in glycation-associated and epigenetically driven complications of T2DM

Exploring the gaps and gains: a comprehensive study on knowledge, attitude, practices, and prescribing trends related to anaemia among in-patients

Mon, 30 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0300

Anaemia refers to the common blood disorder that affects around one-third of the world's population. Infection risk is raised due to a lack of knowledge about anaemia.

The aim of the study: The aim of the study is to examine patient knowledge, attitude, practice, and prescription trends regarding anaemia among patients. Also, to identify a correlation between haemoglobin levels and KAP score among patients.

Materials and methods: A prospective observational study was carried out in 133 in-patients admitted to SVIMS Hospital, General Medicine department diagnosed with anaemia for 6 months. Patient data were gathered through a review of their medical case records to evaluate prescribing patterns, while a structured and validated questionnaire was used to conduct face-to-face interviews with the patients, aiming to assess their knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding anaemia.

Results: Males comprised 38 (29%) and females 95 (71%). For microcytic hypochromic anaemia, Tablet. Ferrous fumarate with tablet folic acid and Inj. Eldervit were prescribed 64 times. Vitamins and folic acid (23 prescriptions). KAP scores were linked to haemoglobin. Hb levels were inversely connected with patients' knowledge scores (p < 0.05). Highly conclusive, patients' attitude assessments and Hb levels were positively correlated (p < 0.05). Practice score and Hb levels correlated positively (p < 0.05).

Conclusions: According to this study, anaemic individuals' medicine prescription behaviours should be monitored. Anaemia awareness should be enhanced

Evaluation of hemostatic effects of sungkai (Peronema canescens Jack.) leaf

Ruqiah Ganda Putri Panjaitan, Irma Naura Rifanka, Andi Besse Tenriawaru, Firdus — Mon, 30 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0300

External bleeding refers to the condition where blood exits the body due to the rupture of blood vessels accompanied by tissue damage on the skin surface. Severe external bleeding can lead to blood loss and even death, necessitating prompt hemostasis. Hemostasis can be achieved using hemostatic medications or herbal remedies. One traditionally utilized herbal remedy is Peronema canescens Jack., commonly known as sungkai. However, there has been no prior scientific investigation regarding the use of sungkai for hemostasis.

The aim. The objective of this study is to evaluate the hemostatic activity of ethanol leaf extract of Peronema canescens Jack.

Materials and methods. The hemostatic activity testing was conducted by orally administering formulations to male and female rats for 5 consecutive days. A total of 25 male and 25 female rats were used, divided into 5 groups: normal control (2 mL/kg BW of distilled water), positive control (0.9 mg/kg BW of Phytomenadione), and ethanol leaf extract of Peronema canescens Jack. at doses of 250 mg/kg BW, 500 mg/kg BW, and 1000 mg/kg BW. The day following dosing, bleeding time was measured using the Duke method, involving a 4 cm tail tip amputation to measure the time from the first drop until bleeding cessation. The parameter assessed in this study was the bleeding time, calculated from the first drop until the blood ceased dripping.

Result. The mean bleeding times (seconds) in the respective treatment groups of normal control, positive control, ethanol leaf extract of Peronema canescens Jack. at doses of 250 mg/kg BW, 500 mg/kg BW, and 1000 mg/kg BW in male rats were 717.40 ± 29.71; 542.20 ± 22.86; 383.00 ± 11.70; 326.80 ± 22.94; 328.60 ± 11.84, respectively (p<0.05). Similarly, the mean bleeding times (seconds) in the treatment groups in female rats were 451.40 ± 14.31; 396.80 ± 15.40; 381.60 ± 17.15; 328.80 ± 17.73; 264.20 ± 14.65, respectively (p<0.05).

Conclusion. The ethanol extract of sungkai leaves shows hemostatic activity, although not as effective as Phytomenadione