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Polysaccharides, or polycarbohydrates, are the most abundant carbohydrates found in food. They are long-chain polymeric carbohydrates composed of monosaccharide units bound together by glycosidic linkages. This carbohydrate can react with water (hydrolysis) using amylase enzymes as catalyst, which produces constituent sugars. They range in structure from linear to highly branched. Examples include storage polysaccharides such as starch, glycogen and galactogen and structural polysaccharides such as hemicellulose and chitin.
N-acetylcysteine, also known as Acetylcysteine and NAC, is a medication that is used to treat paracetamol (acetaminophen) overdose and to loosen thick mucus in individuals with chronic bronchopulmonary disorders, such as pneumonia and bronchitis. It has been used to treat lactobezoar in infants. It can be taken intravenously, orally, or inhaled as a mist. It is also sometimes used as a dietary supplement.
Mucus is a slippery aqueous secretion produced by, and covering, mucous membranes. It is typically produced from cells found in mucous glands, although it may also originate from mixed glands, which contain both serous and mucous cells. It is a viscous colloid containing inorganic salts, antimicrobial enzymes, immunoglobulins, and glycoproteins such as lactoferrin and mucins, which are produced by goblet cells in the mucous membranes and submucosal glands. Mucus serves to protect epithelial cells in the linings of the respiratory, digestive, and urogenital systems, and structures in the visual and auditory systems from pathogenic fungi, bacteria and viruses. Most of the mucus in the body is produced in the gastrointestinal tract.
Gonadotropins are glycoprotein hormones secreted by gonadotropic cells of the anterior pituitary of vertebrates. This family includes the mammalian hormones follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH), the placental/chorionic gonadotropins, human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) and equine chorionic gonadotropin (eCG), as well as at least two forms of fish gonadotropins. These hormones are central to the complex endocrine system that regulates normal growth, sexual development, and reproductive function. LH and FSH are secreted by the anterior pituitary gland, while hCG and eCG are secreted by the placenta in pregnant women and mares, respectively. The gonadotropins act on the gonads, controlling gamete and sex hormone production.
Atelectasis is the partial collapse or closure of a lung resulting in reduced or absent gas exchange. It is usually unilateral, affecting part or all of one lung. It is a condition where the alveoli are deflated down to little or no volume, as distinct from pulmonary consolidation, in which they are filled with liquid. It is often referred to informally as a collapsed lung, although more accurately it usually involves only a partial collapse, and that ambiguous term is also informally used for a fully collapsed lung caused by a pneumothorax.
Bloody show or show is the passage of a small amount of blood or blood-tinged mucus through the vagina near the end of pregnancy. It is caused by thinning and dilation of the cervix, leading to detachment of the cervical mucus plug that seals the cervix during pregnancy and tearing of small cervical blood vessels, and is one of the signs that labor may be imminent. The bloody show may be expelled from the vagina in pieces or altogether and often appears as a jelly-like piece of mucus stained with blood. Although the bloody show may be alarming at first, it is not a concern of patient health after 37 weeks gestation.
Desogestrel is a progestin medication which is used in birth control pills. It is also used in the treatment of menopausal symptoms in women. The medication is available and used alone or in combination with an estrogen. It is taken by mouth.
Drospirenone is a progestin and antiandrogen medication which is used in birth control pills to prevent pregnancy and in menopausal hormone therapy, among other uses. It is available both alone under the brand name Slynd and in combination with an estrogen under the brand name Yasmin among others. The medication is an analog of the drug spironolactone. Drospirenone is taken by mouth.
Mucoactive agents are a class of chemical agents that aid in the clearance of mucus or sputum from the upper and lower airways, including the lungs, bronchi, and trachea. Mucoactive drugs include expectorants, mucolytics, mucoregulators, and mucokinetics. These medications are used in the treatment of respiratory diseases that are complicated by the oversecretion or inspissation of mucus. These drugs can be further categorized by their mechanism of action.
Ethisterone, also known as ethinyltestosterone, pregneninolone, and anhydrohydroxyprogesterone and formerly sold under the brand names Proluton C and Pranone among others, is a progestin medication which was used in the treatment of gynecological disorders but is now no longer available. It was used alone and was not formulated in combination with an estrogen. The medication is taken by mouth.
Thiolated polymers – designated thiomers – are functional polymers used in biotechnology product development with the intention to prolong mucosal drug residence time and to enhance absorption of drugs. The name thiomer was coined by Andreas Bernkop-Schnürch in 2000. Thiomers have thiol bearing side chains. Sulfhydryl ligands of low molecular mass are covalently bound to a polymeric backbone consisting of mainly biodegradable polymers, such as chitosan, hyaluronic acid, cellulose derivatives, pullulan, starch, gelatin, polyacrylates, cyclodextrins, or silicones.
Erdosteine is a molecule with mucolytic activity. Structurally it is a thioether derivative with two thioether groups. These two functional organosulfur groups contained in the molecule are released following first-pass metabolism with the conversion of erdosteine into its pharmacologically active metabolite Met-I.
Bioadhesives are natural polymeric materials that act as adhesives. The term is sometimes used more loosely to describe a glue formed synthetically from biological monomers such as sugars, or to mean a synthetic material designed to adhere to biological tissue.
Bronchitis is inflammation of the bronchi in the lungs that causes coughing. Bronchitis usually begins as an infection in the nose, ears, throat, or sinuses. The infection then makes its way down to the bronchi. Symptoms include coughing up sputum, wheezing, shortness of breath, and chest pain. Bronchitis can be acute or chronic.
Lymphography is a medical imaging technique in which a radiocontrast agent is injected, and then an X-ray picture is taken to visualise structures of the lymphatic system, including lymph nodes, lymph ducts, lymphatic tissues, lymph capillaries and lymph vessels. Lymphangiography is the same procedure, used only to visualize the lymph vessels. The x-ray film or image of the lymphatic vessels and lymph nodes is called a lymphogram or a lymphangiogram.
Mucoadhesion describes the attractive forces between a biological material and mucus or mucous membrane. Mucous membranes adhere to epithelial surfaces such as the gastrointestinal tract (GI-tract), the vagina, the lung, the eye, etc. They are generally hydrophilic as they contain many hydrogen macromolecules due to the large amount of water within its composition. However, mucin also contains glycoproteins that enable the formation of a gel-like substance. Understanding the hydrophilic bonding and adhesion mechanisms of mucus to biological material is of utmost importance in order to produce the most efficient applications. For example, in drug delivery systems, the mucus layer must be penetrated in order to effectively transport micro- or nanosized drug particles into the body. Bioadhesion is the mechanism by which two biological materials are held together by interfacial forces. The mucoadhesive properties of polymers can be evaluated via rheological synergism studies with freshly isolated mucus, tensile studies and mucosal residence time studies. Results obtained with these in vitro methods show a high correlation with results obtained in humans.
Intelectins are lectins expressed in humans and other chordates. Humans express two types of intelectins encoded by ITLN1 and ITLN2 genes respectively. Several intelectins bind microbe-specific carbohydrate residues. Therefore, intelectins have been proposed to function as immune lectins. Even though intelectins contain fibrinogen-like domain found in the ficolins family of immune lectins, there is significant structural divergence. Thus, intelectins may not function through the same lectin-complement pathway. Most intelectins are still poorly characterized and they may have diverse biological roles. Human intelectin-1 (hIntL-1) has also been shown to bind lactoferrin, but the functional consequence has yet to be elucidated. Additionally, hIntL-1 is a major component of asthmatic mucus and may be involved in insulin physiology as well.
Andreas Bernkop-Schnürch is an Austrian scientist and entrepreneur, who is Head of the Department of Pharmaceutical Technology in the Institute of Pharmacy at the University of Innsbruck.
Estetrol (E4) is an estrogen medication and naturally occurring steroid hormone which is used in combination with a progestin in combined birth control pills and is under development for various other indications. These investigational uses include menopausal hormone therapy to treat symptoms such as vaginal atrophy, hot flashes, and bone loss and the treatment of breast cancer and prostate cancer. It is taken by mouth.
Reduction-sensitive nanoparticles (RSNP) consist of nanocarriers that are chemically responsive to reduction. Drug delivery systems using RSNP can be loaded with different drugs that are designed to be released within a concentrated reducing environment, such as the tumor-targeted microenvironment. Reduction-Sensitive Nanoparticles provide an efficient method of targeted drug delivery for the improved controlled release of medication within localized areas of the body.
References
- ↑ Cone, Richard A. (February 2009). "Barrier properties of mucus". Advanced Drug Delivery Reviews. 61 (2): 75–85. doi:10.1016/j.addr.2008.09.008. PMID 19135107.
- ↑ Aksoy, Murat; Guven, Suleyman; Tosun, Ilknur; Aydın, Faruk; Kart, Cavit (September 2012). "The effect of ethinyl estradiol and drospirenone-containing oral contraceptives upon mucoprotein content of cervical mucus". European Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Reproductive Biology. 164 (1): 40–43. doi:10.1016/j.ejogrb.2012.05.002. PMID 22633169.
- ↑ Aronson, Jeffrey K., ed. (2016). "Acetylcysteine". Meyler's Side Effects of Drugs. pp. 23–25. doi:10.1016/b978-0-444-53717-1.00217-1. ISBN 978-0-444-53716-4.
- ↑ Gupta, Rishab; Wadhwa, Roopma (2024). "Mucolytic Medications". StatPearls. StatPearls Publishing. PMID 32644589.