“
“Nanotechnology-based photothermal therapy has emerged as a promising treatment for cancer during the past decade. However,

heterogeneous laser heating and limited light penetration can lead to incomplete tumor cell eradication. Here, we developed a method to overcome these limitations by combining chemotherapy with photothermal therapy using paclitaxel-loaded gold nanorods. Paclitaxel was loaded to gold nanorods with high density (2.0 x 10(4) paclitaxel per gold nanorod) via nonspecific adsorption, check details followed by stabilization with poly(ethylene glycol) linked with 11-mercaptoundecanoic acid. Paclitaxel was entrapped in the hydrophobic pocket of the polymeric monolayer on the surface of gold nanorods, which allows direct cellular

delivery of the hydrophobic drugs via the lipophilic plasma membrane. Highly efficient drug release was demonstrated in a cell membrane mimicking two-phase solution. Combined photothermal therapy and chemotherapy with the paclitaxel-loaded gold nanorods was shown to be highly effective in killing head and neck cancer cells and lung,cancer cells, superior to photothermal therapy or chemotherapy alone due to a synergistic effect. The paclitaxel-gold Luminespib nanorod enabled photothermal chemotherapy has the potential of preventing tumor reoccurrence and metastasis and may have an important impact on the treatment of head and neck cancer and other malignancies in the clinic.”
“Background and objectives: The simultaneous use of beta adrenergic receptor blockers (beta-blockers) and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX) may confer a high risk of hyperkalemia.\n\nDesign, setting, RSL3 participants, & measurements: Two nested case-control studies were conducted to examine the association between hospitalization for hyperkalemia and the use of TMP-SMX in older patients receiving beta-blockers. Linked health administrative records from Ontario, Canada, were used to assemble a cohort of 299,749 beta-blockers users,

aged 66 years or older and capture data regarding medication use and hospital admissions for hyperkalemia.\n\nResults: Over the study period from 1994 to 2008, 189 patients in this cohort were hospitalized for hyperkalemia within 14 days of receiving a study antibiotic. Compared with amoxicillin, the use of TMP-SMX was associated with a substantially greater risk of hyperkalemia requiring hospital admission (adjusted odds ratio, 5.1; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.8 to 9.4). No such risk was identified with ciprofloxacin, norfloxacin, or nitrofurantoin. When dosing was considered, the association was greater at higher doses of TMP-SMX. When the primary analysis was repeated in a cohort of non-beta-blocker users, the risk of hyperkalemia comparing TMP-SMX to amoxicillin was not significantly different from that found among beta-blocker users.\n\nConclusions: Although TMP-SMX is associated with an increased risk of hyperkalemia in older adults, these findings show no added risk when used in combination with beta-blockers.