As an emerging drug carrier, hydrogels have been widely used for tumor drug delivery. A hydrogel drug carrier can cause less severe side effects than systemic chemotherapy and can achieve sustained delivery of a drug at tumor sites. In addition, hydrogels have excellent biocompatibility and biodegradability and lower toxicity than nanoparticle carriers. Smart hydrogels can respond to stimuli in the environment (e.g., heat, pH, light, and ultrasound), enabling in situ gelation and controlled drug release, which greatly enhance the convenience and efficiency of drug delivery. Here, we summarize the different sizes of hydrogels used for cancer treatment and their related delivery routes, discuss the design strategies for stimuli-responsive hydrogels, and review the research concerning smart hydrogels reported in the past few years.

Objective: To investigate the feasibility of thoracic paravertebral block (TPVB) for percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) in comparison with epidural anesthesia (EA) combined with moderate sedation. Subjects and Methods: One hundred American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) I-II adult patients scheduled for first-stage unilateral PCNL were randomly assigned to receive either TPVB or EA. All patients were given standard sedation and analgesia with propofol and sufentanil. Patient characteristics, surgical outcomes, anesthetic outcomes, and time to first use of a patient-controlled intravenous analgesic (PCIA) device and postoperative consumption of sufentanil in the first 24 h were recorded. Intergroup differences of the parameters were analyzed using an independent t test, Mann-Whitney test, and χ² test as appropriate. Results: Patients who received TPVB consumed more propofol during ureteroscopy (56.2 ± 28.4 vs. 42.9 ± 27.5 mg, p < 0.05) and more sufentanil during ureteroscopy (9.7 ± 4.8 vs. 3.9 ± 2.7 μg, p < 0.05) and during PCNL (7.0 ± 4.3 vs. 1.9 ± 1.8 μg, p < 0.05) than those who received EA. The volume fluids infused in patients who received TPVB was less than in those who received EA (854 ± 362 vs. 1,320 ± 468 ml, p < 0.05). Time to first PCIA use, postoperative 24-hour consumption of sufentanil, and other parameters were comparable between groups. Conclusions: In this study, TPVB was as effective and safe as EA in providing intraoperative anesthesia and postoperative analgesia for PCNL, although more sedatives and analgesics were used during PCNL in patients who received TPVB.

A combination of different therapy strategies has great potential to efficaciously treat malignant tumors, by virtue of their synergetic effects.

Menopause causes cognitive and memory dysfunction due to impaired neuronal plasticity in the hippocampus. Sirtuin-1 (SIRT1) downregulation in the hippocampus is implicated in the underlying molecular mechanism. Edible bird's nest (EBN) is traditionally used to improve general wellbeing, and in this study, we evaluated its effects on SIRT1 expression in the hippocampus and implications on ovariectomy-induced memory and cognitive decline in rats. Ovariectomized female Sprague-Dawley rats were fed with normal pellet alone or normal pellet + EBN (6, 3, or 1.5%), compared with estrogen therapy (0.2 mg/kg/day). After 12 weeks of intervention, Morris water maze (four-day trial and one probe trial) was conducted, and serum estrogen levels, toxicity markers (alanine transaminase, alkaline phosphatase, urea, and creatinine), and hippocampal SIRT1 immunohistochemistry were estimated after sacrifice. The results indicated that EBN and estrogen enhanced spatial learning and memory and increased serum estrogen and hippocampal SIRT1 expression. In addition, the EBN groups did not show as much toxicity to the liver as the estrogen group. The data suggested that EBN treatment for 12 weeks could improve cognition and memory in ovariectomized female rats and may be an effective alternative to estrogen therapy for menopause-induced aging-related memory loss.