Currently, cucurbiturils are being actively researched all over the world. Research is focused on the ways of improving the solubility and selectivity of cucurbiturils, increasing the stability of the complexes with other particles in various media and enhancing their ability to bind and release various substances. The most significant area of our research is the assessment of safety, studying the biological properties and synergistic effects of cucurbiturils during complexation with drugs. In this article, the hemocompatibility of erythrocytes and leukocytes with cucurbiturils was investigated. We demonstrated that cucurbiturils have no cytotoxic effect, even at high concentrations (1 mM) and do not affect the viability of PBMCs. However, cucurbiturils can increase the level of the early apoptosis of lymphocytes and cucurbit[7]uril enhances hemolysis in biologically relevant media. Despite this, cucurbiturils are fairly safe organic molecules in concentrations up to 0.3 mM. Thus, we believe that it will become possible to use polymer nanostructures as drug delivery systems in clinical practice, since cucurbiturils can be modified to improve pharmacological properties.
Post-COVID syndrome can develop in all patients who have had COVID-19, regardless of the disease severity. Clinical manifestations postCOVID syndrome vary greatly, but the most common symptoms include fatigue, anxiety and depression disorders (ADDs), and cognitive impairment (CI).Objective: to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Cholytilin (choline alfoscerate) and the combined drug MexiB 6 in patients with post-COVID syndrome and fatigue, ADDs, and CI.Patients and methods. The study included 100 patients aged 22 to 71 years who have had COVID-19 5.4 months ago. Inclusion criterion: cognitive complaints, fatigue, and emotional disturbances. The evaluation included neurological exam, Montreal Cognitive Assessment Scale (MoCA), Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB), 10-words list task, Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory (MFI-20), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Study participants were divided into two groups. Patients who had ADDs (anxiety/depression level according to HADS ≥8 points; n=50) were prescribed with MexiB 6 (1 tablet three times per day). Patients with CI (mean MoCA score ≤25 points; n=50) were prescribed with Cholytilin (2 capsules (800 mg) in the morning and 1 capsule (400 mg) at lunchtime). The follow-up period was 60 days.Results and discussion. According to MoCA scores, a decrease in cognition was observed in 58% of participants, while 28% did not notice CI earlier. ADD fere present in 51%, and fatigue — in 100% of patients. We observed a significant reduction in fatigue severity (from 62.42±7.18 to 52.32±16.36 points; p<0.05) in patients prescribed with MexiB 6. The majority of patients noted a significant increase in physical activity, decreased fatigue, improvement of attention and physical well-being, and increased workplace efficiency. We also found a significant decrease in ADDs severity: ADDs either regressed completely (in 42% of participants) or became subclinical (in 48%; р<0.001). CI severity also reduced according to mean МоСА (from 26.60±1.31 to 27.28±1.39 points; p<0.05) and FAB (from 16.98±1.06 to 17.20±0.90 points; p<0.05) scores. In a subgroup of patients with mild CI treated with Cholytilin mean МоСА (from 23.50±0.99 to 26.36±1.34; р<0.001) and FAB (from 16.02±0.91 to 16.96±0.99; р<0.001) scores significantly increased. Complete regression of CI was observed in 74% of participants (р<0.001). We also found a decrease in ADDs (р<0.001) and fatigue (mean MFI-20 scores decreased from 42.28±10.73 to 35.60±8.10; р<0.001) severity in all study participants.Conclusion. Patients who have had COVID-19, regardless of the disease severity, have a high prevalence of fatigue, ADDs and CI, and MexiB 6 and Cholytilin have a potential in their treatment.
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