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Cardiovascular Diseases (CVDs) are a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. The underlying pathology for cardiovascular disease is largely atherosclerotic in nature and the steps include fatty streak formation, plaque progression and plaque rupture. While there is optimal drug therapy available for patients with CVD, there are also underlying drug delivery obstacles that must be addressed. Challenges in drug delivery warrant further studies for the development of novel and more efficacious medical therapies. An extensive understanding of the molecular mechanisms of disease in combination with current challenges in drug delivery serves as a platform for the development of novel drug therapeutic targets for CVD. The objective of this article is to review the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis, first-line medical treatment for CVD, and key obstacles in an efficient drug delivery.

Background Underserved ethnic minority populations experience significant disparities in HIV, hepatitis C virus (HCV), colorectal cancer (CRC), and cervical cancer incidence and mortality. Much of the excess burden of these diseases among underserved communities is due to lack of preventive care, including screening. Barriers to disease screening include low awareness, lack of access to care and health insurance, and cultural beliefs regarding disease prevention. Our current trial aims to examine community health worker (CHW)-delivered, home-based multi-modality screening for HIV, HCV, CRC, and cervical cancer simultaneously. Design We are conducting a randomized pragmatic trial among 900 Haitian, Hispanic, and African-American participants from diverse underserved communities in South Florida. People between the ages of 50 and 65 who have not had appropriate HIV, HCV, CRC, and cervical cancer screening per United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommendations are eligible for the study. Participants are recruited by CHWs and complete a structured interview to assess multilevel determinants of disease risk. Participants are then randomized to receive HIV, HCV, CRC, and cervical cancer screening via navigation to care by a CHW (Group 1) or via CHW-delivered home-based screening (Group 2). The primary outcome is completion of screening for each of these diseases within 6 months post-enrollment. Discussion Our trial is among the first to examine the effectiveness of a CHW-delivered, multimodality, home-based disease-screening approach. If found to be effective, this approach may represent a cost-effective strategy for disease screening within underserved and underscreened minority groups. Trial registration Clinical Trials.gov # NCT02970136, registered November 21, 2016.

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Due to the significant impact of CVD on humans, there is a need to develop novel treatment modalities tailored to major classes of cardiac diseases including hypertension, coronary artery disease, cardiomyopathies, arrhythmias, valvular disease and inflammatory diseases. In this article, we discuss recent advancements regarding development of therapeutic strategies based on stem cells, aptamers, exosomes, drug-eluting and dissolvable stents, immunotherapy and nanomedicine for the treatment of CVD. We summarize current research and clinical advances in cardiovascular therapeutics, with a focus on therapies that move beyond current oral- or sublingual-based regimens. This review article provides insight into current research and future treatment strategies that hold a great relevance for future clinical practice in pursuit of improving quality of life of patients suffering from CVD.

The emergent field of nanoparticles has presented a wealth of opportunities for improving the treatment of human diseases. Recent advances have allowed for promising developments in drug delivery, diagnostics, and therapeutics. Modified delivery systems allow improved drug delivery over traditional pH, microbe, or receptor dependent models, while antibody association allows for more advanced imaging modalities. Nanoparticles have potential clinical application in the field of gastroenterology as they offer several advantages compared to the conventional treatment systems including target drug delivery, enhanced treatment efficacy, and reduced side effects.The aim of this review article is to summarize the recent advancements in developing nanoparticle technologies to treat gastrointestinal diseases. We have covered the application of nanoparticles in various gastrointestinal disorders including inflammatory bowel disease and colorectal cancer. We also have discussed how the gut microbiota affects the nanoparticle based drug delivery in the gastrointestinal tract.Nanoparticles based drug delivery offers a great platform for targeted drug delivery for gastrointestinal disorders. However, it is influenced by the presence of microbiota, drug interaction with nanoparticles, and cytotoxicity of nanoparticles. With the advancements in nanoparticle technology, it may be possible to overcome these barriers leading to efficient drug delivery for gastrointestinal disorders based on nanoparticle platform.

Background:Cardiovascular diseases such as endocarditis are the second most common cause of death worldwide. Infective Endocarditis (IE) is the most severe infection of the heart associated with significant mortality and morbidity. The binding and invasion of Human Aortic Endothelial Cells (HAECs) by pathogenic microbes can play an important role in the pathogenesis of IE.Objective:Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an emerging pathogen that has been associated with IE. However, it is not known whether P. aeruginosa can bind and interact with HAECs. The aim of this study was to determine whether P. aeruginosa can bind and colonize HAECs.Methods:The invasion of HAECs by P. aeruginosa was assessed by gentamicin protection assay. Cytokine levels were determined by enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) kits. Cell damage was determined by Lactate Dehydrogenase (LDH) assay.Results:P. aeruginosa can bind and invade HAECs. Infection of HAECs with P. aeruginosa induces TNF-α IL-1β, IL-6 and IL-8 cytokine production leading to the generation of inflammatory milieu that can cause tissue damage as observed in human clinical cases of IE. We also observed that P. aeruginosa induces cell damage in HAECs.Conclusion:In this study, we demonstrate for first time that P. aeruginosa can invade and survive inside HAECs. This cell culture model can be of immense importance to determine the efficacy of drug targets against IE.

e17098 Background: Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) guides targeted therapy and clinical trial enrollment for patients with gynecologic malignancies. South Florida is a key region to explore biomarkers and molecular alterations common in Hispanic (H) patients due to the high proportion of H individuals. While NGS testing is increasingly used in clinical practice to aid in treatment planning, ethnic minorities are at risk for health disparity including clinical trial enrollment. The objective of this study was to determine if frequently reported mutations are also common in a predominantly H population with gynecologic cancers. Methods: Clinicopathologic data was obtained from women treated at our institution from Jan. 2014 to Jan 2019 for gynecologic malignancies. Women with ovarian (OC), endometrial (EC), and cervical cancer (CC) with NGS results from Caris Life Sciences were included for analysis. Women self-report ethnicity based on initial hospital intake form. Mutations based on point mutations, indels, fusions and copy number variations were identified. Descriptive statistics are reported. IRB approval was obtained. Results: A total of 233 patients with 117 ovarian (OC), 24 cervical (CC) and 92 endometrial cancers (EC) were included. Among the 233 women, 96 (41%) were H, 137 (59%) identified as NH. There were 38 H and 48 NH patients with EC; 50 H and 62 NH OC patients; and 8 H and 13 NH CC patients. Among EC patients, TP53 appeared in 42% vs. 47%, PTEN 26% vs. 30% , PIK3CA 32% vs. 17%, CTNNB1 32% vs. 17% , and KRAS 16% vs. 21% of H and NH cases respectively. In the OC cohort, TP53 appeared in 74% vs. 75% , BRCA1/2 10% vs. 19%, KRAS 16% vs. 16% and PIK3CA 8% vs. 6% of H and NH cases respectively. In CC patients, TP53 appeared in 25% vs. 23%, KMT2C 12.5% vs. 7.6% and PIK3CA 0 vs. 38% of H and NH cases respectively. There were no statistical differences in the mutation rates between the two groups. Conclusions: There is limited data reported on the variation of mutations based on ethnicity in women with gynecologic cancers. Our study suggests there may be different driver mutations based on ethnicity. Future studies in larger cohorts are needed to further assess genomic differences, potential responses to treatment and further increase H population enrollment into clinical trials.