Determination of drugs used in combined cardiovascular therapy

Cardiovascular diseases are nowadays the first cause of mortality worldwide, causing around the 30% of global deaths each year. The risk of suffering from cardiovascular illnesses is strongly related to some factors such as hypertension, high cholesterol levels, diabetes, obesity The combination of these different risk factors is known as metabolic syndrome and it is considered a pandemic due to the high prevalence worldwide. The pathology of the disorders implies a combined cardiovascular therapy with drugs which have different targets and mechanisms of action, to regulate each factor separately. The simultaneous analysis of these drugs turns interesting but it is a complex task since the determination of multiple substances with different physicochemical properties and physiological behavior is always a challenge for the analytical chemist. The complexity of the biological matrices and the difference in the expected concentrations of some analytes require the development of extremely sensitive and selective determination methods. The aim of this work is to fill the gap existing in this field of the drug analysis, developing analytical methods capable of quantifying the different drugs prescribed in combined cardiovascular therapy simultaneously. Liquid chromatography andem mass spectrometry (LCMS/MS) has been the technique of choice throughout the main part of this work, due to the high sensitivity and selectivity requirements.

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12 p.

Neuroprotective Effect of Melatonin: A Novel Therapy against Perinatal Hypoxia-Ischemia

17 p.

Exploring new labelling strategies for boronated compounds: towards fast development and efficient assessment of BNCT drug candidates

208 p.

Current Approaches for Predicting a Lack of Response to Anti-EGFR Therapy in KRAS Wild-Type Patients

Targeting epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) has been one of the most effective colorectal cancer strategies. Anti-EGFR antibodies function by binding to the extracellular domain of EGFR, preventing its activation, and ultimately providing clinical benefit. KRAS mutations in codons 12 and 13 are recognized prognostic and predictive biomarkers that should be analyzed at the clinic prior to the administration of anti-EGFR therapy. However, still an important fraction of KRAS wild-type patients do not respond to the treatment. The identification of additional genetic determinants of primary or secondary resistance to EGFR targeted therapy for further improving the selection of patients is urgent. Herein, we review the latest published literature highlighting the most important genes that may predict resistance to anti-EGFR monoclonal antibodies in colorectal cancer patients. According to the available findings, the evaluation of BRAF, NRAS, PIK3CA, and PTEN status could be the right strategy to select patients who are likely to respond to anti-EGFR therapies. In the future, the combination of those biomarkers will help establish consensus that can be introduced into clinical practice.