With the increasing interest in the experimental and clinical application of molecular imaging many institutions create research groups or interdisciplinary centers focussing on the complex development process of this new methodology. The aim of this textbook of molecular imaging is to provide an up to date review of this rapidly growing field and to discuss basic methodological aspects necessary for the interpretation of experimental and clinical results. Emphasis is placed on the interplay of imaging technology and probe development, since the physical properties of the imaging approach need to be closely linked with the biologic application of the probe (i.e. nanoparticles and microbubbles). Various chemical strategies are discussed and related to the biologic applications. Reporter-gene imaging is beeing addressed not only in experimental protocols, but also first clinical applications are discussed. Finally, strategies of imaging to characterize apoptosis and angiogenesis are described and discussed in the context of possible clinical translation.

The contents of this book will be organized into three sections. The first section defines the scope, impact and behaviour of cancer regimen-related toxicities and frames the issue of balancing treatment success and physiological cost. In the second segment of the book, the most current thinking around the pathobiology of specific, common, and representative toxicities is presented by leading researchers and translational scientists. The final portion of the book discusses the common biological relationships between toxicities, bioinformatical approaches to analysing key and common pathways, and strategies for the development of effective interventions.

This innovative volume introduces Trajectory Analysis, a new systems-based approach to measuring nonlinear dynamics in continuous change, to public health and epidemiology. It synthesizes influential strands of statistical and probability science (including chaos theory and catastrophe theory) to complement existing methods and models used in the health fields. The computational framework featured here pinpoints complex cause-and-effect processes in behavioral change as individuals and populations adjust to health interventions, with examples from neuroscience and cardiology. But this is no mere academic exercise, as the author illustrates how these methods can be harnessed toward finding real-world answers to longstanding public health problems, starting with treatment recidivism. Included in the coverage: * The universality of physical principles in the analysis of health and disease * The problem of recidivism in healthcare intervention studies * Stability and reversibility/irreversibility of health conditions * Chaos theory and sensitive dependence on initial conditions * Applications in health monitoring and geographic systems * Simulations, applications, and the challenge for public health A stimulating new take on statistics with powerful implications for future study, practice, and policy, Trajectory Analysis in Health Care should interest public health epidemiologists, researchers, clinicians, and policymakers.

The aim of this book is to present a range of analytical methods that can be used in formulation design and development and focus on how these systems can be applied to understand formulation components and the dosage form these build. To effectively design and exploit drug delivery systems, the underlying characteristic of a dosage form must be understood--from the characteristics of the individual formulation components, to how they act and interact within the formulation, and finally, to how this formulation responds in different biological environments. To achieve this, there is a wide range of analytical techniques that can be adopted to understand and elucidate the mechanics of drug delivery and drug formulation. Such methods include e.g. spectroscopic analysis, diffractometric analysis, thermal investigations, surface analytical techniques, particle size analysis, rheological techniques, methods to characterize drug stability and release, and biological analysis in appropriate cell and animal models. Whilst each of these methods can encompass a full research area in their own right, formulation scientists must be able to effectively apply these methods to the delivery system they are considering. The information in this book is designed to support researchers in their ability to fully characterize and analyze a range of delivery systems, using an appropriate selection of analytical techniques. Due to its consideration of regulatory approval, this book will also be suitable for industrial researchers both at early stage up to pre-clinical research.

In her thesis, Sara Bobone outlines spectroscopic studies of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) which are promising lead compounds for drugs used to fight multidrug resistant bacteria. Bobone shows that AMPs interact with liposomes and she clarifies the structure of pores formed by one of these molecules. These results help us to understand how AMPs are selective for bacterial membranes and how their activity can be finely tuned by modifying their sequence. Findings which solve several conundrums debated in the literature for years. In addition, Bobone uses liposomes as nanotemplates for the photopolymerization of hydrogels - exploiting the self- assembly properties of phospholipids. Bobone was able to trap an enzyme using nanometeric particles, while still allowing its activity by the diffusion of substrates and products through the network of the polymer. The innovative nano devices described in this thesis could solve many of the hurdles still hampering the therapeutic application of protein-based drugs.

Only a few years ago the endocannabinoid system was unknown. Today we are aware that endocannabinoids are involved in many of the functions of the mammalian body - in neuroprotection, appetite and suckling, pain, reproduction, anxiety, memory, bone formation etc. This volume presents an up-to-date picture of some of the major fields of endocannabinoid research. It summarizes the actions of the endocannabinoids on various physiological systems and opens new therapeutic windows to a large number of diseases. The first chapter, on the use of Cannabis in India, can be viewed as an expression of thanks to the herbal practitioners, who for centuries passed on the medical traditions associated with the drug. The chapter on chemistry is a short summary of active plant, synthetic and endogenous cannabinoids being investigated today, many of which are mentioned later in the book. Cannabidiol is an unusual cannabinoid - it does not bind to the known receptors and yet exerts a variety of effects. Hence a chapter is devoted to it. Further chapters deal with the endocannabinoid system and the endocannabinoids in a variety of conditions and physiological systems. The concluding chapter describes the research done on Sativex (R), a standardized plant extract, shortly to be introduced in Canada as a drug for multiple sclerosis. The intended audience is drug researchers (medicinal chemists, pharmacologists, clinicians), neuroscientists, physiologists, and clinicians interested in the effect of the endocannabinoid system in various physiological systems.

Classic biostatistics, a branch of statistical science, has as its main focus the applications of statistics in public health, the life sciences, and the pharmaceutical industry. Modern biostatistics, beyond just a simple application of statistics, is a confluence of statistics and knowledge of multiple intertwined fields. The application demands, the advancements in computer technology, and the rapid growth of life science data (e.g., genomics data) have promoted the formation of modern biostatistics. There are at least three characteristics of modern biostatistics: (1) in-depth engagement in the application fields that require penetration of knowledge across several fields, (2) high-level complexity of data because they are longitudinal, incomplete, or latent because they are heterogeneous due to a mixture of data or experiment types, because of high-dimensionality, which may make meaningful reduction impossible, or because of extremely small or large size; and (3) dynamics, the speed of development in methodology and analyses, has to match the fast growth of data with a constantly changing face. This book is written for researchers, biostatisticians/statisticians, and scientists who are interested in quantitative analyses. The goal is to introduce modern methods in biostatistics and help researchers and students quickly grasp key concepts and methods. Many methods can solve the same problem and many problems can be solved by the same method, which becomes apparent when those topics are discussed in this single volume.

Drug-related problems in the elderly is intended to serve as a source of information and clinical support in geriatric pharmacotherapy for students as well as all health care professionals, e.g. physicians, nurses and pharmacists. Pharmacotherapy is of great importance to all mankind. Drugs are however powerful and must be handled appropriately. This is especially important for elderly patients. Drug-related problem is not a major subject in most university programmes in medicine or pharmacy. When there is no speci c course, there is often no book covering the topic. In our view, as teachers at various university courses, there has been a shortage of literature that re ects the most important aspects of drug-related problems in the elderly. Medical practitioners, nurses and pharmacists, need to have this knowledge to be able to serve their patients in the best way. This book covers most aspects of drug-related problems in the elderly. With b- ter knowledge of drug-related dif culties and risks we hope that elderly will have fewer drug-related problems and bene t more from their pharmacotherapy.

A major challenge confronting the pharmaceutical scientist working with protein formulation is the instability during processing, storage and use of the protein drug. This book reviews stability aspects encountered since the pioneering isolation of insulin in 1921. An introductory chapter, treating insulin purity and stability in historical perspective, is followed by a chapter with a description of the structure of insulin. The main part of the book is a comprehensive review of the literature dealing with stability of insulin in pharmaceutical formulation, including biological stability and the physical and chemical decomposition of insulin. The physical stability (i.e. the tendency of insulin to form insoluble fibrils) is reviewed as are methods to stabilize insulin for long-term use in infusion pumps. The book will be of interest to research and clinical pharmacologists involved with insulin and other protein-based drug substances.

This book brings together most up-to-date information on different aspects of brain aging and on the strategies for intervention and therapy of age-related brain disorders. It includes 18 chapters by leading researchers, and each chapter is a comprehensive and critical review of the topic in question, discusses the current scenario and focuses on future perspectives. The target readership is the undergraduate and graduate students in the universities, in medical and nursing colleges, along with the post-graduate researchers and practicing clinicians who would like to know about the latest developments in the field of neurodegenerative disorders and their therapeutic interventions. This book will be of much interest to pharmaceutical, nutrition and healthcare industry for an easy access to accurate and reliable information in the field of aging research and intervention.

The fact that tobacco ingestion can affect how people feel and think has been known for millennia, placing the plant among those used spiritually, honori?cally, and habitually (Corti 1931; Wilbert 1987). However, the conclusion that nicotine - counted for many of these psychopharmacological effects did not emerge until the nineteenth century (Langley 1905). This was elegantly described by Lewin in 1931 as follows: "The decisive factor in the effects of tobacco, desired or undesired, is nicotine. . . "(Lewin 1998). The use of nicotine as a pharmacological probe to und- stand physiological functioning at the dawn of the twentieth century was a landmark in the birth of modern neuropharmacology (Limbird 2004; Halliwell 2007), and led the pioneering researcher John Langley to conclude that there must exist some "- ceptive substance" to explain the diverse actions of various substances, including nicotine, when applied to muscle tissue (Langley 1905). Research on tobacco and nicotine progressed throughout the twentieth century, but much of this was from a general pharmacological and toxicological rather than a psychopharmacological perspective (Larson et al. 1961). There was some attention to the effects related to addiction, such as euphoria (Johnston 1941), tolerance (Lewin 1931), and withdrawal (Finnegan et al. 1945), but outside of research supported by the tobacco industry, addiction and psychopharmacology were not major foci for research (Slade et al. 1995; Hurt and Robertson 1998; Henning?eld et al. 2006; Henning?eld and Hartel 1999; Larson et al. 1961).

Medicinal chemistry is both science and art. The science of medicinal chemistry offers mankind one of its best hopes for improving the quality of life. The art of medicinal chemistry continues to challenge its practitioners with the need for both intuition and experience to discover new drugs. Hence sharing the experience of drug research is uniquely beneficial to the field of medicinal chemistry. Drug research requires interdisciplinary team-work at the interface between chemistry, biology and medicine. Therefore, the topic-related series Topics in Medicinal Chemistry covers all relevant aspects of drug research, e.g. pathobiochemistry of diseases, identification and validation of (emerging) drug targets, structural biology, drugability of targets, drug design approaches, chemogenomics, synthetic chemistry including combinatorial methods, bioorganic chemistry, natural compounds, high-throughput screening, pharmacological in vitro and in vivo investigations, drug-receptor interactions on the molecular level, structure-activity relationships, drug absorption, distribution, metabolism, elimination, toxicology and pharmacogenomics. In general, special volumes are edited by well known guest editors.

Sildenafil, for the treatment of erectile dysfunction, is one of the first products that has made its way successfully from basic NO (nitrous oxide) research, to clinical routine therapy. Sidenafil, part of the Milestones in Drug Therapy series, presents the major breakthroughs in the field of NO physiology and pharmacology that led to the development of the drug, as well as clinical applications in one source guide.

Written by leading experts in the field, each chapter covers aspects of clinical use and experience, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, biochemistry, and cultural science.

Protein kinase C (PKC), a family of serine-threonine kinases, rocketed to the forefront of the cancer research field in the early 1980's with its identification as an effector of phorbol esters, natural products with tumor promoting activity. Phorbol esters had long been of interest to the cancer research field due to early studies in the mouse skin carcinogenesis model, which showed that prolonged topical application of phorbol esters promoted the formation of skin tumors on mice previously treated with mutagenic agents. Research in the last years has established key roles for PKC isozymes in the control of cell proliferation, migration, adhesion, and malignant transformation. In addition, there is a large body of evidence linking PKC to invasion and cancer cell metastasis. Moreover, it is now well established that the expression of PKC isozymes is altered in various types of cancers. More importantly, small molecule inhibitors have been developed with significant anti-cancer activity. The relevance of PKC isozymes in cancer signaling is therefore remarkable. This book will have 4 sections. There will be 23 chapters. Each section will have a brief introduction by an expert in the field (~ 1-2 pages).

Endocannabinoids have tremendous therapeutic potential. This book introduces readers to our current understanding of the neurobiology of endocannabinoids and related systems, detailing their pathophysiological role and therapeutic potential. Authors, experienced clinical investigators, present and analyze results of recent clinical trials as well as the development of new therapeutic strategies and medicines.

The idea for this book came from discussions among participants in a symposium on biotechnical applications at the "Pacifichem 89" meeting in Honolulu. It was the majority opinion of this group that a volume dedicated to biotechnical and biomedical applications of PEG chemistry would enhance research and development in this area. Though the book was conceived at the Honolulu meeting, it is not a proceedings of this symposium. Several groups who did not participate in this meeting are repre sented in the book, and the book incorporates much work done after the meeting. The book does not include contributions in all related areas to which PEG chemistry has been applied. Several invited researchers declined to parti.: ipate, and there is not enough space in this single volume to properly cover all submissions. Chapter I-an overview of the topic-discusses in brief applications not given detailed coverage in specifically devoted chapters. The following topics are covered: introduction to and fundamental properties of PEG and derivatives in Chapters 1-3; separations using aqueous polymer two-phase partitioning in Chapters 4-6; PEG-proteins as catalysts in biotechnical applications in Chapters 7 and 8; biomedical applications of PEG-proteins in Chapters 9-13; PEG modified surfaces for a variety of biomedical and biotechnical applications in Chapters 14-20; and synthesis of new PEG derivatives in Chapters 21 and 22."

This book provides an overview of the etiology of coronary artery disease and focuses on the main therapies and drug interventions currently available. It highlights drug pharmacology and therapeutic challenges, with a special emphasis on the underlying principles of available therapeutics and the on-going development of drugs for coronary artery disease. The book is divided into eight chapters, the first of which describes the classical mechanism of coronary artery disease and its clinical presentations. Chapter 2 lists the principles of and related evidence on the prevention and treatment of coronary artery disease. This includes diet and lifestyle management, and guidelines for the treatment of acute coronary syndrome and stable coronary artery disease. In turn, Chapter 3 describes revascularization treatments, covering percutaneous coronary interventions, coronary artery bypass grafts and thrombolysis. This chapter also addresses the main therapeutic challenges. The following chapters provide an overview of three major categories of coronary artery disease drugs, which target thrombosis (Chapter 4), lipid metabolism (Chapter 5), and hypertension (Chapter 6). Heart failure constitutes the major health burden in the late stage of coronary artery disease; accordingly, current heart failure therapeutics and related drug pharmacology are described in Chapter 7. In closing, Chapter 8 provides a summary of on-going clinical trials for coronary artery disease drug development and discusses a number of promising areas in which intensive research into new therapeutics is being pursued. Given its scope, the book will be of interest to clinicians, medical students and research scientists, as well as to pharmaceutical professionals who are seeking new therapies and drugs for coronary artery disease and related disorders.

In this book, leading-edge investigators offer effective strategies to improve current antidepressive therapies and suggest molecular, biological, and genetic approaches that will lead to the development of novel antidepressants. The contributors' critical reviews and commentaries illuminate our understanding of the mechanism(s) responsible for antidepressant action. The book's goal is to move beyond current biogenic amine-based concepts and therapies to the development of new and improved antidepressants that are more effective and have a more rapid onset than current.

This book is based on the proceedings of the symposium entitled "Di rected Drug Delivery: A Multidisciplinary Problem," which was held in Lawrence, Kansas on October 17-19, 1984. The purpose of the sym posium and this book is to focus on the multidisciplinary nature of drug delivery. Development of a successful drug delivery system re quires contributions from various scientific disciplines, including pharmaceutical chemistry, analytical chemistry, medicinal chemistry, biochemistry, pharmacology, toxicology, and clinical medicine. The contents of this volume illustrate the importance of the various disci plines in identifying the problems and approaches for the develop ment of a rational and effective drug delivery system. Thus the infor mation provided herein will be of value not only to the pharmaceutical chemists who are responsible for dosage form design, but also to the pharmacokineticists, pharmacologists, and clinicians involved in bio logical evaluation of drug delivery systems. The volume should also be of interest to the analytical chemists who must provide technology to quantitcltively evaluate drug delivery. Additionally, this work will also interest the biochemists and medicinal chemists involved in drug dis covery, since the drug delivery system often plays a major role in determining the success or failure of a new drug entity. Each speaker at the symposium was requested to contribute a chapter reviewing the contribution of their major discipline to the de velopment of a successful drug delivery system."

Cocaine has been a socio-medical problem for centuries. In the United States, the first cocaine epidemic occurred between the 1880s and the 1920s. In the 1960s shortages of heroin as well as government programs to stop the smuggling of marijuana may have stimulated the use of cocaine as a substitute. With the development of crack, cocaine became available at a price that made it accessible to virtually anyone. Today, the long-term effects of crack are just beginning to be felt, especially among children born of users. Treatment of cocaine abuse has traditionally been non-pharmacological, although beginning with the 1980s, various drugs have been used to decrease cocaine craving. This bibliography contains more than 600 references, spanning a century of research and writing. Source publications, all of which are annotated, include books, articles, conference proceedings, dissertations, and government publications. The material is organized within four subject-oriented chapters, and alphabetically within each chapter. Author and subject indexes provide additional access. In addition, Miletich includes appendixes on common names for cocaine, videocassettes about the drug, and a timeline. The work will be of value to researchers as well as social workers, psychologists, and others working in the substance abuse field.

This new 12th edition of Dale and Appelbe's Pharmacy and Medicines Law is your guide to law and ethics for pharmacy practice in the UK. It covers law and professional regulation and is firmly established as the definitive student textbook and reference work on this subject in the UK. This edition has been extensively restructured and revised to include all the most recent changes to pharmacy laws and regulation.

Introducing Palliative Care is the ideal introductory text for training students in medicine and qualified healthcare professionals in the area of palliative care. The sixth edition has been fully revised in line with current practice and the latest edition of the Palliative Care Formulary (PCF7).