This book, the proceedings of a Falk Workshop on `Topical Steroids in Gastroenterology and Hepatology', held in Berlin, Germany, on 14 June 2003, critically discusses the current role of budesonide in gastroenterology, hepatology, surgery and oncology and focuses especially on potential new indications for the use of budesonide. A number of smaller clinical studies and anecdotal case reports with impressive clinical effects are reported in patients with gastrointestinal, hepatic, oncological and surgical problems. In addition, the use of budesonide for the treatment of distal ulcerative colitis and ileocolonic Crohn's disease is evaluated with respect to its role in an evidence-based management of IBD. Finally, as clinical experience with the use of budesonide is increasing, safety issues and the side-effect profile of budesonide is addressed.

Hallucinogens: A Forensic Drug Handbook is a comprehensive reference for everyone involved in the identification, investigation, and forensic analysis of hallucinogenic drugs. The text begins with a review of the history of these drugs and their abuse, and then takes an in-depth look at the many different types of hallucinogens, their chemical make-up, how they affect users, how they are manufactured and distributed, and how they can be detected and analyzed.
Hallucinogens covers the most commonly abused drugs such as LSD, MDMA ("Ecstasy"), and PCP ("Angel Dust"), as well as many lesser-known chemical substances that cause similar effects. Chapters have been contributed by leading analysts and investigators around the world, and are highlighted with numerous illustrations. This unique handbook will serve is a cross-disciplinary source of information for forensic toxicologists, law enforcement officers, and others involved in the fight against drugs.
* Brings together comprehensive information on hallucinogenic drugs in one convenient source
* Covers everything from abuse of these drugs to pharmacology, effects, forms, manufacturing methods, distribution, and forensic analysis
* Contains numerous illustrations, chemical structures, and analytic spectra for each drug
* Includes contributions from many of the world's leading investigators and analysts

The development of new drugs is very complex, costly and risky. Its success is highly dependent on an intense collaboration and interaction between many departments within the drug development organization, external investigators and service providers, in constant dialogue with regulatory authorities, payers, academic experts, clinicians and patient organizations. Within the different phases of the drug life cycle, drug development is by far the most crucial part for the initial and continued success of a drug on the market.

This book offers an introduction to the field of drug development with a clear overview of the different processes that lead to a successful new medicine and of the regulatory pathways that are used to launch a new drug that are both safe and efficacious.

"This is the most comprehensive and detailed book on drug development I have ever read and I feel that it is likely to become a staple of drug development courses, such as those taught at Masters Level in my own University.... I think in the light of increasing integration of company and academic approaches to drug development both sides can read this book.. (and, therefore)... this book could not be more timely. "

"Professor Mike Coleman, University of Aston., UK ( from his review of the final manuscript) "

A remarkable spectrum of novel immunoreceptors sharing related immunoglobulin-like domains and signaling potential has been identified in recent years. These receptors have attracted widespread interest because they resemble the TCR, BCR, and FcR complexes in their ability to serve as activating or inhibitory receptors on the cells that bear them. Moreover, they are well positioned to affect both innate and adaptive immunity. The full range of ligands for these new receptor families is still not known, and understanding of their physiological roles is far from complete. This volume is the first attempt to summarize and highlight all known aspects of immunoglobulin-like receptors, providing a topical overview of the roles and characteristic features of the immunoglobulin-like receptors and related molecules in the immune system. Researchers in immunology, molecular biology, cell biology, clinical medicine, and pharmacology will find this book invaluable.

"The Textbook of Pharmaceutical Medicine" is the standard reference for everyone working and learning in pharmaceutical medicine. It is a comprehensive resource covering the processes and practices by which medicines are developed, tested and approved, and the recognised text for the Diploma in Pharmaceutical Medicine from the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine.

This fully revised Seventh Edition, which includes two new Editors, encompasses current developments within pharmaceutical medicine with new chapters on biological therapeutics, pharmacovigilance, vaccines, drugs for cancer, drug development in paediatrics and neonatalogy, the clinical trials directive, life cycle management of medicines, counterfeit medicines and medical marketing. Also included for easy reference, and referred to throughout the text, are the Declaration of Helsinki, Guidelines and Documentation for Implementation of Clinical Trials, relevant European Directives and the Syllabus for Pharmaceutical Medicine.

Written by an international team of leading academics, medical directors and lawyers, "The Textbook of Pharmaceutical Medicine, Seventh Edition" meets the needs of both those working in pharmaceutical medicine and preparing for the Diploma in Pharmaceutical Medicine.

The text breaks down into three core sections:

Part I: Research and DevelopmentPart II: RegulationPart III: Healthcare marketplaceView Table of Contents in detail

Currently, there are tremendous advances being made in understanding the basic science of both the structure and function of botulinum neurotoxins. This knowledge is opening up opportunities in regard to both therapeutic uses and treatment and protection options for civil and bio-defense applications. This volume fully evaluates the status of neurotoxin research and exploitation with a focus on clinical application. The book is a multi-authored collection of chapters written by the leading authorities responsible for the current scientific and clinical research that is advancing the understanding and exploitation of the neurotoxins and is both up to date and authoritative.

As governments seek to mitigate the cost of state-subsidized healthcare, branding in the pharmaceutical industry has become a critical issue. Drugs companies must change their methods of communication and distribution--focusing more on their direct relationship with the consumer. This requires fundamental changes in consumer behavior, access to information, freedom of choice, and value for money. Brands and brand values will play a leading role in this process, as has been seen with products such as Prozac and Viagra. This book by Interbrand Newell and Sorrell, the world's leading branding consultancy, provides cutting-edge thinking on this area and lessons for anyone involved in brand development and management.

This volume discusses the latest advancements and technologies used in cancer drug resistance research. Cancer Drug Resistance: Overviews and Methods contains chapters that cover topics such as: studying the mechanics of resistance to DNA damaging therapeutic drugs; studies to delineate the role of efflux transporters; expression of drug transporters; resistance to targeted therapies in breast cancer; the role of microRNAs in current pancreatic cancer treatment; and cancer exosomes as mediators of drug resistance or clinical and molecular methods in drug development and the use of bioinformatics in the management of cancer drug resistance data. Written in the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology series format, chapters include overviews of the main issues in cancer drug resistance and the respective mechanisms, as well as introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible laboratory protocols, and tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Authoritative and practical, Cancer Drug Resistance: Overviews and Methods, is a valuable resource to researchers, oncobiologists and clinical oncologists or anyone else who is interested in the study of cancer and its drug resistances.

Since the introduction of ciprofloxacin in 1987, fluoroquinolones have expanded far beyond their early role in the treatment of urinary tract infections. Clinical applications beyond genitourinary tract infections include upper and lower respiratory infections, gastrointestinal infections, gynecologic infec- tions, sexually transmitted diseases, and some skin and soft tissue infections. Their ease of administration, favorable pharmacokinetic properties, excellent tolerability, and efficacy give them enormous potential for use and misuse alike. Quinolones have few common adverse effects, most notably nausea, headache and dizziness. Less frequent but more serious adverse events include prolongation of the corrected QT interval, phototoxicity, liver enzyme abnor- malities, arthropathy, and cartilage and tendon abnormalities. While possess- ing many of the favorable properties of intravenous agents, most fluoro- quinolones offer the convenience of oral administration, thus contributing to decreased health-care costs through increased outpatient therapy and short- ened hospital stays. With the recent introduction of agents such as gatifloxacin and moxifloxacin, the traditional Gram-negative coverage of fluoroquinolones has been expanded to include Gram-positive organisms, most importantly Streptococcus pneumoniae.

This is an outstanding survey describing medical drugs of plant origin, such as Echinacea edications, lentinan and mistletoe lectin, which have proven to be effective as immunostimulants. At a time when ever greater importance is being placed on preventive and alternative medicine, the study provides the reader with information on the physiological mechanisms of action and range of application of phytopreparations capable of inducing immunostimulatory effects when administered prophylactically or therapeutically. "Immunomodulatory Agents from Plants" addresses scientists in the pharmaceutical industry; physicians - general practitioners, internists and oncologists - who work with traditional immunostimulants; and also pharmacists wishing to improve customer service by gaining a firmer understanding of the science underlying and the clinical facts associated with drugs presently on the market.

The International Symposia on Plant Lipids, the 15th of which was held in Okazaki, Japan, in May 12-17, 2002, is held every two years and is the only international meeting in this field. The contributions from the symposium collected in this book represent the most up-to-date research results on plant lipids,including their structure, analysis, biosynthesis, regulation, physiological function, environmental aspects, and biotechnology, obtained world-wide during 2000-2002.

This volume is the proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Cognitive Neurodynamics (ICCN2013) held in Sweden in 2013. The included papers reflect the large span of research presented and are grouped in ten parts that are organized essentially in a top-down structure. The first parts deal with social/interactive (I) and mental (II) aspects of brain functions and their relation to perception and cognition (III). Next, more specific aspects of sensory systems (IV) and neural network dynamics of brain functions (V), including the effects of oscillations, synchronization and synaptic plasticity (VI), are addressed, followed by papers particularly emphasizing the use of neural computation and information processing (VII). With the next two parts, the levels of cellular and intracellular processes (VIII) and finally quantum effects (IX) are reached. The last part (X) is devoted to the contributions invited by the Dynamic Brain Forum (DBF), which was co-organized with ICCN2013.

Today, most people use prescription medications. Every year, the multi-billion dollar pharmaceutical industry produces new medicines that treat everything from arthritis to AIDS, from high cholesterol to depression. But, despite recent controversies regarding the safety of drugs, consumers know little about the medications that they ingest and inject. How are these new medicines invented? How do consumers know that drugs are safe and effective? How are they tested? Who regulates their production - and who watches the regulators? How do drug companies produce the vast quantities needed for the marketplace, and why do they market their drugs as they do? The New Medicines leads the reader through the maze of the modern drug industry - from bench to bedside - and provides consumers with a step-by-step understanding of how new medicines are created, approved, marketed, and sold. In addition to explaining how drugs reach the medicine cabinet, the author - an experienced researcher and teacher - provides the scientific and business background for understanding the current controversial issues surrounding new medicines, such as:

• The rise and fall of the COX-2 inhibitors, Vioxx and Celebrex, and the process by which they were invented, approved, and re-evaluated.
• The saga of the cancer drug Erbitux and its creator, the company Imclone, made famous as the centerpiece of the Martha Stewart insider-trading scandal
• The strengths and weaknesses of the approval process of the Food and Drug Administration
• The controversial new marketing techniques of the pharmaceutical industry

In recent years it has become clear that early information about pharmacodynamics leads to more efficient trial designs and improved clinical guidelines for the use of all drugs. Spanning many of the major drug classes, this book offers the essential facts and concepts and includes an authoritative section on general methodology and regulatory issues. The molecular biology and pharmacology of major receptor types are considered, as is the detailed pharmacodynamics of a wide range of therapeutic drug classes. The book will be of interest to researchers, clinical pharmacologists, physicians and regulators working in academia as well as the pharmaceutical industry worldwide.

Recently the CXCR4/CXCL12-axis has been recognized as one of the pivotal adhesion pathways by which hematopoietic stem cells are retained in the bone marrow. CXCR4 antagonists with different chemical specification are being developed. Pharmacology research guides the way to the rational development effective antagonists. One antagonist, plerixafor, is clinically approved now for stem cell mobilization of lymphoma and myeloma patients. This allows patients to receive potentially life-saving treatment which could not have been administered otherwise. Through early clinical studies it was recognized that CXCR4 antagonists also mobilize malignant hematopoetic cells, i.e. leukemia cells. In preclinical studies a sensitization of mobilized leukemic cells to standard cytotoxic chemotherapy could be shown. Clinical studies are under way. CXCR4 antagonists are an exciting new class of compounds which are also employed for the mobilization of angiogenic cells or for the treatment of solid tumors. In this book a concise review of the current status of knowledge and future developments will be presented.

Adverse events in patients caused by medical management are a serious and grossly underreported public health problem. One patient in ten entering hospital will suffer an adverse event of impairment, disability or death. This book is a major comprehensive examination of the incidence and causes of adverse events. Using data obtained from hospitals within the United Kingdom, United States and other developed countries, it examines the risk factors leading to errors, the human and financial costs, and the scope to reduce errors. In particular, it focuses on the need for a critical reappraisal of undergraduate teaching and clinical tuition. All healthcare professionals throughout primary and secondary care, including clinicians, managers and policy makers, and patient and carer groups, can benefit from reading this book. It identifies possible solutions and how adverse events and medication errors can be reduced, resulting in improved patient care.

Polluted air and contaminated food and water are major causes of human health deterioration, but public health policy has long struggled to effectively address these concerns. This timely book--written for a wide audience of policy makers, researchers, and general readers--synthesizes what we already know about environmental hazards, identifies the gaps in our knowledge, and provides a roadmap for reducing human exposure to environmental pollution. With contributions from leading experts, Environmental Determinants of Human Health examines numerous pollutants, both inorganic and organic, in the context of their human health impacts. Individual chapters explore exposure pathways, macroeconomic impacts of human health deterioration, technological and non-technological methods for reducing exposures, monetary and non-monetary benefits from exposure reduction, and risk communication and awareness, including citizen participation approaches. This volume is a crucial text for policy makers requiring scientific justification for the development of new environmental regulations, scientists researching public health and environmental contamination, and members of the public interested in human health issues.

Personalized medicine, which simply means selection of treatment best suited for an individual, involves integration and translation of several new technologies in clinical care of patients. The scope is much broader than indicated by the term genomic medicine because many non-genomic factors are taken into consideration in developing personalized medicine. Basic technologies for personalized medicine, of which molecular diagnostics has the biggest share, are mentioned briefly and appropriate references are given for further information. Commercial aspects are discussed briefly in a chapter and detailed analysis of markets and companies involved in personalized medicine is presented in a special report on this topic.

There is increasing interest in personalized medicine. Considerable advances have taken place in molecular biology and biotechnology to make personalized medicine a viable option, but some misconceptions still exist, both in the academic and commercial sectors. There is lack of a suitable source of information that provides both the fundamentals as well as applications of personalized medicine. As the latest version of the first monograph on personalized medicine published in 1998, this volume, Textbook of Personalized Medicine, summarizes the author's efforts during the past decade, as well as reviews selected studies done during this period in a readable format for the physicians and scientists. It is hoped that physicians, pharmacists, scientists and interested lay readers with basic scientific knowledge will find this book useful.

This volume tries to put current therapy - achievements, shortcomings, remaining medical needs - and emerging new targets into the context of increasing knowledge regarding the genetic and neurodevelopmental contributions to the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. Some of the chapters also deal with respective experimental and clinical methodology, biomarkers, and translational aspects of drug development. The volume concentrates on reviewing the ongoing research attempting to identify novel treatments for the cognitive deficits and negative symptoms of schizophrenia, which are not treated adequately by current antipsychotic medications.

Dr. Myrtle A. Davis has assembled a panel of cutting-edge scientists to describe their best methods for detecting, illuminating, and quantifying apoptotic mechanisms in a way that is useful for the design of toxicology and pharmacology studies. These state-of-the-art techniques include flow cytometric, fluorometric, and laser scanning methods for quantifying and characterizing apoptosis, as well as protocols for the use of DNA microarray technology, high throughput screens, and ELISA. Immunocytochemical methods for measuring biochemical and molecular endpoints in tissue sections will be highly useful for those carrying out studies in whole animal models as opposed to cell culture systems.

Progress in Drug Research is a prestigious book series which provides extensive expert-written reviews on a wide spectrum of highly topical areas in current pharmaceutical and pharmacological research. It serves as an important source of information for researchers concerned with drug research and all those who need to keep abreast of the many recent developments in the quest for new and better medicines.