This book addresses the phenomenology, demographics, and neurobehavioral aspects of suicidal behavior and its risk factors, underscoring common neurobehavioral threads among different approaches which may underlie such extreme behavior. It additionally provides an overview of new approaches, such as imaging techniques to identify at-risk individuals or in response to drug treatment associated with suicidal behavior, neurodevelopmental approaches, genetic and epigenetic linkages to suicidal behavior, animal models of specific risk factors, as well as potential biomarkers being employed to help assess risk.

This book summarizes the recent advancements for drug delivery systems (DDS) in terms of fundamental principles, rapidly emerging techniques and developing frontiers of molecular imprinting. Especially with the combination of enantioselective molecularly imprinted polymers and water compatible molecularly imprinted polymers, stimuli responsive imprinted DDS have been innovated and applied to dermal delivery, ophthalmic drugs and cancer treatment. This philosophy comprehensively revolutionizes the treatment strategy of human healthcare and provides the possibility to re-trigger in vivo an exhaust system after the complete release of the starting drug cargo, thus enabling precision medicine. To this end, the following unique features will be discussed and concluded: 1) State-of-the-art definition of MIP as drug delivery systems. 2) Advanced techniques and clinical applications of MIP as drug delivery systems in the past decade. 3) Novel frontiers and brand-new technologies, for example, drug delivery devices for zero-order sustained release and stimuli responsive imprinted DDS. 4) Revolutionary impact on dermal delivery, ophthalmic drugs and cancer treatment. 5) Future challenges and perspectives

Traditional medicinal knowledge, especially the use of ethnomedicinal plants in developing countries, has been passed down for generations. Today, however, scientists are poised to combine traditional medicinal plants and modern drug discoveries to further develop essential products that have followed the leads of indigenous cures used for centuries. Ethnomedicinal Plant Use and Practice in Traditional Medicine provides emerging research exploring the theoretical and practical aspects of indigenous knowledge and therapeutic potential within ethnobotany. Featuring coverage on a broad range of topics such as drug discovery, traditional knowledge, and herbal medicine, this book is ideally designed for doctors, healers, medical professionals, ethnobotanists, naturalists, academicians, researchers, and students interested in current research on the medical use and applications of natural-based resources.

This accessible, easy-to-read book provides readers with different perspectives on the subject of painkillers, examining their history, production, uses, and dangers. Many different drugs are effectively used as painkillers-substances that greatly improve the quality of life for those who suffer from temporary or recurring pain. This book presents an in-depth overview of opiates, opioids, and other painkilling substances such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) that have been in use from ancient times up to the contemporary era. It also addresses the risks of painkiller use, their misuse, and potential overdose concerns. The latest in the Story of a Drug series and written by a subject expert who has published widely on drug use and pharmacology, this book presents a brief review of the science of how different painkiller drugs work before covering these substances' respective effects and applications; the issues regarding the production, distribution, and regulation of painkiller drugs; and research findings on painkiller use, abuse patterns, addiction, and policy issues. The easy-to-understand text presents scientifically accurate information that enables readers to better understand the key role of painkillers in our 21st-century world. Documents the risks of painkiller use and explores the various issues centered around the production, distribution, and regulation of painkiller medications Examines painkillers from a variety of perspectives, including medical, historical, economic, and social Includes primary source documents such as guidelines, policy documents, and study findings on the topics covered that provide readers with more in-depth information and help students hone their critical thinking and analytical skills Examines the social dimensions of the use and abuse of painkiller drugs and considers the future of this particular type of drugs

The book covers theoretical background and methodology as well as all current applications of Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationships (QSAR). Written by an international group of recognized researchers, this edited volume discusses applications of QSAR in multiple disciplines such as chemistry, pharmacy, environmental and agricultural sciences addressing data gaps and modern regulatory requirements. Additionally, the applications of QSAR in food science and nanoscience have been included - two areas which have only recently been able to exploit this versatile tool. This timely addition to the series is aimed at graduate students, academics and industrial scientists interested in the latest advances and applications of QSAR.

Living systems exhibit a fundamental contradiction: they are highly stable and reliable, yet they have the capacity to adapt to changing environmental conditions. This paradoxical behavior arises from the complexity of life--a high degree of order and cooperation that emerges from relatively simple interactions among cellular components. The Complexity Paradox proposes inventive, interdisciplinary approaches to maintaining health and managing and preventing disease by considering the totality of human biology, from the cellular level on up to entire populations of individuals. From the perspective of complexity, which acknowledges that there are limits to what we can know, Kenneth L. Mossman opens the door to understanding essential life processes in new and extraordinary ways. By tying together evolution, functional dynamics, and investigations into how the body processes energy and uses genetic information, Mossman's analysis expresses a unified theory of biology that fills a critical niche for future research in biology, medicine, and public health.

1. Application of Transgenic and Gene-Targeted Mice to Dissect Mechanisms of Lung Disease.- Emphysema.- 2. Models of Genetic Emphysema: The C57B1/6J Mice and their Mutants: Tight-Skin, Pallid and Beige Giuseppe Lungarella, Eleonora Cavarra and.- 3. ?1-Antitrypsin Deficiency.- 4. Recombinant SLPI: Emphysema and Asthma.- 5. Elastase Inhibitors in the Lung: Expression and Functional Relationships.- 6. Regulation of Neutrophil Proteinases.- 7. Control of Connective Tissue Genes.- Infection.- 8. Genetic Models of Bacterial Lung Infection.- 9. Genetics of Bacteria: Role in Pathogenesis of Infection of the Respiratory Tract.- 10. Polymerase Chain Reaction in the Diagnosis of Respiratory Tract Infections.- 11. Cystic Fibrosis.- 12. Respiratory Bacterial Infections in Patients with Cystic Fibrosis: Pathogenicity and Implications for Serine Proteinase Inhibitor Therapy.

This book deals with the paradoxical role of autophagy in tumor suppression and tumor promotion in cancer cells. Autophagy plays opposing, context-dependent roles in tumors; accordingly, strategies based on inhibiting or stimulating autophagy could offer as potential cancer therapies. The book elucidates the physiological role of autophagy in modulating cancer metastasis, which is the primary cause of cancer-associated mortality. Further, it reviews its role in the differentiation, development, and activation of multiple immune cells, and its potential applications in tumor immunotherapy. In addition, it examines the effect of epigenetic modifications of autophagy-associated genes in regulating tumor growth and therapeutic response and summarizes autophagy's role in the development of resistance to a variety of anti-cancer drugs in cancer cells. In closing, it assesses autophagy as a potential therapeutic target for cancer treatment. Given its scope, the book offers a valuable asset for all oncologists and researchers who wish to understand the potential role of autophagy in tumor biology.

Drug discovery originating in Africa has the potential to provide significantly improved treatment of endemic diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS. This book critically reviews the current status of drug discovery research and development in Africa, for diseases that are a major threat to the health of people living in Africa. Compiled by leading African and international experts, this book presents the science and strategies of modern drug discovery. It explores how the use of natural products and traditional medicines can benefit from conventional drug discovery approaches, and proposes solutions to current technological, infrastructural, human resources, and economic challenges, which are presented when attempting to engage in full-scale drug discovery. Topics addressed are varied; from African medicinal plants to marine bioprospecting, pharmacogenetics and the use of nanotechnology. This book brings together for the first time a collection of strategies and techniques that need to be considered when developing drugs in an African setting. It is an unprecedented and truly international effort, highlighting the remarkable effort made so far in the area of drug discovery research by African scientists, and scientists from other parts of the world working on African health problems.

The suspension dosage form has long been used for poorly soluble active ingre- ents for various therapeutic indications. Development of stable suspensions over the shelf life of the drug product continues to be a challenge on many fronts. A good understanding of the fundamentals of disperse systems is essential in the development of a suitable pharmaceutical suspension. The development of a s- pension dosage form follows a very complicated path. The selection of the proper excipients (surfactants, viscosity imparting agents etc.) is important. The particle size distribution in the finished drug product dosage form is a critical parameter that significantly impacts the bioavailability and pharmacokinetics of the product. Appropriate analytical methodologies and instruments (chromatographs, visco- ters, particle size analyzers, etc.) must be utilized to properly characterize the s- pension formulation. The development process continues with a successful scale-up of the manufacturing process. Regulatory agencies around the world require cli- cal trials to establish the safety and efficacy of the drug product. All of this devel- ment work should culminate into a regulatory filing in accordance with the regulatory guidelines. Pharmaceutical Suspensions, From Formulation Development to Manufacturing, in its organization, follows the development approach used widely in the pharmaceutical industry. The primary focus of this book is on the classical disperse system - poorly soluble active pharmaceutical ingredients s- pended in a suitable vehicle.

Inflammation has invaded the field of psychiatry. The finding that cytokines are elevated in various affective and psychotic disorders brings to the forefront the necessity of identifying the precise research domain criteria (RDoCs) that inflammation is responsible for. This task is certainly the most advanced in major depressive disorders. The reason is that a dearth of clinical and preclinical studies has demonstrated that inflammation can cause symptoms of depression and conversely, cytokine antagonists can attenuate symptoms of depression in medical and psychiatric patients with chronic low grade inflammation. Important knowledge has been gained on the symptom dimensions that inflammation is driving and the mechanisms of action of cytokines in the brain, providing new targets for drug research and development. The aim of the book "Inflammation-Associated Depression" is to present this field of research and its implications in a didactic and comprehensive manner to basic and clinical scientists, psychiatrists, physicians, and students at the graduate level.

Reports on the emergence and prevalence of resistant bacterial infections in hospitals and communities raise concerns that we may soon no longer be able to rely on antibiotics as a way to control infectious diseases. Effective medical care would require the constant introduction of novel antibiotics to keep up in the "arms race" with resistant pathogens. This book closely examines the latest developments in the field of antibacterial research and development. It starts with an overview of the growing prevalence of resistant Gram-positive and Gram- negative pathogens, including their various resistance mechanisms, prevalence, risk factors and therapeutic options. The focus then shifts to a comprehensive description of all major chemical classes with antibacterial properties, their chemistry, mode of action, and the generation of analogs; information that provides the basis for the design of improved molecules to defeat microbial infections and combat the emerging resistances. In closing, recently developed compounds already in clinical use, those in preclinical or first clinical studies, and a number of promising targets to be exploited in the discovery stage are discussed.

This volume collects a variety of techniques and methodologies developed to facilitate research on integrin biology and to identify ideal targets and approaches for the treatment of multiple organ diseases, with a focus on cancer in particular. The chapters consecutively describe the tools for structural analysis, identification and detection of integrins as biomarkers, and include thorough laboratory and clinically-related methods on different strategies for generation, synthesis and evaluation of probes, carriers, peptides or small particles for integrin targeting, imaging, and drug delivery. As part of the Methods in Pharmacology and Toxicology series, this book contains the practical details that are invaluable in the laboratory. Authoritative and advantageous, Integrin Targeting Systems for Tumor Diagnosis and Therapy serves readers from a wide spectrum, including researchers and students seeking an overview of existing developments, as well as leading professionals aiming to become more familiar with integrin-related innovative technologies in cancer research.

Spanning from discoveries in fundamental immunology to industrial and commercial concerns, the study of vaccine adjuvants has developed into an exciting area of work with great, vital potential in innovating techniques in which adjuvants may steer the immune system towards the responses required by unmet vaccination needs. In Vaccine Adjuvants: Methods and Protocols, expert researchers in the field provide clear and concise guidance on how to go about assessing the activity of adjuvant products. Rather than describing individual adjuvants, the volume strives to include detailed, practical information on measuring the responses produced by adjuvants in order to be relevant to the widest array of experiments. Written in the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology (TM) series format, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible laboratory protocols, and notes on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Authoritative and versatile, Vaccine Adjuvants: Methods and Protocols will enable those already pursuing vaccine adjuvant research, while also serving to stimulate discussion on how to best standardize adjuvant testing in order to facilitate meaningful comparisons, and above all, to aid in the prediction of which new products will most effectively and safely help to solve the current challenges in vaccination.

The imbalance between rapidly proliferating tumor cells and inadequate and inefficient tumor vasculature leads to a decrease in oxygen levels (hypoxia and/or anoxia) in tumor tissues. Intra-tumor hypoxia profoundly affects the biological behavior of cancer cells, which become resistant to conventional therapies and acquire a more invasive and metastatic phenotype.Hypoxia is a hallmark of the malignant phenotype and a key feature of the tumor microenvironment. Hypoxia Inducible Factor 1 (HIF-1) is a master regulator of the transcriptional response to oxygen deprivation.HIF triggers the expression of genes whose products induce angiogenesis, decrease oxygen consumption, switch metabolism to glycolysis, maintain a stem cell phenotype and select for more invasive and metastatic cells. Therapeutic approaches targeting HIF, directly or downstream mediators of its transcriptional activity, are being developed. Intra-tumor hypoxia is atopic hasbeen gaining scientific interestover the last few years for its wide involvement in many physiological and pathological processes.
This volume will cover the latest research and translational aspects associated with intra-tumor hypoxia, along with opportunities for drug development offered by this unique feature of the tumor microenvironment. The ongoing efforts to translate our understanding of the biology underlying intra-tumor hypoxia in viable therapeutic options face many challenges, but this book will provide an opportunity for an in-depth analysis of the fundamental mechanisms implicated in the adaption to low oxygen levels and will scrutinize the potential for opportunities that are being pursued in both research and the drug development industry."

This book systematically covers immunoassays for food, presenting detailed approaches such as antigen design, food matrix pre-treatment and detection format optimization for 9 classes of food hazards and nutrition constituents. Offering ideas on how to improve the efficiency of recognized xenobiotics and food contents, this practical book also describes the discovery and utilization of novel immune agents like aptamer and molecular imprinted polymers in food analysis. It is intended for a broad range of areas, including biologists and food chemists, and is sure to become a key reference resource for students and professionals alike.

A concise, accessible account of pharmacology, covering all the key concepts you need with no gaps. It can be used either as an introduction to a topic, or as a revision aid. Big Picture Section - you can relate detail to the subject as a whole High Return Facts - fills large gaps in your knowledge. Can be used as a revision tool. Reinforces the major points Cartoon-strip illustrations - you can visualise difficult concepts in a step-by-step format - information is chunked into 'student-friendly' sizes Double-page overviews - read topic summaries without cross-referencing to other pages - they're all laid out in one spread!

Written by experts in the field, this comprehensive resource offers valuable information on the practical uses of drugs in primary eye care. Discussions of the pharmacology of ocular drugs such as anti-infective agents, anti-glaucoma drugs, and anti-allergy drugs lead to more in-depth information on ocular drugs used to treat a variety of disorders, including diseases of the eyelids, corneal diseases, ocular infections, and glaucoma. The book also covers ocular toxicology, focusing on drug interactions, ocular effects of systemic drugs, and life-threatening systemic emergencies. A logical organization makes it easy to find essential information. Complete coverage of the basic fundamentals of pharmacology such as ocular drug delivery and ocular drug formulations. Comprehensive reviews of the pharmacology of specific classes of agents such as the cycloplegics, antiglaucoma drugs, anti-inflammatory drugs, ocular irrigating solutions, and contact lens care products. In-depth information on ocular drugs used in clinical practice, including chapters on drugs used to treat eyelid disorders, lacrimal diseases, conjunctiva diseases, corneal diseases, allergies, uveitis, postoperative cataract, retinal diseases, and glaucoma. Coverage of ocular toxicology, including drug interactions, ocular effects of systemic drugs, and life-threatening systemic emergencies. Completely revised and updated content that reflects the latest advances in pharmacology. Updated information on post-operative drugs, including LASIK follow up medications. Expanded coverage in the chapters on Anti-infective Drugs, Anti-allergy Drugs and Decongestants, and Lubricants and Other Preparations of Ocular Surface Disease that includes the latest advancements in antibiotics and medications used to treat allergies and dry eye. A dosage quick reference guide on the inside front cover for quick and easy access. Information on the use of herbal medications.

In this volume, the specific challenges and problems facing the evaluation of new oncology agents are explored with regards to pharmacokinetic, pharmacodynamic modeling and clinical pharmacology development strategies. This book delivers, with an emphasis on the oncology therapeutic area, the goals set in the first three volumes: namely - to provide clinical pharmacologists practical insights for the application of pharmacology, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics for new drug development strategies. Pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic concepts for tyrosine kinases, the evaluation of cardiac repolarization prolongation through QTc interval effects, efficacy- and safety-response analyses to support new drug approvals, clinical and preclinical tumor growth modeling, and flat- vs weight-based dose selection are showcased from an oncology clinical pharmacologist's point-of-view. Oncology development strategies are surveyed for new FDA-approvals to identify patterns in expectations at time of first approval. The special considerations necessary to address combination drug development, metronomics, biosimilars and breakthrough therapies are also presented.