This book illustrates the current state-of-the-art in histamine research, with a focus on the appropriate methodologies to investigate the pharmacological properties and the therapeutic exploitation of HRs and their ligands. In addition, the range of techniques described provides an introduction to complementary cross-methodological disciplines beyond these fields. This multi-disciplinary approach is required to define the 'decision gates' that determine the development of more effective and safer therapeutic options for many forms of highly prevalent and debilitating diseases, such as asthma, dementias, dermatitis, and arthritis. Written for the Methods in Pharmacology and Toxicology series, chapters concentrate on practical, hands-on protocols from experts in the techniques. Authoritative and thorough, Histamine Receptors as Drug Targets seeks to aid pharmacologists, biochemists, drug discovery researchers, molecular biologists, chemists, toxicologists, lab scientists, medical doctors, principle investigators, research scientists, lab directors and technicians, as well as graduate students around the world in pursuing the study of this vital scientific area.

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

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.

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.

Managing the Drug Discovery Process: How to Make It More Efficient and Cost-Effective thoroughly examines the current state of pharmaceutical research and development by providing chemistry-based perspectives on biomedical research, drug hunting and innovation. The book also considers the interplay of stakeholders, consumers, and the drug firm with attendant factors, including those that are technical, legal, economic, demographic, political, social, ecological, and infrastructural. Since drug research can be a high-risk, high-payoff industry, it is important to researchers to effectively and strategically manage the drug discovery process. This book takes a closer look at increasing pre-approval costs for new drugs and examines not only why these increases occur, but also how they can be overcome to ensure a robust pharmacoeconomic future. Written in an engaging manner and including memorable insights, this book is aimed at redirecting the drug discovery process to make it more efficient and cost-effective in order to achieve the goal of saving countless more lives through science. A valuable and compelling resource, this is a must-read for all students and researchers in academia and the pharmaceutical industry.

This book provides BoNT treatment menus for symptom-oriented therapy in 14 different disease categories.Each chapter starts with a brief description of the disease and its current treatment followed by an evidenced-based upon the published assertions of the Therapeutic Subcommittee of the American Academy of Neurology. Each chapter includes case histories from editor's vast experience of over 25 years with BoNT therapy and description of injection techniques enhanced by illustrative figures. Botulinum Toxin Treatment in Clinical Medicine includes an additional introductory chapter that discusses molecular structure, mechanism of action, toxin serotypes, immunogenicity and safety issues. Meanwhile, a concluding chapter provides information on potential future application of these toxins' for treating symptoms of other specific diseases.

This practical collection examines methodologies originating from the benefits of genome-wide approaches to studying epigenetics, which has opened the emerging field of epigenomics. Focusing on the areas of cancer, inflammatory and autoimmune disorders, chapters discuss three main components of the epigenome and their role in the regulation of gene expression and present a detailed method section specific to studying each component, including data analyses, troubleshooting, and feasibility in different experimental settings. The main topics are high-throughput and targeted methods for DNA methylation analysis, nucleosome position mapping, studying epigenetic effects of gut microbiota, optical imaging for detection of epigenetic aberrations in living cells, methods for microRNA, and histone code profiling. Written for the Methods in Pharmacology and Toxicology series, the book includes the kind of detail and implementation advice to encourage success in the lab. Authoritative and easily applicable, Epigenetics and Gene Expression in Cancer, Inflammatory and Immune Diseases aims to provide pharmacologists, molecular biologists, bioinformaticians, and toxicologists with a vital background on epigenetics and state-of-the-art techniques in epigenomics.

Rapid advances in computer science, biology, chemistry, and other disciplines are enabling powerful new computational tools and models for toxicology and pharmacology. These computational tools hold tremendous promise for advancing applied and basic science, from streamlining drug efficacy and safety testing, to increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of risk assessment for environmental chemicals. "Computational Toxicology" was conceived to provide both experienced and new biomedical and quantitative scientists with essential background, context, examples, useful tips, and an overview of current developments in the field. This two-volume set serves as a resource to help introduce and guide readers in the development and practice of these tools to solve problems and perform analyses in this area.

Divided into six sections, "Volume II" covers a wide array of methodologies and topics. The volume begins by exploring the critical area of predicting toxicological and pharmacological endpoints, as well as approaches used in the analysis of gene, signaling, regulatory, and metabolic networks. The next section focuses on diagnostic and prognostic molecular indicators (biomarkers), followed by the application of modeling in the context of government regulatory agencies. Systems toxicology approaches are also introduced. The volume closes with primers and background on some of the key mathematical and statistical methods covered earlier, as well as a list of other resources. Written in a format consistent with the successful "Methods in Molecular Biology" series where possible, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and software tools used, methods, and notes on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls.Authoritative and easily accessible, "Computational Toxicology" will allow motivated readers to participate in this exciting field and undertake a diversity of realistic problems of interest."

Neurotoxicology is a broad and burgeoning field of research. Its growth in recent years can be related, in part, to increased interest in and concern with the fact that a growing number of anthropogenic agents with neurotoxic potential, including pesticides, lead, mercury, and the polytypic bypro ducts of combustion and industrial production, continue to be spewed into and accumulate in the environment. In addition, there is great interest in natural products, including toxins, as sources of therapeutic agents. Indeed, it is well known that many natural toxins of broadly differing structure, produced or accumulated for predatory or defensive purposes, and toxic agents, accumulated incidentally by numerous species, function to perturb nervous tissue. Components of some of these toxins have been shown to be useful therapeutic agents and/or research reagents. Unfor tunately, the environmental accumulation of some neurotoxic ants of anthropogenic ori gin, especially pesticides and metals, has resulted in incidents of human poisoning, some of epidemic proportion, and high levels of morbidity and mortality. Furthermore, an increasing incidence of neurobehavioral disorders, some with baffling symptoms, is confronting clinicians. It is not clear whether this is merely the result of increased vigi lance and/or improved diagnostics or a consequence of improved health care. In any case, the role of exposure to environmental and occupational neurotoxic ants in the etiology of these phenomena, as well as neurodegenerative diseases, is coming under increasing scrutiny and investigation.

The present monograph is devoted to the chemistry of nitroazoles, one of the most interesting series of heteroaromatic compounds. The azoles hold a special position in the chemistry of heterocycles. Their unique properties and specific biological activity attract much attention of research chemists all over the world. During the last years the interest in the chemistry of nitroazoles has increasing. The nitro derivatives of azoles have found a wide application in various fields of industrial chemistry, agriculture, and medicine. Medical products developed by nitroazoles incluce a- mycin, metronidazole, misonidazole, tinidazole, nitazole, etc. , ionic liquids, hi- energy materials, synthons for nanocompounds, universal bases in peptide nucleic acids, plant growth regulators, and intermediates for organic synthesis. The investigations in the field of energetic compounds have received enormous interest in recent years. Energetic materials on the base nitroazoles - explosives, propellants, and pyrotechnics - are widely used for both civilian and military applications. Nitroazoles, especially polynitroazoles, possess higher heat of for- tion, density, and oxygen balance than their carbocyclic analogs. A number of ongoing research programs worldwide are aimed for the development of new explosives and propellants with higher performance characteristics or enhanced insensitivity to thermal or shock insults and pyrotechnics with reduced smoke. The preparation of nitroazoles demonstrates its great synthetic potential. At the same time, feasibility and availability of the starting molecules make this strategy a p- erful method for high-energy material construction.

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.

In light of the rising cost of healthcare and the overall challenges associated with delivering quality care to patients across regions, scientists and pharmacists are exploring new initiatives in drug discovery and design. One such initiative is the adoption of information technology and software applications to improve healthcare and pharmaceutical processes. Software Innovations in Clinical Drug Development and Safety is a comprehensive resource analyzing the integration of software engineering for the purpose of drug discovery, clinical trials, genomics, and drug safety testing. Taking a multi-faceted approach to the application of computational methods to pharmaceutical science, this publication is ideal for healthcare professionals, pharmacists, computer scientists, researchers, and students seeking the latest information on the architecture and design of software in clinical settings, the impact of clinical technologies on business models, and the safety and privacy of patients and patient data. This timely resource features a well-rounded discussion on topics pertaining to the integration of computational methods in pharmaceutical science and practice including, the impact of software integration on business models, patient safety concerns, software architecture and design, and data security.

DNA Vaccines: An Introduction; M.R. Hilleman. Architecture of a DNA vaccine; G. Pavlakis. DNA vaccine delivery; S. Kaufmann. Adjuvanticity of DNA vaccines; A. Krieg. Immune responses to DNA vaccines: Antigen presentation; R. Steinman. Immune responses to DNA vaccines: Antigen processing; J. Yewdell. Immune responses to DNA vaccines: Induction of B cells; G. Kelsoe. Immune responses to DNA vaccines: Induction of CD4+ T cells; E. Shevach. Immune responses to DNA vaccines: Induction of CD8+ T cells; L. Whitton. Immune responses to DNA vaccines: Cytokines as immune mediators as part of the immune response and their potential as genetic adjuvants to DNA vaccines; H. Ertl. Immune responses to DNA vaccines: Chemokines as immune mediators as part of the immune response and their potential as genetic adjuvants to DNA vaccines; P. Murphy. DNA Vaccines to infectious agents: RNA viruses; J. Ulmer. DNA Vaccines to infectious agents: HIV/SIV; B. Wahren. DNA Vaccines to infectious agents: DNA viruses; B. Rouse. DNA Vaccines to infectious agents: Tumor-associated viruses (excluding HBV); R. Kennedy. DNA Vaccines to infectious agents: Bacteria; D. Lowrie. DNA Vaccines to infectious agents: Parasites; S. Hoffman. Use of DNA vaccines for neonatal/early childhood immunization; C.-A. Siegrist. The potential of DNA vaccines for developing countries; H. Wilde. DNA vaccines and their potential to counterbalance biological warfare/bioterrorism; A. Schmaljohn. DNA vaccines to cancer associated/specific antigens; DNA vaccines to autoimmune diseases; H. Wigzell. DNA vaccines to allergic diseases; Yan Chuah, P. Holt. DNA vaccines for gene therapy; K. High. Safety concerns for DNA; D. Klinman. DNA vaccines: Summary.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

Dieser Band des Gebietes Stoffe enthAlt in alphabetischer Reihenfolge als ErgAnzung zum Hauptwerk Monographien A1/4ber Arzneistoffe, Hilfsstoffe, Impfstoffe und Sera sowie Reagenzien. In den Monographien werden Aussagen A1/4ber die Synthese, die Eigenschaften, die Erkennung, die Reinheit, den Gehalt, die Wirkung und die medizinische Anwendung gemacht. Von besonderer Bedeutung sind Stoffe des DAB und von in Europa gA1/4ltigen ArzneibA1/4chern.

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.

The book presents the current state of the art on phytocannnabinoid chemistry and pharmacology and will be of much use to those wishing to understand the current landscape of the exciting and intriguing phytocannabinoid science. The focus is on natural product cannabinoids which have been demonstrated to act at specific receptor targets in the CNS.

A fresh examination of the past successes of natural products as medicines and their new future from both conventional and new technologies. High-performance liquid chromatography profiling, combinatorial synthesis, genomics, proteomics, DNA shuffling, bioinformatics, and genetic manipulation all now make it possible to rapidly evaluate the activities of extracts as well as purified components derived from microbes, plants, and marine organisms. The authors apply these methods to new natural product drug discoveries, to microbial diversity, to specific groups of products (Chinese herbal drugs, antitumor drugs from microbes and plants, terpenoids, and arsenic compounds), and to specific sources (the sea, rainforest, and endophytes). These new opportunities show how research and development trends in the pharmaceutical industry can advance to include both synthetic compounds and natural products, and how this paradigm shift can be more productive and efficacious.