The first comprehensive book to cover all aspects of the last 25 years of PACAP (pituitary adenylate cyclase activating polypeptide) research, this book contains contributions from virtually all the leading researchers in the field, and addresses some of the following topics: evolutionary aspects of PACAP, distribution and occurrence of PACAP and its receptors, hormonal effects of PACAP, intracellular signaling, effects on cellular proliferation and differentiation, protective effects of PACAP, behavioral effects of PACAP, developmental aspects of PACAP, other physiological effects of PACAP (cardiovascular, thermoregulatory), human studies, drug design, metabolism and transport. This compendium can serve as an important reference for researchers and students in PACAP research and can also be a thorough introduction for those in related fields.

Drinking alcohol can, in rare instances, provoke a temporary psychotic often violent reaction called pathological intoxication. Although it was medically identified in 1869, pathological intoxication has been an enigma to the law for over a century, primarily because the actual medical and psychiatric aspects of the concept have not been adequately explained before. But, as the authors of this volume point out, it is crucial for the defense attorney and the prosecutor to understand whether pathological or ordinary intoxication is involved in a particular case because pathological intoxication furnishes the basis of important and perhaps decisive defense strategies beyond those which derive from ordinary intoxication. This interdisciplinary study provides the first in-depth exploration of both the medical and psychiatric facts underlying the phenomenon of pathological intoxication and explores the suitability of various defense theories.

Written especially for practicing criminal defense lawyers, public defenders, prosecutors, and forensic psychiatrists, the volume begins by examining the clinical and experimental evidence of pathological intoxication. In subsequent chapters, the authors alert the attorney to the indications that a defendant should be examined for possible pathological intoxication and include hard-to-find medical sources of support for the concept to persuade courts and prosecutors of its legitimacy. A series of chapters thoroughly explores all the relevant legal defense strategies available in pathological intoxication cases including the defense of automatism, the law of insanity, involuntary intoxication, and diminished capacity and extreme mental and emotional disturbance. Throughout, the authors incorporate both domestic and foreign literature relating to pathological intoxication. The inclusion of ample case examples as well as a wealth of medical and psychiatric data make this book a major contribution to our understanding of both the phenomenon of pathological intoxication and its implications for legal defense strategy.

Neurotoxicology: Approaches and Methods provides a unique and comprehensive presentation of the current concepts and state-of-the-art methods for the assessment of neurotoxicity. The book analyzes various techniques available and discusses their strengths and weaknesses. This volume will serve as an excellent desk companion and laboratory guide for all investigators, researchers, clinicians, and students interested in neurotoxicology. The internationally knowngroup of editors divide the book into seven sections: "Neuromorphological and Neuropathological Approaches; Neurophysiological Approaches; Neurobehavioral Toxicology; Neurochemical and Biomolecular Approaches; In-Vitro Models; Clinical Neurotoxicology; and Risk Assessment of Neurotoxicity." Each section yields the most up-to-date information by experts in their fields. Meticulously organized and edited, Neurotoxicology: Approaches and Methods is the most authoritative and well-planned neurotoxicology book on the market.
Key Features
* Discusses neurobehavioral testing methods for assessment of neural dysfunctions
* Explains state-of-the-art diagnostic methods, such as clinico-neuropsychological and neurophysiological methods, for patients confronted by neurotoxic problems
* Discusses "In Vitro" methods, including aggregating brain cell methods, organotypic cultures, and the use of human neuronal cell lines for the assessment of neurotoxicity
* Presents step-by-step procedures for many methods
* Provides state-of-the-art neuromorphological and biomolecular methods and approaches for neurotoxicity investigation

The present volume gives a comprehensive overview on the current state of basic and clinical research on Anxiety and Anxiolytic Drugs. Using newly developed methods and techniques researchers are now beginning to understand the molecular mechanisms of anxiety, anxiety disorders and their treatment. In parallel, new drug targets have been generated and the first clinical studies with new compounds have been started. In 20 chapters written by numerous experts in the field comprehensive information on all relevant topics is provided.

A mother's narcotics abuse can have profound effects on her pregnancy and the health of her child, both inside and outside the womb. Spontaneous abortion, premature birth, labor difficulties, increased perinatal and neonatal mortality, respiratory distress, low birth weight, and passed on addiction are just some of the possibilities. Ernest Abel's Narcotics and Reproduction: A Bibliography is the first comprehensive listing of the scholarly research literature produced on this subject. Arranged alphabetically by author, the book lists materials dealing with the effects of the use of heroin, morphine, methadone, and related drugs on sexual function, reproduction, and the fetus.

Over the past 50 years a wide variety of antibacterial substances have been discovered and synthesised, and their use in treating bacterial infection has been spectacularly successful. Today there are several general classes of antibacterial drugs, each having a well established set of uses, and together they form the mainstay of modern antibacterial chemotherapy. In search for new and improved agents, the pharmaceutical researcher needs to be well informed on many topics, including existing agents, their modes of action and pharmacology, and possible synthetic approaches. In this new book the author has brought together a wide range of information on the principal classes of antibacterial agents, and he covers, for each group, their history, mode of action, key structural features, synthesis and bacterial resistance. The result is a compact and concise overview of these very important classes of antibacterial agents.

Foreword Barry Jacobs once memorably commented that the problem in understanding the role of serotonin in the brain was that it was implicated in virtually eve- thing but responsible for nothing 1]. Serotonin (5-HT) is defnitely implicated in the regulation of sleep but what does it do? Once seen as a sleep-promoting molecule, Jacob s own work, lucidly described in this volume, radically changed our view. In fact, serotonin neurons are most active during waking; their - tivity diminishes with sleep onset and disappears during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. Serotonin, therefore, is intimately linked to the sleep-wake cycle, but what is its role, what mechanisms are involved and what are the impli- tions for sleep medicine and psychiatry? Making progress with these diffcult questions requires a translational approach, which is a research paradigm where both laboratory and clinical neuroscience inform and guide each other with the ultimate aim of improving understanding and treatment of medical conditions. This volume is a superb example of translational research, where leading basic and clinical scientists - tegrate molecular, neuropharmacological and systems approaches to illuminate the reciprocal interactions of serotonin neurons and the mechanisms involved in sleep and circadian regulation. Serotonin is an ancient chemical mediator preserved through at least 500 m- lion years of evolution. In invertebrate animals such as mollusks and leeches, 5-HT cells are distributed throughout the nervous system among the various ganglia."

The field of DNA vaccines has undergone explosive growth in the last few years. As usual, some historical precursors of this approach can be d- cerned in the scientific literature of the last decades. However, the present state of affairs appears to date from observations made discreetly in 1988 by Wolff, Malone, Felgner, and colleagues, which were described in a 1989 patent and published in 1990. Quite surprisingly, they showed that genes carried by pure plasmid DNA and injected in a saline solution, hence the epithet "naked DNA," could be taken up and expressed by skeletal muscle cells with a low but reproducible frequency. Such a simple methodology was sure to spawn many applications. In a separate and important line of experimentation, Tang, De Vit, and Johnston announced in 1992 that it was indeed possible to obtain humoral immune responses against proteins encoded by DNA delivered to the skin by a biolistic device, which has colloquially become known as the "gene gun. " The year 1993 saw the publication of further improvements in the me- ods of naked DNA delivery and, above all, the first demonstrations by several groups of the induction of humoral and cytotoxic immune responses to viral antigens expressed from injected plasmid DNA. In some cases, protection against challenge with the pathogen was obtained. The latter result was - questionably the touchstone of a method of vaccination worthy of the name.

The layout of the book is simple, attractive and reader-friendly - it is a unique blend of basic and fundamental aspects of pharmacovigilance. Contains a dedicated chapter of 100 Case Studies with answers for hand-on training and experience in Pharmacovigilance practices. Key points are given in the initial page of every chapter for chapter overview. Sample Model Papers comprising of MCQs, Case Study, Long and Short Answer questions have been given at the end of the book to prepare students for exams. Enriched with lots of flowcharts, tables and line diagrams for making learning easy and interesting. Includes a glossary of terminologies used in the text in the beginning of the book with useful abbreviations. References for further reading are provided at the end of each chapter. Exhaustive appendices on different reporting forms of various countries. Good guide for medical, clinical research and pharmacovigilance students and other healthcare professionals.

This book contains 55 chapters that summarize referred to the special issue of Drug Development lectures given during the Fifth International Research (Volume 31, Number 4, April 1994). Symposium on Adenosine and Adenine Measured by the number and quality of presenta- Nucleotides held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, tions, and by the record number of participants, U. S. A. , May 9-13, 1994. The symposium and the Fifth International Symposium on Adenosine its proceedings follow four previous symposia and Adenine Nucleotides was clearly an intel- and their published proceedings. Previous sym- lectually stimulating meeting. It is safe to posia were held in Banfff, Canada (1978), conclude that the purine research field is vibrant Charlottesville, Virginia (1982), Munich, and still growing. Adenosine has rapidly become Germany (1986), and Lake Yamanaka, Japan the drug of choice for the acute management (1990). of supraventricular tachyarrhythmias and was The program included a wide range of sub- recently approved for use in combination with jects from molecular and cellular biology to cardiac imaging for detection of ischemic heart clinical applications. Great emphasis was placed disease. Additional clinical applications of on cutting edge information derived from studies adenosine and adenosine-related drugs and ATP using molecular and cellular biology techniques seem closer than ever before. The editors would like to express their grati- applied to the field of adenosine and adenine nucleotide research. Likewise, the program tude to the distinguished contributors for their included a number of presentations on poten- excellent chapters and to all participants.

Cancer is a complex disease. Only 5-10% of human cancers are hereditary in nature. Many of us think of environmental agents when we think of carcinogens. The environment includes all that surrounds us, and environmental influences include not only chemical, physical and biological toxicants, but also diet and lifestyle. In this broadest sense, the environment contributes substantially in the development of human cancer. This book will describe how environment contributes to malignant transformation leading to profound changes in the genetic and signaling networks that control the functioning of the cell. It will critically discuss the understanding of the effects of environment on the development, progression and metastasis of cancer with current knowledge of the signaling networks that support functioning of transformed human cells. Genes and environmental factors that influence the origins of cancer are not necessarily the same as those that contribute to its progression and metastasis. Susceptibility gene variants for each specific cancer are being identified with emerging evidence of gene environment interaction. Gene-environment interactions will be discussed through each specific cancer-based approach to address the question of how genetic variations can influence susceptibility to the individual type of cancer. It will also highlight and summarize epigenetic changes that increase the risk for susceptibility to a particular type of cancer, particularly in the presence of specific environmental factors. Thus, this book will contain chapters from the world s experts focused on the current evidences that support the role of environment in the cancer etiology and in the growth of malignant lesions, and discuss who may be susceptible to environmental influences."

An extraordinary compendium of information on herbal medicine, Medicinal Plants of the World, Volume 2 comprehensively documents the medicinal value of twenty-four major plants species widely used around the world in medical formulations. The book's exhaustive summary of available scientific data for the plants provides detailed information on how each plant is used in different countries, describing both traditional therapeutic applications and what is known from its use in clinical trials. A comprehensive bibliography of over 3000 references cites the literature available from a wide range of disciplines. This book offers an unprecedented collection of vital scientific information for pharmacologists, herbal medicine practitioners, drug developers, medicinal chemists, phytochemists, toxicologists, and researchers who want to explore the use of plant materials for medicinal and related purposes.

In one generation, the numerous factors involved in blood coagulation have become real protein entities, isolated in pure form, expressed by recombinant DNA techniques, and subjected to structure elucidation by the modem methods of physical chemistry, viz. , X-ray diffraction, and NMR, ESR and fluorescence spectroscopy. The major milestone in this field was the breakthrough achieved by W. Bode, R. Huber and their colleagues in 1989 in of human a-thrombin, inhibited with D-Phe-Pro-Arg determining the crystal structure chioromethyl ketone. The availability of this structure will greatly facilitate the interpretation of experiments designed to gain an understanding of the interatomic interactions between this enzyme and fibrinogen and its other substrates. At the same time, it provides a rational basis for the design and synthesis of inhibitors of thrombin, the subject of this symposium. The symposium was organized in four sessions: (1) Structural features of the interaction of thrombin with substrates and inhibitors, (2) Synthetic inhibitors, (3) Hirudin and its analogues, and (4) Pharmacological and clinical considerations. This book contains summaries of most of the papers presented, and takes its rigbful place among two others that provide a comprehensive picture of our current knowledge about thrombin, viz. the 1977 volume entitled "Chemistry and Biology of Thrombin", edited by R. L. Lundblad, J. W. Fenton II, and K. G. Mann, and the 1992 volume entitled "Thrombin: Structure and Function", edited by L. J. Berliner.

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a major public health problem in the United States. The estimated 12-month and lifetime prevalence values for AUD are 13.9% and 29.1%, respectively, with approximately half of individuals with lifetime AUD having a severe disorder. AUD and its sequelae also account for significant excess mortality and cost the United States more than $200 billion annually. Despite its high prevalence and numerous negative consequences, AUD remains undertreated. In fact, fewer than 1 in 10 individuals in the United States with a 12-month diagnosis of AUD receive any treatment. Nevertheless, effective and evidence-based interventions are available, and treatment is associated with reductions in the risk of relapse and AUD-associated mortality. The American Psychiatric Association Practice Guideline for the Pharmacological Treatment of Patients With Alcohol Use Disorder seeks to reduce these substantial psychosocial and public health consequences of AUD for millions of affected individuals. The guideline focuses specifically on evidence-based pharmacological treatments for AUD in outpatient settings and includes additional information on assessment and treatment planning, which are an integral part of using pharmacotherapy to treat AUD. In addition to reviewing the available evidence on the use of AUD pharmacotherapy, the guideline offers clear, concise, and actionable recommendation statements, each of which is given a rating that reflects the level of confidence that potential benefits of an intervention outweigh potential harms. The guideline provides guidance on implementing these recommendations into clinical practice, with the goal of improving quality of care and treatment outcomes of AUD.

This volume sets out to consider a range of cardiac diseases for which drugs may play a therapeutic role by virtue of their effects on aspects of the immune system. The book reviews diseases of the heart which may involve an immunopharmacological component, and methods and techniques for the study of physiological and biochemical functions in the heart. An important focus is the immunopharmacology of the coronary vascular endothelium and the role of cellular and biochemical components of the immune system in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. The content also includes a review of the use of immunologically relevant agents in the setting of cardiac transplantation from aclinical perspective. Immunotherapy has a definite role to play in cardiology to a greater or lesser extent than other forms of intervention, depending on the type of cardiac disease. Immunopharmacology of the Heart aims to identify and clarify this role and points to potential developments of the future. Immunopharmacology of the Heart is a volume for the SYSTEMS theme of The Handbook of Pharmacology. In common with all other volumes it contains standardized illustrations and terms/abbreviations (glossaries of illustrations and terms published at the back of the volume). Other topics covered include: Leukocytes and their role in ischaemic heart disease. Complement activation. Sudden cardiac death. The stunned myocardium and reperfusion injury.

Proceedings of the International Symposium on Polymer Therapeutics - Recent Progress in Clinics and Future Prospects, held July 13-14, 2001, in Nara, Japan.

The technology of polymer science has developed considerably during the past half-century, and this volume describes some of the aspects of this technology that will have a great impact in the future. Among these advances, for example, are gene delivery to specific disease sites and carrier polymers that respond to a stimulus or particular environment. Cancer targeted drug delivery is another focused area of this volume because of the important nature of EPR-effect of polymer drugs in tumor. Included are discussions of as many examples as possible of polymer drugs that have achieved, or are close to clinical use. The concept of "Polymer drugs" here is limited to primarily injectable and water-soluble agents, although also covered are some drugs in micellar form or liposomes.

This book is intended for students and researchers in the field of pharmacology who have particular interests in drug delivery, targeting, and formulation, as well as for clinicians such as oncologists who are interested in the field. People who work at regulatory agencies should also be aware such that drugs with great potential are being developed and will be beneficial to many patients, as well as to health insurance agencies because of improved cost effectiveness.

Many advances have been made in the field of thermoregulation in the past few years. These include our understanding of Fever, which is now considered not simply a rise in deep body temperature foHowing infection, but just one aspect, though perhaps the most easily measured, of the Acute Phase of the Immune Response. Classification and identification of the Cytokines and the availability of recombinant material has greatly aided this research. Similarly, our understanding of the Hypothalamo-Pituitary Adrenal Axis has altered our way of thinking about temperature regulation. Of importance are the problems associated with adverse climatic conditions and survival, and the problems encountered by the neonate and the hibernator. At the biochemical level, our knowledge of the control of heat production and the role of brown adipose tissue is rapidly advancing. All these issues and many others were discussed at a Symposium 'Thermal Physiology 1993' held in Aberdeen, Scotland in August 1993 under the auspices of the Thermal Physiology Commission of the International Union of Physiological Sciences. Six main aspects of the subject of temperature regulation are included in this book, namely, Fever (including the Acute Phase of the Immune Response and Thermoregulatory Peptides), Neurophysiology of Thermoregulation, Neonatal Thermoregulation, Mechanisms of Heat Production, Ecological and Behavioural Thermoregulation, and Emerging Themes in Thermoregulation.

In Hormone Therapy in Breast and Prostate Cancer, many of today's leading researchers and clinicians describe the principles underlying targeted hormonal treatments, assess the actions of new and established agents, and illustrate the new applications of hormonal chemoprevention for breast cancer. Topics range from preclinical and clinical antiestrogens to the inhibition of estrogen synthesis and the effects of androgen withdrawal. A wide variety of proven and new agents are discussed-antiestrogens, including aromatase inhibitors (anastrozole, letrozole, and others), SERMs (tamoxifen, raloxifene, and others), and such antiandrogenic strategies as goserelin and bicalutamide.

Biomedical Science Chinese herbal medicine represents complementary or adjunctive therapies that often can improve the efficacy of Western medicine to achieve the pharmacological effects, especially in cancer treatment. However, the combination of herbs with therapeutic drugs can raise potential health risk. Building a bridge between Western medicine and herbal medicines, Active Phytochemicals from Chinese Herbal Medicines: Anti-Cancer Activities and Mechanisms gives you useful information on how integrated medicines can work for cancer therapy. It discusses the therapeutic uses of phytochemicals, adverse effects, and interactions with (Western) cancer drugs. The author takes a unique approach to integrated pharmacology of herbal medicines, examining the development of phytochemicals and their mechanisms of action in the context of the cancers and diseases they are used to treat. He covers biologic action of the active phytochemicals at the molecular, cellular, and organ levels. The book covers the principles of the interaction of phytochemicals and the related drug actions. It also addresses the common pathways affecting cancer development before discussing the phytochemical classes and specific phytochemicals that have been recently reported in journal papers for the management of cancer and other diseases. Highlighting the increasingly important aspects of pharmacology, including health benefit and drawbacks of phytochemicals, the book presents the relevant background of the biochemistry of the cancer. It includes illustrations and tables with adverse reactions that highlight important issues related to phytochemical actions. These features and more make the book a useful reference on phytochemicals obtained from herbal medicines. It blends coverage of fundamental mechanisms of anti-cancer action and the use of phytochemicals to manage cancers and other human diseases, allowing you to explore how herbal medicines can enhance conventional protocols.

This book focuses on how obesity and sedentary lifestyles adversely affect cancer risk and survival for individuals as well as mechanisms that may underlie those associations. However, evidence is accumulating rapidly on the cost of obesity and sedentary lifestyles to society. For example, obesity is estimated to lead to costs of $147 billion in the US.6 While research on individual level interventions for weight loss and increasing physical activity have identified efficacious approaches, these changes in behavior are not maintained by many in the current environments in the US and worldwide that promote weight gain and inactivity. Research on environmental and policy approaches for addressing these problems at the societal level is needed7, 8 and is a major component of the President's Report on Childhood Obesity released in April 2010. The epidemic of overweight and obesity and the increasing sedentary lifestyles will impact the magnitude and quality of the cancer problem globally. Increasing the knowledge of scientists, clinicians, and policy experts will aid in defining new prevention and treatment methods, to reduce the impact of energy balance on cancer, with the goal to eventually reduce the burden of cancer. Hopefully, this knowledge can be translated into incentives for the general public, persons at high risk, and cancer patients and survivors to increase physical activity, reduce excess weight, and maintain energy balance lifelong.

27 chapters cover the distribution, economic importance, conventional propagation, micropropagation, tissue culture studies, and in vitro production of important medicinal and other pharmaceutical compounds in various species of Anchusa, Brucea, Catharanthus, Chrysanthemum, Coleus, Corydalis, Coreopsis, Emilia, Ginkgo, Gloriosa, Hypericum, Inonotus, Leucosceptrum, Lilium, Linum, Mosses, Nandina, Penstemon, Prunus, Pteridium, Quassia, Ribes, Senecio, Taraxacum, Thermopsis, Vanilla, and Vitiveria. Like the previous five volumes on medicinal and aromatic plants (Volumes 4, 7, 15, 21, and 24), this book contains a wealth of useful information for advanced students and researchers in the field of plant biotechnology and chemical engineering, pharmacy, botany and tissue culture.

A clinical handbook for practitioners of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) that provides quick and easy reference to the selection of herbs for treatment and their action alone and in combination. This is a handbook from two eminent teachers from the Nanjing College of Traditional Chinese Medicine who have between them accumulated over 60 years of clinical practice and teaching. They emphasise how to combine herbs and differentiate between single herbs and formulae depending on the treatment strategy adopted. It contains case histories illustrating how to adapt formulae in practice.A practical, easy-to-use guide for the busy practitioner or student A glossary explains unfamiliar terms Information in tables - for quick identification of herbs and combination of herbs Illustrated with line diagrams showing where the herbs act on the body The authors teach at China's leading college of TCM