Current Drug Targets - Inflammation & Allergy - Volume 1, Issue 3, 2002

Allergic rhinitis is charterized as an inflammatory disease of the nasal mucosa. In clinical practice, H1-antihistamines and topical corticosteroids are most commonly used pharmacological agents for the treatment of allergic rhinitis. The beneficial effects of steroids depend upon their long-term anti-inflammatory effect rather than upon direct receptor antagonism. This is different to H1-antihistamines, which block both neural an Read More

Numerous recent findings indicate the possible involvement of an immune mechanism in the pathogenesis of neurodegeneration. The immune reaction could either act as a primary event, generating changes leading to cell death, or could be a secondary response to neuronal injury. In various neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's, Huntington's or Pick's disease, Down's syndrome, multiple sclerosis and the AI Read More

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) are ligand-activated transcription factors which form a subfamily of the nuclear receptor gene family. This subfamily consists of three isotypes, α (NR1C1), γ (NR1C3), and β / δ (NRC1C2) with a differential tissue distribution. PPARα is expressed primarily in tissues with a high level of fatty acid catabolism such as liver, brown fat, kidney, heart and skeletal muscle. PPARβis ubiquito Read More

Chlamydia pneumoniae infection is associated with atherosclerosis and may be an emerging risk factor in coronary artery disease. C. pneumoniae can infect, multiply within and modulate the function of all atheroma cell types. Specific chlamydial virulence determinants have been identified that permit interaction with host cells and dysregulate cell function. In particular, chlamydial heat shock protein 60 and lipopolysacchari Read More

There is considerable evidence that the peripheral immune system can signal the brain to elicit a sickness response during infection and inflammation. The induction of the sickness response involves the expression of proinflammatory cytokines such as interleukin (IL)-1β, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and IL-6, both in the periphery and in the brain. The mechanisms by which peripheral cytokines can affect brai Read More

The incidence of allergic diseases has dramatically increased in recent decades, and it is socially and medically important to establish more useful strategies to overcome allergic disorders. Various kinds of drugs are utilized for allergic patients, however, some cases are unresponsive to these drugs and in others there are undesired adverse effects. On the other hand, a substantial body of evidence has accumulated pointing to Read More

Only rarely in modern medicine is an entirely new class of drug developed. Recently, a number of drugs that act as leukotriene modifiers (LTM's) have been licensed for use in the treatment of asthma. Airway obstruction in asthma has two key components-bronchoconstriction of airway smooth muscle and airway inflammation. Although a number of mediators are involved in this process, it has been demonstrated that le Read More

Leptin was originally identified as an adipocyte-derived cytokine with a key role in the regulation of the energy balance. Subsequent research has, however, revealed that leptin's biological action is not restricted to its effects on appetite and food intake, but rather has a much more pleiotropic character. Evidence is now accumulating that it has important functions in reproduction, hematopoiesis, HPA-axis endocrinology and an Read More

Inflammatory lung diseases such as asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) are characterised by systemic and local chronic inflammation and oxidative stress. The sources of the increased oxidative stress in patients with asthma and COPD derive from the increased burden of inhaled oxidants, and from the increased amounts of reactive oxygen species (ROS) generated by several inflammatory, imm Read More