Current Medicinal Chemistry - Volume 13, Issue 24, 2006

It is known that only 10-20% of smokers develop COPD, implying that apart from environmental features, additional factors such as genetic variability contribute to smoke susceptibility. This proposal is in compatibility with the “Dutch Hypothesis≫, formulated in the early 60's. Alpha-1-antitrypsin gene was implicated in the pathogenesis of COPD, especially the homozygous state of z allele. Since then many other genes Read More

Current standard cancer therapies (chemotherapy and radiation) often cause serious adverse off-target effects. Drug design strategies are therefore being developed that will more precisely target cancer cells for destruction while leaving surrounding normal cells relatively unaffected. Telomerase, widely expressed in most human cancers but almost undetectable in normal somatic cells, provides an exciting drug target. Read More

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a frequent and potentially progressive chronic liver disease that occurs in subjects who do not abuse alcohol. NAFLD is often associated with obesity, metabolic syndrome and insulin resistance and its more aggressive form, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is a major cause of cryptogenic cirrhosis. NAFLD/NASH are commonly detected because of elevated serum amin Read More

Nerve dysfunction is a common accompaniment of chemotherapy, typically occurring in a dose-dependent manner, so that the higher the dose and the longer the time of exposure, the more likely neuropathy is to occur. With the majority of chemotherapies, the mechanisms of neurotoxicity have not been clearly established. Cessation of therapy may prevent progression to a more severe syndrome and is often necessary ev Read More

DNA in eukaryotic nucleus is highly condensed with histone proteins as nucleosomes. Three dimensional arrangements of nucleosomes give rise to the formation of chromatin. Extensive studies in the recent years have highlighted that the structure of chromatin plays a critical role in gene expression. Post translational modifications (such as acetylation, deacetylation, methylation and phosphorylation etc.) of tails of histones Read More

Whipple's disease (WD) is a rare chronic infectious disorder caused by the rod- shaped bacterium Tropheryma whipplei. The disorder is characterized clinically by arthralgia, abdominal pain, diarrhea, malabsorbtion and progressive weight loss. Other important sites of infection include the heart (resulting in the clinical picture of endocarditis and heart failure) and the central nervous system (CNS) (manifestations Read More

Cimicifugae Rhizoma, mainly originated from C. acerina, C. dahurica, C. foetida, C. heracleifolia, C. racemosa and C. simplex, has long been used in traditional medicine system. During the past 45 years, a lot of efforts have been dedicated to the studies on their bioactive constituents, pharmacological effects and clinical uses, and a variety of biological activities including relief of hot flash, anti-osteoporosis, anti-human i Read More

Acyclic nucleoside analogues bearing phosphonomethoxy residues in the side chain (ANP) attract much attention due to a very beneficial combination of biological properties. Intensive work of organic chemists during the last two decades resulted in a large panel of new compounds that were evaluated as potential antiviral drugs. Herein, we present an overview of major chemical structures within the group of acyclic Read More