Current Medicinal Chemistry - Volume 17, Issue 16, 2010

Oncogenic B-Raf has been identified in a variety of cancers with high incidence, especially in malignant melanoma and thyroid cancer. Most B-Raf mutations elicit elevated kinase activity and the constitutive activation of Ras/Raf/MEK/ERK pathway, which induces proliferation and promotes malignant transformation. Therefore, B-Raf inhibitors, targeting B-Raf or mutated B-Raf, have received increasing momentum in oncolo Read More

A large number of herbal remedies (e.g. garlic, mistletoe, Essiac, Lingzhi, and astragalus) are used by cancer patients for treating the cancer and/or reducing the toxicities of chemotherapeutic drugs. Some herbal medicines have shown potentially beneficial effects on cancer progression and may ameliorate chemotherapy-induced toxicities. However, there is no or weak scientific basis for the clinical use of these herbal m Read More

Fabry disease (FD) is an X-linked glycosphingolipid storage disorder caused by deficient activity of the lysosomal enzyme α -galactosidase A. This leads to a progressive accumulation of globotriaosylceramide (Gb3) in the lysosomes of different cells and tissues, causing principally ventricular hypertrophy, renal failure and cerebrovascular accidents, reducing lifespan both in hemizygous males and heterozygous females. Resid Read More

Recent evidence suggests that vascular inflammation plays important role in the pathogenesis and the clinical evolution of atherosclerosis. Several circulating inflammatory biomarkers such as acute phase proteins, adhesion molecules and pro-inflammatory cytokines along with biomarkers, proposed the last few years, have clarified the role of inflammation in atherosclerosis. In particular a number of studies have focused on Read More

The poisoning with organophosphorus compounds represents a life threatening danger especially in the time of terroristic menace. No universal antidote has been developed yet and other therapeutic approaches not related to reactivation of acetylcholinesterase are being investigated. This review describes the main features of the cholinergic system, cholinergic receptors, cholinesterases and their inhibitors. It also focuses Read More

It takes about 10 to 15 years and roughly 800 mln $ to bring a new drug to the market. Only 10% of drug molecules entering clinical trials succeed and only 3 out of 10 drugs generate enough profit to pay back for the investment. Drug targets may be searched by hypothesis driven modeling of molecular networks within and between cells by systems biology. However, there is the potential to simplify the search for new drugs an Read More