Current Pharmaceutical Biotechnology - Volume 13, Issue 5, 2012

In the last few years we have observed a revolution in several branches of science, with many new areas of study being born. In this issue we will have insights in some hot topics in the area of -OMICS and their contribution in translational medicine and human health. Cardiovascular disorders constitute the leading health problem and cause of death in developed countries. In the past few years, the use soy and its derivatives a Read More

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality rates are lower in Asian countries where dietary patterns are very different from Western diet. A number of studies have linked these lower rates to the inclusion of soy products as a staple food in those countries. Soy is the richest dietary source of isoflavones, a type of phytoestrogen associated with many potentially beneficial effects. Isoflavone-containing soy protein consumption Read More

Nowadays we have a number of chemical and biological agents at our disposal to treat chronic pathologies such as cancer. Although most drugs display significant activity, thus improving the clinical outcome, side-effects and emergence of resistances cannot be looked down. From an historical point of view, higher plants have been very important in the search of new therapeutic agents and they were in the origin of th Read More

Cellular drug resistance is a major obstacle in cancer therapy. Mechanisms of resistance can be associated with altered expression of ATP-binding cassette (ABC) family of transporters on cell membrane transporters, the most common cause of multi-drug resistance (MDR), but can also include alterations of DNA repair pathways, resistance to apoptosis and target modifications. Anti-cancer treatments may be divided into differe Read More

CNS disorders are the third major problem of health in developed countries, with approximately 10% of direct costs associated with a pharmacological treatment of doubtful cost-effectiveness. There is an alarming abuse of psychotropic drugs worldwide and only 20-30% of patients with CNS disorders appropriately respond to conventional drugs. The pathogenesis of most CNS disorders is the result of the interplay of Read More

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common liver pathology characterized by fat accumulation in a context of metabolic syndrome or insulin resistance. It can be associated with obesity, diabetes, hyperinsulinemia, dyslipidemia as well as hypertension. NAFLD consists of a large spectrum of hepatic lesions including benign steatosis, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), cirrhosis or hepatocellular carcinoma. Upon Read More

The rising incidence of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases in industrialized countries has led the pharmaceutical industry to make them key areas of drug development. These diseases imply a clustering of metabolic factors where lipid metabolites play a relevant role. Measurement of pharmacodynamic endpoints of drugs on lipid metabolism pathways and downstream biological processes appear crucial for a rational Read More

Over the last five years an increasing effort has been made to understand the role of intestinal microbiota in health and disease, resulting in regarding to it as a new organ actively involved in the control of host metabolism, both in humans and mice. Amongst hundreds (up to thousand) germ species inhabiting the intestine, few of them are cultivable. Nevertheless, next-generation sequencing-based molecular technologi Read More