Current Pharmaceutical Design - Volume 20, Issue 31, 2014

1. Introduction The metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a cluster of abnormalities including abdominal obesity, glucose intolerance, hypertension, and dyslipidaemia, factors that are all associated with an increased cardiovascular (CV) risk [1]. Currently, there is a debate regarding the effective diagnosis, control and treatment of all the components of MetS, and in the consequences of the MetS itself [2]. In addition, in the past d Read More

The metabolic syndrome (MetS) is characterized by a cluster of risk factors including central obesity, hypertension, dyslipidemia and insulin resistance, The MetS is associated with an increased risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Several international organizations have defined MetS using different diagnostic criteria that produced discrepancies in the results of previous st Read More

Incretin peptides are a group of gastrointestinal hormones that play a prominent role in the regulation of glucose metabolism. Incretin-based therapies (IBTs) have recently emerged as an important treatment option for patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). These pharmaceutical agents may be specially well suited for patients who are overweight or obese with primarily post-meal glucose peaks, and in whom tradi Read More

Resistin is an adipocyte- and monocyte-derived cytokine which has been implicated in the modulation of insulin action, energy, glucose and lipid homeostasis. Resistin has been associated with insulin resistance and many of its known complications. As a molecular link between metabolic signals, inflammation, and vascular dysfunction, resistin can be proposed as playing a significant role in the heightened inflammatory st Read More

Molecular chaperones and the heat shock response play a major role in the maintenance of cellular homeostasis under various pathological conditions. In particular, their role is to regulate protein conformation, protect proteins from misfolding and aggregation, and maintain signalling and organellarnetworks. Among variousheat shock proteins, Hsp32 also known as heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), has demonstrated an imp Read More

The metabolic syndrome (MetS), a cluster of risk factors for cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes, has become an important public health problem. Considerable differences in the prevalence of the MetS in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected subjects have been reported, as a consequence of several limitations regarding the diagnostic critera for MetS. New evidence suggests that the use of optimal waist cut-of Read More

Metabolic syndrome is directly linked with atherosclerotic burden and cell-free nucleic acids (cf-NA) analysis has recently emerged as a novel research tool in atherosclerosis practice and research. cf-NA are nucleic acids (DNA, mRNA, miRNA, mitochondrial DNA) found in plasma and cell-free fractions of various other biological fluids. They have all the characteristics of the nucleic acids in the cells of their origin, thus const Read More

The prevalence of the metabolic syndrome (MetS), a cluster of cardiovascular risk factors associated with obesity and insulin resistance, is dramatically increasing in Western and developing countries. This disorder is not only associated with a higher risk of appearance of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular events, but impacts on the liver in different ways. Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is considered the hepatic Read More

The metabolic syndrome (MetS) is associated with a higher risk for both, type 2 diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular disease. The cornerstone of treatment is lifestyle modification, encompassing weight reduction and physical exercise. However, pharmacotherapy is usually also required to achieve the recommended target values for the various components of the MetS, such as hypertension, dysglycemia and dyslipidemia. Read More

The metabolic syndrome (MetS) represents a cluster of medical disorders, such as hyperglycemia, dyslipidemia, hypertension, and abdominal obesity that, when occurring together, increase the risk of developing cardiovascular disease. The role of food and nutrients in the aetiology of chronic diseases has become clearer over the last 15 years. In this review we collected evidence on the beneficial impact ofthe Mediterr Read More

Cognitive impairment influencing memory, attentional focus and executive functions in schizophrenia have a significant impact on social functioning and quality of life. Cognitive functions depend on normal functioning of brain prefrontal cortex. Attempts to explain cognitive impairment in schizophrenia include hypotheses (based on among others post-mortem, genetic and imaging data) of dysfunctions involving dopamine, Read More

Attentional set-shifting tasks have been used as a measure of human fronto-executive function for over 60 years. The major contribution these tasks have made has been the quantification of cognitive deficits associated with human pathologies such as schizophrenia, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder and dementias related to Parkinson’s, Huntington’s and Alzheimer’s diseases. Thirteen years ago an intradi Read More

Cognition deficits in schizophrenia remain an untreated area, and one in which R&D investment by pharmaceutical companies is high. However, whilst many preclinical assays demonstrate pro-cognitive activity with new drugs, in the main, they have not yet been translated successfully to the clinic. In an attempt to address this and reduce the high attrition rate for drugs in the clinic, selected preclinical researchers are re-focus Read More

Currently available pharmacotherapies for the treatment of schizophrenia are ineffective in restoring the disrupted cognitive function associated with this disorder. As such, there is a continued search for more viable novel drug targets. Engaging in cognitive behaviors is associated with distinct coordinated oscillatory activity across brain regions, in particular the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex. In schizophrenia patien Read More

Cognitive impairment is known to be a core deficit in schizophrenia. Existing treatments for schizophrenia have limited efficacy against cognitive impairment. The ubiquitous use of nicotine in this population is thought to reflect an attempt by patients to selfmedicate certain symptoms associated with the illness. Concurrently there is evidence that nicotinic receptors that have lower affinity for nicotine are more importa Read More

Schizophrenia is a pervasive neuropsychiatric disorder affecting over 1% of the world’s population. Dopamine system dysfunction is strongly implicated in the etiology of schizophrenia. Data support the long-standing concept of schizophrenia as a disease characterized by hyperactivity within midbrain (striatal D2) dopamine systems. In addition, there is now considerable evidence that glutamate neurotransmission, medi Read More

Novel object recognition (NOR) in rodents is analogous in some ways to human declarative (episodic) memory, one of the seven cognitive domains which are abnormal in schizophrenia. Cognitive impairment in schizophrenia (CIS) accounts for the largest proportion of the poor functional outcomes in this complex syndrome, with psychosis and negative symptoms accounting for much of the rest. Current atypical antipsych Read More