Current Pharmaceutical Design - Volume 7, Issue 6, 2001

Concurrent with the spread of the western lifestyle, the prevalence of all types of diabetes is on the rise in the worlds population. The number of diabetics is increasing by 4-5 percent per year with an estimated 40-45 percent of individuals over the age of 65 years having either type II diabetes or impaired glucose tolerance. Since the signs of diabetes are not immediately obvious, diagnosis can be preceded by an exten Read More

The mechanism of action of the immunosuppressive effects of antithyroid drugs has remained a matter of controversy, despite our earlier contention that such effects in vivo were indirect ie., it was our view that the drugs were acting on the thyroid cells, reducing their thyroid hormone production and other activities, with a consequent reduction in thyrocyte-immunocyte signalling. The reduction in the activation of CD4+ Read More

Postaglandins(PG) and low-density lipoproteins (LDL) both are playing a key role in atherogenesis. Their interaction at the local vascular level is of central relevance in plaque formation and progression. Details of these complex actions however, still need to be elucidated. Lipoproteins are influencing the PG-production of arterial wall cells and platelets, while PGs in turn have been shown to regulate lipoprotein receptor bindi Read More

Inositol phospholipids represent a small fraction of the phospholipids present in all cellular membranes with remarkable importance in regulating various cell functions. They are synthesized from phosphatidylinositol by sequential phosphorylations on the several hydroxyls of the inositol ring to create polyphos-phoinositides that function either as docking sites to promote formation of molecular signaling complexes, or serve as p Read More