Current Topics in Medicinal Chemistry - Volume 15, Issue 9, 2015

Dipyridamole was introduced on the market as coronary vasodilator drug more than half a century ago and is still used as antithrombotic and vasodilator. Among cellular targets, it inhibits phosphodiesterases and raises extracellular levels of adenosine through inhibition of adenosine reuptake by red blood cells. As a consequence, endocellular levels of cyclic nucleotides are upregulated. The rise of cGMP in vascular s Read More

Coumarins are a large group of substances, primarily of plant origin. Like their more intensively examined congeners flavonoids, many of them are antioxidants. Although such properties may be advantageous in cardiovascular diseases, it has been shown that coumarins exhibit direct effects on the cardiovascular system which are not based on antioxidant activity. The most common example is the well-known drug warfarin, a sy Read More

Tropical parasitic diseases, especially those produced by protozoan parasites, are a major public health problem in many countries, and their impact in the health burden is significant. Oxidative processes proved to be related to these diseases, being the antioxidant agents promising therapeutic solutions for them. Therefore, this review provides an overview of published manuscripts regarding both activities. In particu Read More

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the major health concern and the leading cause of death. Imbalance between free radicals and anti-oxidant defence is associated with cellular dysfunctions leading to the pathophysiology of various diseases including cardiac and vascular diseases. The stress responsive transcription factor NF-E2-related factor 2/antioxidant response element (Nrf2/ARE) regulates the expression of many Read More

The development of inflammatory immune response is related to an activation of nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-ΚB) signaling. The intracellular molecules from this pathway are sensitive to the alterations in the microenvironment. The changes in cellular redox state, proliferation, gene expression pattern and genomic stability during inflammation induce the activation of non-canonical and Read More

Identifying novel therapeutic agents from natural sources and their possible intervention studies has been one of the major areas in biomedical research in recent years. Piper species are highly important - commercially, economically and medicinally. Our groups have been working for more than two decades on the identification and characterization of novel therapeutic lead molecules from Piper species. We have extensivel Read More

In recent years, relationship between free radicals and oxidative stress with aging, cancer, atherosclerosis, neurodegenerative disorders, diabetes, and inflammatory diseases became increasingly clear. Confirming the role of oxidants in numerous pathological conditions such as cancer, the antioxidants developed as therapeutics have been proven ineffective. It is well established that melatonin (MLT) and its metabolites are Read More