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Misfolded tau is found in a number of neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's disease, and could lead to neuronal dysfunction, owing to the formation of toxic species or loss of normal tau function. Given the recent failures of amyloid-β-targeted therapies, the tau-directed drug discovery programmes reviewed here could be an alternative strategy for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.
Inhibition of the soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH) enzyme diminishes degradation of epoxyeicosatrienoic acids, which can enhance their beneficial cardiovascular actions. Here, Imig and Hammock highlight the rapid development of sEH inhibitors, and discuss their potential as a therapy for cardiovascular diseases.
The hypothesis that cancer is driven by tumour-initiating cells — popularly known as cancer stem cells — has recently attracted considerable attention, owing to the promise of a novel cellular target for the treatment of haematopoietic and solid malignancies. This Review considers recent advances in the cancer stem cell field, focusing on the challenges and opportunities for anticancer drug discovery.
The need to manage drug safety issues is an increasingly common feature of drug research, regulation and prescription. This article discusses several key areas for development that could deliver long-term solutions to drug safety challenges: enhanced tools for the detection of safety signals, innovative phased drug launches, new risk stratification techniques and improved pharmacovigilance operations.
The importance of pharmacovigilance — the ongoing assessment of the safety of a marketed medicine — has been increasingly appreciated in recent years. Breckenridge and colleagues summarize the key tools that are available for pharmacovigilance, discuss which might be the most appropriate to use in different situations and consider the future directions of the field.