Table of contents
August 2008 Vol 7 No 8
In this issue
p627 | doi:10.1038/nrd2639
Editorial: The future of pain
p629 | doi:10.1038/nrd2640
News and Analysis
Pharma pursues novel models for academic collaboration | PDF (329 KB)
p631 | doi:10.1038/nrd2648
News Feature
Dealing with a data dilemma | PDF (215 KB)
p632 | doi:10.1038/nrd2649
News in Brief
No more FDA approvable, non-approvable letters | First adenovirus gene-therapy application submitted to FDA | Panel recommends more diabetes drug safety data | EU approves first-in-class treatment for hereditary angioedema | Big pharma's pre-competitive collaboration | GSK's deal to tackle sleepless nights | PDF (806 KB)
p634 | doi:10.1038/nrd2650
Patent watch
Defining obviousness with the right question | Patent "Triway" piloted | No trial in Seroquel patent dispute | Bile-acid signalling in metabolic disease | PDF (358 KB)
p636 | doi:10.1038/nrd2651
An Audience With
Carlo Incerti | PDF (134 KB)
p638 | doi:10.1038/nrd2652
From the analyst's couch
Trends in disease focus of drug development | PDF (243 KB)
p639 | doi:10.1038/nrd2618
Fresh from the Pipeline
Certolizumab pegol | PDF (261 KB)
p641 | doi:10.1038/nrd2654
Research Highlights
Stroke: Widening the therapeutic window? | PDF (359 KB)
p643 | doi:10.1038/nrd2642
Cancer: New target for tumour immunotherapy | PDF (96 KB)
p644 | doi:10.1038/nrd2643
Neurodegenerative diseases: Clearing up A
| PDF
(210 KB)
p644 | doi:10.1038/nrd2644
Stem cells: Overcoming barriers to iPS cells | PDF (554 KB)
p645 | doi:10.1038/nrd2645
Proteases: Novel route to protease targeting | PDF (259 KB)
p646 | doi:10.1038/nrd2646
In brief
Lead identification | G-protein-coupled receptors | Parasite infection | Antibody-mediated diseases | PDF (172 KB)
p646 | doi:10.1038/nrd2647
Perspectives
Opinion
The molecular epidemiology of pain: a new discipline for drug discovery
Mitchell B. Max & Walter F. Stewart
p647 | doi:10.1038/nrd2595
In this Perspective, Max and Stewart discuss how methods of molecular epidemiology, proved effective in the study of other diseases, can enhance the returns from human genomic studies and expedite the development of new drugs to prevent or treat pain.
Opinion
The adult human brain in preclinical drug development
Mike Dragunow
p659 | doi:10.1038/nrd2617
Neuroprotective agents that slow cell death, vital for the treatment of a range of neurodegenerative disorders, are currently lacking. Dragunow discusses some of the factors contributing to the failure of translation from the laboratory to the clinic, and suggests approaches to introduce an adult human preclinical platform to overcome translation obstacles in neurodegenerative drug development.
Erratum: ASCO presentations highlight value of cancer biomarkers
Alisa Opar
p666 | doi:10.1038/nrd2655
Reviews
Pseudoreceptor models in drug design: bridging ligand- and receptor-based virtual screening
Yusuf Tanrikulu & Gisbert Schneider
p667 | doi:10.1038/nrd2615
Pseudoreceptor models can provide a valuable tool for drug design in cases where a high-resolution structure of the target is not available. This article reviews pseudoreceptor modelling techniques, presenting recent applications in hit and lead finding, and critically discusses the prerequisites, advantages and limitations of the various approaches.
Targeting bile-acid signalling for metabolic diseases
Charles Thomas, Roberto Pellicciari, Mark Pruzanski, Johan Auwerx & Kristina Schoonjans
p678 | doi:10.1038/nrd2619
The recent awareness that bile acids act as complex metabolic integrators and signalling factors has led to the recognition of bile-acid signalling as a potential novel therapeutic target in metabolic disease. Thomas and colleagues overview the metabolic roles of bile acids and discuss approaches to modulate their signalling pathways in the treatment of disorders including obesity, type 2 diabetes, hypertriglyceridaemia and atherosclerosis.
The nociceptin/orphanin FQ receptor: a target with broad therapeutic potential
David G. Lambert
p694 | doi:10.1038/nrd2572
In this Review, Lambert describes the physiology and potential clinical applications of nociceptin/orphanin FQ and its receptor. This peptide–receptor system has been implicated in a wide range of biological functions such as pain, drug abuse, cardiovascular control and immunity.
Correspondence
Correspondence: Downsides to the nitrate–nitrite–nitric oxide pathway in physiology and therapeutics?
Nirmal Singh Panesar
p710 | doi:10.1038/nrd2466-c1
Correspondence: Downsides to the nitrate–nitrite–nitric oxide pathway in physiology and therapeutics? Reply from Lundberg, Weitzberg and Gladwin
Jon O. Lundberg, Eddie Weitzberg & Mark T. Gladwin
p710 | doi:10.1038/nrd2466-c2
