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The proposed 21st Century Cures Act is a potential boon to the funding woes faced by the US National Institutes of Health and the Food and Drug Administration. But a careful look at the provisions within the bill is warranted to avoid enacting policies that could undermine the progressive translation of research into clinical products.
As medical use of cannabis becomes more commonplace, scientists seek to conduct rigorous studies that can define its benefits and risks for various disease indications. But overly cumbersome government regulations continue to create logistical and funding burdens.
Disease models inform our understanding of central nervous system disorder pathogenesis and enable testing of novel therapeutics. A frank discussion of the rationale for using particular disease models, as well as their limitations, may enable comparisons between studies and facilitate drug development.
Inflammatory disease research is burgeoning. Large data sets are being generated to characterize the human immune response, while detailed mechanistic studies are defining the role of specific cell types and sensors in inflammatory disease. Future efforts are needed to integrate these approaches and guide precision medicine.