Sexual Dysfunction

Discovery of 2-(4-pyridin-2-ylpiperazin-1-ylmethyl)-1 H -benzimidazole (ABT-724), a dopaminergic agent with a novel mode of action for the potential treatment of erectile dysfunction. Cowart, M. et al. J. Med. Chem. 47, 3853–3864 (2004)

Selective facilitation of sexual solicitation in the female rat by a melanocortin receptor agonist. Pfaus, J. G. et al. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 101, 10201–10204 (2004)

The considerable success of phosphodiesterase 5 inhibitors, such as sildenafil (Viagra; Pfizer), in the treatment of erectile dysfunction has highlighted the potential of safe and effective pharmacological treatments for sexual disorders. Two possible such agents have been recently reported. Cowart et al. discuss the discovery of ABT-724, a selective dopamine D4 receptor agonist that lacks the side effects typically associated with dopaminergic drugs, and that might represent a new type of drug for erectile dysfunction. Pfaus and colleagues describe the effects of PT-141, a melanocortin receptor agonist that selectively stimulates solicitational behaviour in female rats and that could potentially be used to treat female sexual desire disorders.

Cancer

Twist, a master regulator of morphogenesis, plays an essential role in tumor metastasis. Yang, J. et al. Cell 117, 927–939 (2004)

Metastasis — a multistep process in which cancer cells disseminate from the site of primary tumours and establish secondary tumours in distant organs — is an important contributor to death in patients with cancer. However, the process is not well understood, hampering efforts for therapeutic intervention. Yang et al. show that the transcription factor Twist — which is important in embyronic development — has a key role in tumour metastasis, a discovery that might have both therapeutic and diagnostic applications.

Multiple Sclerosis

Oral simvastatin treatment in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. Vollmer, T. et al. Lancet 363, 1607–1608 (2004)

In addition to their well-known ability to lower cholesterol, some statins have been shown to have immunomodulatory effects that might be beneficial for the treatment of diseases such as multiple sclerosis. Vollmer and colleagues report the results of the first clinical trial of a statin in multiple sclerosis — an open-label study involving 30 patients — which suggested that the drug might inhibit inflammatory components of the disease that lead to neurological disability. This could provide impetus for larger-scale studies to assess the potential use of statins in multiple sclerosis, for which current drugs are only partly effective and expensive.