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Cyclic-Nucleotide Phosphodiesterases in the Central Nervous System: From Biology to Drug Discovery

ISBN: 978-0-470-56668-8

April 2014

400 pages

Description

Methods and advances for understanding phosphodiesterases (PDEs), a hot area of drug and therapeutic research

Cyclic-nucleotide phosphodiesterases (PDEs) are critical for the regulation of processes from cell birth to cell death, but diseases of the central nervous system (CNS) often disrupt these essential functions. Cyclic-Nucleotide Phosphodiesterases in the Central Nervous System: From Biology to Drug Discovery helps scientists understand the concepts to develop more selective and potent inhibitors and modulators as treatments for neurological diseases. A number of expert authors from both academia and industry capture these principles by focusing on the areas of greatest scientific and medical interest.

While explaining the science behind PDEs, this book provides readers with:

  • Analytical tools for translating biological knowledge and developing inhibitors and modulators of PDE
  • The expertise of leading researchers from both basic and applied sciences
  • Discussion about PDE biology and enzymology with respect to the brain and spinal cord
  • Knowledge for developing treatments for specific CNS diseases like schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, depression, and spinal cord injuries
  • Information about drug discovery tools, such as in vitro assays and X-ray structures, for medicinal chemistry

As a comprehensive and advanced guide that applies to both academic and industry research, this book helps readers discover strategies and insights into PDE biology and chemistry, therapeutic approaches and opportunities, and novel medicines.

About the Author

NICHOLAS BRANDON works at AstraZeneca within the Neuroscience Innovative Medicines Group. He has spent his career in drug discovery with a strong interest in developing phosphodiesterase inhibitors for neuropsychiatric disorders and understanding the basic mechanisms of phosphodiesterase function.

ANTHONY WEST is an Associate Professor in the Department of Neuroscience at Rosalind Franklin University. He has studied PDE function in the basal ganglia for over fifteen years, focusing on neurochemical and electrophysiological changes induced by PDE inhibitors in the healthy brain and in animal models of Parkinson’s disease and Huntington’s disease.