Pharmacology is a branch of medicine and pharmaceutical sciences concerned with drug or medication action, where a drug may be defined as any artificial, natural, or endogenous molecule which exerts a biochemical or physiological effect on the cell, tissue, organ, or organism. More specifically, it is the study of the interactions that occur between a living organism and chemicals that affect normal or abnormal biochemical function. If substances have medicinal properties, they are considered pharmaceuticals.
Ferid Murad is an American physician and pharmacologist, and a co-winner of the 1998 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. He is married to Carol A. Murad with whom he has five children and nine grandchildren.
Azapirones are a class of drugs used as anxiolytics, antidepressants, and antipsychotics. They are commonly used as add-ons to other antidepressants, such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs).
Buspirone, sold under the brand name Buspar, among others, is a medication primarily used to treat anxiety disorders, particularly generalized anxiety disorder. Benefits support its short term use. It has not been found to be effective in treating psychosis. It is taken by mouth, and it may take up to four weeks to have an effect.
Clinical pharmacology is the science of drugs in humans and their optimal clinical use in patients. It is underpinned by the basic science of pharmacology, with an added focus on the application of pharmacological principles and quantitative methods in the real human patient's population. It has a broad scope, from the discovery of new target molecules to the effects of drug usage in whole populations.
A dopamine antagonist, also known as an anti-dopaminergic and a dopamine receptor antagonist (DRA), is a type of drug which blocks dopamine receptors by receptor antagonism. Most antipsychotics are dopamine antagonists, and as such they have found use in treating schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and stimulant psychosis. Several other dopamine antagonists are antiemetics used in the treatment of nausea and vomiting.
Renzapride is a prokinetic agent and antiemetic which acts as a full 5-HT4 agonist and partial 5-HT3 antagonist. It also functions as a 5-HT2B antagonist and has some affinity for the 5-HT2A and 5-HT2C receptors.
The British Pharmacological Society is the primary UK learned society for pharmacologists concerned with research into drugs and the way they work. Members work in academia, industry, regulatory agencies and the health services, and many are medically qualified. The Society covers the whole spectrum of pharmacology, including laboratory, clinical, and toxicological aspects.
Selfotel (CGS-19755) is a drug which acts as a competitive NMDA antagonist, directly competing with glutamate for binding to the receptor. Initial studies showed it to have anticonvulsant, anxiolytic, analgesic and neuroprotective effects, and it was originally researched for the treatment of stroke, but subsequent animal and human studies showed phencyclidine-like effects, as well as limited efficacy and evidence for possible neurotoxicity under some conditions, and so clinical development was ultimately discontinued.
Neramexane is a drug related to memantine, which acts as an NMDA antagonist and has neuroprotective effects. It is being developed for various possible applications, including treatment of tinnitus, Alzheimer's disease, drug addiction and as an analgesic. Animal studies have also suggested antidepressant and nootropic actions, so there are a wide range of potential applications this drug may be used for. It also acts as a nicotinic acetylcholine receptor antagonist.
JNJ-7777120 was a drug being developed by Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research & Development which acts as a potent and selective antagonist at the histamine H4 receptor. It has anti-inflammatory effects, and has been demonstrated to be superior to traditional (H1) antihistamines in the treatment of pruritus (itching). The drug was abandoned because of its short in vivo half-life and hypoadrenocorticism toxicity in rats and dogs, that prevented advancing it into clinical studies.
Tiflorex, formerly known as flutiorex, is a stimulant amphetamine. Its most pronounced effect is in suppression of appetite; it has little effect on pulse rate, sleep, or mood. It was found to be twice as potent an anorectic as fenfluramine.
Norpropoxyphene is a major metabolite of the opioid analgesic drug dextropropoxyphene, and is responsible for many of the side effects associated with use of this drug, especially the unusual toxicity seen during dextropropoxyphene overdose. It has weaker analgesic effects than dextropropoxyphene itself, but is a relatively potent pro-convulsant and blocker of sodium and potassium channels, particularly in heart tissue, which produces prolonged intracardiac conduction time and can lead to heart failure following even relatively minor overdoses. The toxicity of this metabolite makes dextropropoxyphene up to 10 times more likely to cause death following overdose compared to other similar mild opioid analgesics, and has led to dextropropoxyphene being withdrawn from the market in some countries.
Roxindole (EMD-49,980) is a dopaminergic and serotonergic drug which was originally developed by Merck KGaA for the treatment of schizophrenia. In clinical trials its antipsychotic efficacy was only modest but it was unexpectedly found to produce potent and rapid antidepressant and anxiolytic effects. As a result, roxindole was further researched for the treatment of depression instead. It has also been investigated as a therapy for Parkinson's disease and prolactinoma.
Laudexium metilsulfate is a neuromuscular blocking drug or skeletal muscle relaxant in the category of non-depolarizing neuromuscular-blocking drugs, used adjunctively in surgical anesthesia to facilitate endotracheal intubation and to provide skeletal muscle relaxation during surgery or mechanical ventilation.
Piquindone (Ro 22-1319) is an atypical antipsychotic with a tricyclic structure that was developed in the 1980s but was never marketed. It acts as a selective D2 receptor antagonist, though based on its effects profile its selectivity may be considered controversial. Unlike most other D2 receptor ligands, piquindone displays Na+-dependent binding, a property it shares with tropapride, zetidoline, and metoclopramide.
PF-04457845 is a potent and exquisitely selective inhibitor of the enzyme fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH), with an IC50 of 7.2nM, and both analgesic and antiinflammatory effects in animal studies comparable to naproxen.
PNU-142633 is an experimental drug candidate for the treatment of migraine. It exerts its effect as a selective, high affinity 5-HT1D receptor antagonist. PNU-142633 is well tolerated after oral administration.
The IUPHAR/BPS Guide to PHARMACOLOGY is an open-access website, acting as a portal to information on the biological targets of licensed drugs and other small molecules. The Guide to PHARMACOLOGY is developed as a joint venture between the International Union of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology (IUPHAR) and the British Pharmacological Society (BPS). This replaces and expands upon the original 2009 IUPHAR Database. The Guide to PHARMACOLOGY aims to provide a concise overview of all pharmacological targets, accessible to all members of the scientific and clinical communities and the interested public, with links to details on a selected set of targets. The information featured includes pharmacological data, target and gene nomenclature, as well as curated chemical information for ligands. Overviews and commentaries on each target family are included, with links to key references.
TRV734 is a drug developed by Trevena Inc which acts as a biased agonist at the μ-opioid receptor, selective for activation of the G-protein signalling pathway over β-arrestin 2 recruitment. It is closely related to oliceridine and has a similar pharmacological profile, but unlike oliceridine which has to be injected, TRV734 is suitable to be administered orally.
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