Old Drugs Confronting Recent Advancements And Challenges

Old Drugs: Confronting Recent Advancements and Challenges

Over the years, there has been an increasing demand for an effective and cost-efficient drug discovery process. The study of old and previously-approved drugs for newer indications or their re-evaluation based on newly-identified different mechanisms of action has become a major focus of drug discovery, particularly when it comes to treating chronic or complex multigenetic diseases such as cancer, autoimmune, neurodegenerative disorders, and psychiatric conditions. This approach is actually particularly appealing since it saves time and resources and reduces the risk of failure. The history of pharmacology is replete with examples of drugs that have undergone significant shifts in their clinical or preventive use over time, such as acetylsalicylic acid, thalidomide, duloxetine, and dapagliflozin. For instance, acetylsalicylic acid has been used for over a century as an anti-inflammatory and analgesic, but it is currently used as an antiplatelet agent. Thalidomide was previously removed from the market because of its teratogenic effects which were associated with the inhibition of the synthesis of tumor necrosis factor-alpha and other cytokines, but it has since emerged as an immunomodulator for the treatment of various diseases, including erythema nodosum leprosum. Intriguingly, repurposed drugs have also been shown to control synaptic potentiation associated with neurological and psychiatric disorders, which have opened unimaginable scenarios a few years ago.

Research Advances in Alcohol and Drug Problems

This is the tenth volume in the Research Advances series and the seventh published by Plenum Press. Volume 10 is another omnibus volume, providing specialized and advanced reviews in a number of areas related to the use of alcohol, illicit drugs, and tobacco. We include also a brief history of the Center for Alcohol Studies that gives Mark Keller's unique perspective on this noted institution. Two of the chapters are decidedly longer than the others-very long chapters have appeared occasionally in the past, and we think that it is one of the strengths of the series that we are able to accommodate such reviews. Again the editorial board has changed. After several years of service, Reginald G. Smart has stepped down. New to the board are Helen M. Annis, Michael S. Goodstadt, Lynn T. Kozlowski, and Evelyn R. Vingilis. This is likely to be the sole volume for which Goodstadt is on the board, since before completion of this volume he moved from the Addiction Research Foundation to the Center for Alcohol Studies, Rutgers University.

Interagency Coordination in Drug Research and Regulation