In nature, many physical processes are governed by the passage of time. The study of these processes - chronobiology - reveals rhythmic patterns which may be yearly, monthly, daily or more frequent. Novel drug delivery systems are currently being delivered that will release varying quantities of a drug at optimum times to coincide with these rhythmic patterns.Chronotherapeutics considers the pharmaceutical and therapeutic implications associated with biological clocks. The book presents a comprehensive discussion of specific diseases that are time dependent, and the drugs and new drug formulations that can be used as treatments.Written by leading international experts in the field, Chronotherapeutics provides up-to-date information on chronobiology for non-chronobiologists in pharmaceutical and medical sciences. Peter Redfern is Professor of Pharmacology at the University of Bath, UK.

Chronopharmacology is the study of time-dependent variations in the pharmacokinetics, effects, and side and toxic effects of drugs. After three chapters on basic aspects, the remaining 46 contributions cover various types of drugs and discuss the regulatory issues related to circadian mechanisms and the predictive aspects of the science. Annotation(c) 2003 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Chronopharmaceutics Science and Technology for Biological Rhythm Guided Therapy and Prevention of Diseases Edited by Bi-Botti C. Youan The first standard reference on chronopharmaceutics As we better understand how biological processes unfold in real time through advances in chronobiology and related fields, we can create safer, more effective drugs, drug delivery systems, and disease monitoring and prevention systems. When administered in correct coordination with a patient's body rhythms, such drugs can maximize therapeutic outcome while minimizing unwanted side effects. Chronopharmaceutics presents the first standard reference text on this emerging cross-disciplinary field and its potential for therapeutic and preventive medicine. Bringing together the latest findings from experienced investigators, this edited work presents a much-needed single source on chronopharmaceutics. After an introduction that includes a timeline of key discoveries, an overview of regula-tory, formulation, manufacturing and key resource issues associated with chronopharmaceutics, the detailed coverage examines: Chronogenetics Chronopharmacokinetics Chronotherapy Controlled release systems triggered by physical and/or chemical activation Chronopharmacodynamics, chronomics, and anesthesia Markers-guided chronotheranostics Filling a gap in both the graduate classroom and the working industrial or research laboratory, Chronopharmaceutics offers students, instructors, and professionals a unique and comprehensive reference for this cutting-edge field.

This book illustrates, in a comprehensive manner, the most crucial principles involved in pharmacology and allied sciences. The title begins by discussing the historical aspects of drug discovery, with up to date knowledge on Nobel Laureates in pharmacology and their significant discoveries. It then examines the general pharmacological principles - pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, with in-depth information on drug transporters and interactions. In the remaining chapters, the book covers a definitive collection of topics containing essential information on the basic principles of pharmacology and how they are employed for the treatment of diseases. Readers will learn about special topics in pharmacology that are hard to find elsewhere, including issues related to environmental toxicology and the latest information on drug poisoning and treatment, analytical toxicology, toxicovigilance, and the use of molecular biology techniques in pharmacology. The book offers a valuable resource for researchers in the fields of pharmacology and toxicology, as well as students pursuing a degree in or with an interest in pharmacology.

Biopharmaceutics and Pharmacokinetics Considerations examines the history of biopharmaceutics and pharmacokinetics. The book provides a biopharmaceutics and pharmacokinetics approach to addressing issues in formulation development and ethical considerations in handling animals. Written by experts in the field, this volume within the Advances in Pharmaceutical Product Development and Research series deepens understanding of biopharmaceutics and pharmacokinetics within drug discovery and drug development. Each chapter delves into a particular aspect of this fundamental field to cover the principles, methodologies and technologies employed by pharmaceutical scientists, researchers and pharmaceutical industries to study the chemical and physical properties of drugs and the biological effects they produce. - Examines the most recent developments in biopharmaceutics and pharmacokinetics for pharmaceutical sciences - Covers the principles, methodologies and technologies of biopharmaceutics and pharmacokinetics - Focuses on the pharmaceutical sciences, but also encompasses aspects of toxicology, neuroscience, environmental sciences and nanotechnology

Every aspect of immune function and host defense is dependent upon a proper supply and balance of nutrients. Severe malnutrition can cause significant alteration in immune response, but even subclinical deficits may be associated with an impaired immune response, and an increased risk of infection. Infectious diseases have accounted for more off-duty days during major wars than combat wounds or nonbattle injuries. Combined stressors may reduce the normal ability of soldiers to resist pathogens, increase their susceptibility to biological warfare agents, and reduce the effectiveness of vaccines intended to protect them. There is also a concern with the inappropriate use of dietary supplements. This book, one of a series, examines the impact of various types of stressors and the role of specific dietary nutrients in maintaining immune function of military personnel in the field. It reviews the impact of compromised nutrition status on immune function; the interaction of health, exercise, and stress (both physical and psychological) in immune function; and the role of nutritional supplements and newer biotechnology methods reported to enhance immune function. The first part of the book contains the committee's workshop summary and evaluation of ongoing research by Army scientists on immune status in special forces troops, responses to the Army's questions, conclusions, and recommendations. The rest of the book contains papers contributed by workshop speakers, grouped under such broad topics as an introduction to what is known about immune function, the assessment of immune function, the effect of nutrition, and the relation between the many and varied stresses encountered by military personnel and their effect on health.

This teaching monograph on systems approaches to cancer research and clinical applications provides a unique synthesis, by world-class scientists and doctors, of laboratory, computational, and clinical methods, thereby establishing the foundations for major advances not possible with current methods. Specifically, the book: 1) Sets the stage by describing the basis of systems biology and bioinformatics approaches, and the clinical background of cancer in a systems context; 2) Summarizes the laboratory, clinical, data systems analysis and bioinformatics tools, along with infrastructure and resources required; 3) Demonstrates the application of these tools to cancer research; 4) Extends these tools and methods to clinical diagnosis, drug development and treatment applications; and 5) Finishes by exploring longer term perspectives and providing conclusions. This book reviews the state-of-the-art, and goes beyond into new applications. It is written and highly referenced as a textbook and practical guide aimed at students, academics, doctors, clinicians, industrialists and managers in cancer research and therapeutic applications. Ideally, it will set the stage for integration of available knowledge to optimize communication between basic and clinical researchers involved in the ultimate fight against cancer, whatever the field of specific interest, whatever the area of activity within translational research.

With the invitation to edit this volume, I wanted to take the opportunity to assemble reviews on different aspects of circadian clocks and rhythms. Although most c- tributions in this volume focus on mammalian circadian clocks, the historical int- duction and comparative clocks section illustrate the importance of various other organisms in deciphering the mechanisms and principles of circadian biology. Circadian rhythms have been studied for centuries, but only recently, a mole- lar understanding of this process has emerged. This has taken research on circadian clocks from mystic phenomenology to a mechanistic level; chains of molecular events can describe phenomena with remarkable accuracy. Nevertheless, current models of the functioning of circadian clocks are still rudimentary. This is not due to the faultiness of discovered mechanisms, but due to the lack of undiscovered processes involved in contributing to circadian rhythmicity. We know for example, that the general circadian mechanism is not regulated equally in all tissues of m- mals. Hence, a lot still needs to be discovered to get a full understanding of cir- dian rhythms at the systems level. In this respect, technology has advanced at high speed in the last years and provided us with data illustrating the sheer complexity of regulation of physiological processes in organisms. To handle this information, computer aided integration of the results is of utmost importance in order to d- cover novel concepts that ultimately need to be tested experimentally.