Preface

The Central Nervous System (CNS) is certainly the most complex of all biological systems. A whole range of activities, ranging from the controlling of human behavior to the functioning of all body parts, are controlled by complex chemical processes, which are regulated by the central nervous system. The vulnerability of CNS to many diseases and disorders poses an immensely important challenge to brain scientists and healthcare professionals. Understanding of neurological and neuroskeletal disorders at the molecular level is essential to tackle the associated diseases. Our understanding of how dementia develops and progresses, why certain age groups are vulnerable to Parkinson’s disease, how memory functions, and why excitability of neurons suddenly leads to movements, is far from perfect.

This compilation of reviews on some of these important topics presents the current state of knowledge which should be of benefit to practitioners and researchers. The chapters contain in this volume are the updated version of articles published in Recent Patents on CNS Drug Discovery. Thirty well-written reviews by some of the leading experts in the field will hopefully be welcomed by the CNS community. The topics covered include drug discovery and development for dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinsonism, anxiety and depression, movement disorders and epilepsy, and other neurological and neurodegenerative disorders. These review articles have been contributed by leading researchers in specific fields. We are grateful to all the eminent contributors for their efforts in writing these excellent reviews.

We are thankful to the management and staff of Bentham Science Publishers, particularly Mr. Mahmood Alam (Director), Ms. Samina Khan, Ms. Taqdees Malik and Ms. Sadaf Idrees Khan, for their untiring efforts in compilation of the first volume of this important eBook series.