Preface

Frontiers in Clinical Drug Research – Central Nervous System presents the latest researches on the Central Nervous System (CNS). The contributions by leading researchers in the field shed light on the development and pathophysiology of the brain and spinal cord, physiological sites of drug action in the CNS and clinical findings on drugs used to treat CNS defects due to injury or impaired development. The book also highlights other aspects of CNS medicine such as pain medicine, stem cell research, pharmacology, toxicology and translational models in animals.

In the first chapter, Odagaki has provided an update of the recent development of psychoactive agents that act as agonists or allosteric modulators at several GPCR subtypes. These are potentially useful as therapeutic drugs for mental disorders. In Chapter 2 Gosselin present the promising recent developments in the quest of modulators of glial activity, particularly emphasizing the hurdles embodied by their pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics specificities. Particular attention is given to neuropathic pain owing to the important literature available in the field.

Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) is a common cause of neurological morbidity and mortality, particularly affecting young adults. In Chapter 3 Fehlings et al. discuss the potential of ion-channel blockers, targeted therapeutics and monoclonal antibodies. The experiences of human SCI stem cell trials are critically appraised and a novel therapeutic target of central pattern gait generator stimulation in the process of neuro-rehabilitation is proposed. Lee and Hwang present the molecular and functional characteristics of the peptide neurotoxins targeting voltage-gated ion channels in the nervous system in chapter 4. They also discuss the current status of research and development. In the last chapter Kaur et al. have summarized the currently available and potential new drugs along with their mechanism of action underlying suppression of microglial activation for the treatment of White Matter Damage (WMD) in the developing brain.

I hope that the readers will find these reviews valuable and thought provoking so that they trigger further research in the quest for the development of pharmacological agents used for the treatment of allergies.

I am grateful for the timely efforts made by the editorial personnel, especially Mr. Mahmood Alam (Director Publications) and Miss Maria Baig at Bentham Science Publishers.