Classes of Therapeutic Agents

Another class of therapeutic agents is used for the treatment of certain genetic diseases or other enzymatic disorders caused by the dysfunction or absence of one particular enzyme. This often leads to an unwanted accumulation or imbalance of metaboUtes in the organism. Eor example, some anticonvulsive agents are inhibitors for y-aminobutyric acid aminotransferase [9037-67-6]. An imbalance of two neurotransmitters, glutamate and y-aminobutyric acid, is responsible for the symptoms. Inhibition of the enzyme leads to an increase of its substrate y-aminobutyric acid, decreasing the imbalance and subsequently relieving the symptoms of the disease. 

Pseudopterosin A is a member of a group of marine natural products which show potent antiinflammatory properties, but which are not prostaglandin biosynthesis inhibitors. Structurally similar to phosphatidyl inositol, they may function as phospholipase inhibitors, and, as such, may be the forerunners of a new class of therapeutic agents. 

Katp channels are the targets for two classes of therapeutic agents, hypoglycaemic drugs like glibencla-mide or nateglinide and potassium channel openers like... 

Cytokines and biological response modifiers represent a broad class of therapeutic agents that modify the hosts response to cancer or cancer therapies. The enormous body information about their clinical uses and their side effects is beyond the scope of this essay that can only give illustrative examples. For an up-to-date information the reader can resort to reference [5]. As many as 33 different interleukins are known and the list continues to grow IL-2 used in the treatment of kidney cancer is one example. Interferon alpha is used for chronic myelogenous leukeia, hairy cell leukaemia and Kaposi s sarcoma. Interferons are also used in the treatment of chronic infections such as viral hepatitis. Tumor necrosis factor (alpha), G/GM/M-CSF, and several other cellular factors are used in treatment of various cancers. Many of these cytokines produce serious side effects that limit their use. 

Titus GAL3 antagonists may represent an alternate class of therapeutic agents for the treatment of depression, anxiety, and stress-related disorders. 

Not all transporters, however, show the same preferential directions. Lee and coworkers also have discovered a pump glycoprotein in the conjunctiva with preferential flux directed toward the mucosal side of the tissue. This transporter has been shown to restrict conjunctival absorption of therapeutic agents such as cyclosporin A, verapamil, and dexamethasone. In some circumstances, transient inhibition of such xe-nobiotic transporters might be an effective means of increasing the efficacy of particular classes of therapeutic agents. 

Veedu RN, Wengel J (2009) Locked nucleic acid as a novel class of therapeutic agents. RNA Biol 6 321-323... 

Fully unsaturated imidazole rings feature prominently in several classes of therapeutic agents. The specific substitution pattern associated with each class of drugs suggests that these moieties play an important pharmacophoric role. 

As both human and veterinary medicine expand their armamentarium into more powerful classes of therapeutic agents, the range of drugs with a potential of use in food-producing animals is continuously widening. The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has estimated that as many as 400 substances, not all of which are veterinary drugs, have the potential for use in food animal production (2). 

Another class of therapeutic agents is used for the treatment of certain genetic diseases nr other enzymatic disorders caused hy the dysfunction or absence of one particular enzyme. This often leads in an unwanted accumulation or imbalance of metabolites in the organism. 

There is no doubt that antibiotics are among the most important class of therapeutic agents and have had enormous impact on both life expectancy and quality of life. With the discovery of the natural penicillins as secondary metabolites of the fungus PenicilUum, the course of medical history was dramatically altered and the antibiotic era began. 

Mody, T.D. et al. (2001) Texaphyrins synthesis and development of a novel class of therapeutic agents, Prog. Inorg. Chem. 49, 551-598. 

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