Prodrugs and soft drugs.
Journal Title: Pharmacological Reports - Year 2006, Vol 58, Issue 5
Abstract
This review focuses on a new approach to the development of drugs, namely on prodrugs and soft drugs. Nowadays, we try to design drugs that heal sick people having the best acceptance of patients. They must be efficient and selective on their site of action and must be metabolized to non-toxic derivatives. Both, prodrugs and soft drugs should have good distributive properties to enhance their quality. They are designed to maximize the amount of an active drug that reaches its target, through changing the physicochemical, biopharmaceutical or pharmacokinetic properties of drugs. Prodrugs are changed into the active drug within the body through enzymatic or non-enzymatic reactions. Soft drugs are novel and active analogues of already known therapeutic agents. It is expected that continued studies will improve drug properties so as to achieve the best drug delivery system.
Authors and Affiliations
Andrzej Stańczak, Anna Ferra
Glial degeneration as a model of depression.
Major depression (MD) is a common and disabling disorder but knowledge of its pathophysiology is still incomplete. In the last years, degenerations or dysfunctions of glial cells, especially astrocytes, have been postula...
Fever development in neuroleptic malignant syndrome during treatment with olanzapine and clozapine.
Neuroleptic malignant syndrome (NMS) is the most dangerous life-threatening complication of antipsychotic medication. It's development is connected with the blockade of dopaminergic transmission (D2 receptors) in the nig...
Mechanism of action of clozapine in the context of dopamine D(1)-D(2) receptor hetero-dimerization - a working hypothesis.
The tight correlation between the clinical potency and the D(2)R blocking action of antipsychotic medications suggests that dopamine hyperactivity plays a significant role in psychosis. Clozapine, one of the most effecti...
BDNF and VEGF in the pathogenesis of stress-induced affective diseases: An insight from experimental studies.
Stress is known to play an important role in etiology, development and progression of affective diseases. Especially, chronic stress, by initiating changes in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA), neurotransmiss...
Important role of 3-methoxytyramine in the inhibition of cocaine sensitization by 1-methyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinoline: an in vivo microdialysis study.
1-Methyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinoline (1MeTIQ) is an endogenous compound with neuroprotective and antidopaminergic activities. Our previous research has shown that 1MeTIQ prevents morphine addiction and abates the expr...