This volume is the completion of work initially planned several years ago as a compilation of selected aspects of the biological effects of fluorides. The first portion appeared in Volume XXII (1966) of this Handbuch, under the title "Pharmacology of Fluorides, Part 1. " Inasmuch as the present volume is an integral part of the original project, justification for offering it to the scientific community remains the same as that originally set forth. This may be recapitulated as follows. The tremendous increase in the annual production of fluorides over the amounts produced thirty years ago,...

The pharmacology of neurotrophic factors is part of the general field called neuroprotection or neurodegeneration, which has emerged during the past two decades. This new broad research area has identified molecular mechanisms that regulate the morphological plasticity of the nervous system and, in con- sequence, discovered novel pharmacological approaches to manipulate these processes in disease states. The new, structural neuropharmacology as de- scribed in this volume attempts to regulate the anatomic aspects of the nervous system and is perhaps comparable to hardware manipulation in...

For many years, Springer has been publishing an impressive series of textbooks of pharmacology which have set standards in medical science. Surprisingly, an extensive overview of the current state of the art in research on estrogens and anti estrogens was still lacking. The present two volumes on estrogens and antiestrogens provide a comprehensive review of a field of research in which remarkable progress has been made over the past few years. New insights into the mechanisms of steroid hormone action resulted in a tremendous number of publications from which new principles of preventive and...

The chapters of this book report cutting-edge research on molecular events in adiposity and type 2 diabetes, thus opening the way for innovative drug-based therapeutic strategies. It addresses all those who wish to keep in touch with recent developments in the field.

Springer Book Archives

Arthropod venoms have received much attention and have played an important role in folklore and medicine since ancient times. Scorpion envenomation, "tarant- ism," bee and wasp stings are among those subjects about which most has been speculated and written in the past. In the last 50 years or so, a great number of scientific papers have been devoted to arthropod venoms, but only a few volumes have been designed to collect this rapidly increasing material, and these are not recent. Of late, the chemistry and mode of action of several arthropod venoms have been thoroughly studied, and some of...

Physiological, pharmacological and molecular biological data generated over the past three decades have demonstrated the existence of two major families of extracellular receptors, the P1, a family of four G-protein coupled receptors and the P2, a family of at least 12 receptors responsive to purine (ATP, ADP) and pyrimidine (UTP) nucleotides through which adenosine and ATP can function as extracellular messengers. The present two-part volume represents an integrated compendium of invited chapters by leading researchers in the area focusing on advances in the understanding of purinergic and...

Obesity is a serious medical problem that affects millions of people, especially in Western societies. Although long considered a complicating factor in a variety of diseases, there is now widespread agreement that obesity itself should be classified and treated as a disease and that it has important conse- quences for personal health, quality of life and cost to society. Understanding obesity and the means of treating it have been hampered in the past. There have been misperceptions that obesity is a behavioral disorder and that its treatments provides only cosmetic benefits. Pharmacologic...

An up-to-date overview of blood coagulation, hemostatis, and thrombosis, this volume also provides a state-of-the-art report of current anti-thrombotic and anti-coagulant strategies as well as a summary of current research interest in the area and potential future targets. It attempts to balance traditional pharmacology with the newer sciences of molecular biology and in so doing, sets a framework for future advances in the field. The book is a concise, current and useful reference for the basic researcher as well as the practicing physician working in the fields of cardiology, internal...

Platelets playa fundamental, life-saving role in hemostasis and blood clotting at sites of vascular injury. Unwanted platelet activation and arterial thombus formation are, however, implicated in the onset of myocardial infarction, stroke, and other cardiovascular diseases. Acceptance that platelets play a major role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis including coronary heart disease has revolutionized the pharmacological treatment of cardiovascular diseases, and aspirin is now an essential antiplatelet drug and the golden standard for future developments. Yet the search for better and...