Brain Drug Targeting: The Future of Brain Drug Development

by William M. Pardridge

Overview

In this innovative and challenging book, William Pardridge, a world leader in the study of the blood-brain barrier and its clinical implications, argues that brain drug development has been restricted by the failure of adequate brain drug targeting. This is an increasingly urgent problem as developments in genomics lead to new generations of therapeutic macromolecules. The author reviews the field of neurotherapeutics from the point of view of drug targeting. He surveys the scientific and clinical basis of drug delivery across biological membranes, including topics such as genetically engineered trojan horses for drug targeting, antisense neurotherapeutics, and gene therapy of brain disorders. At a time when there are few significant new drug treatments in prospect for common neurological diseases, this authoritative review will encourage a wide range of clinicians and neuroscientists to reexamine the development and use of drugs in treating disorders of the central nervous system.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521800778
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	05/31/2001
Pages:	372
Product dimensions:	7.17(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.94(d)

About the Author

Pardridge, William M., MD

Table of Contents

Preface; 1. Drug targeting, drug discovery, and brain drug development; 2. Invasive drug delivery; 3. Lipid-mediated transport and carrier-mediated transport of small molecules; 4. Receptor-mediated transcytosis of peptides; 5. Vector discovery: genetically-engineered trojan horses for drug targeting; 6. Linker strategies: the engineering of multi-functional drug formulations; 7. Protein neuropathies and peptide radiopharmaceuticals; 8. Antisense neurotherapeutics and imaging gene expression in vivo; 9. Gene therapy of the brain; 10. Blood-brain barrier genomics; Epilogue; Bibliography.

Editorial Reviews

"Just as the author does an excellent job arguing for the need for more work in this area, he also goes in depth describing all the inherent pitfalls as well as possible solution necessary to develop large-molecule pharmaceuticals for brain disease." The Annals of Pharmacotherapy April 2002

"...a book that will become a standard on drug targeting to the brain...a must for everybody who works in the field of brain drug delivery in academia as well as in the pharmaceutical industry." Journal of Clinical Pathology

"This is an excellent book, to be expected from a major researcher in the field. The lucid text is illuminated by an eclectic mix of diagrams and plates that will have a broad appeal to a wide audience within the biomedical, pharmaceutical and imaging sciences." British Journal of Neurosurgery

From the Publisher

Reviewer: Tejal Patel, PharmD (University of Illinois at Chicago College of Pharmacy)
Description: This book provides a convincing overview of the need for the delivery of macromolecule pharmaceuticals across the blood-brain barrier for the treatment of numerous neurological disorders. It addresses the difficulty of accomplishing such a task and reviews the delivery of macromolecules through such routes as carrier-mediated transport, receptor-mediated transcytosis, vector-linker strategies, antisense neurotherapeutics, and gene therapy.
Purpose: The primary intent is to review and investigate the options for brain drug targeting to enable and enhance delivery of large molecule pharmaceuticals to the brain. Although neurological disorders affect greater than 80 million people, less than 2 percent of the new drugs cross the blood-brain barrier. Once techniques to cross the blood-brain barrier are developed, numerous opportunities for the treatment and diagnosis of brain disorders will be enabled.
Audience: This book is written by the leading authority on this topic for the neuroscientist with an interest in entering the complex field of blood brain-barrier and neurotherapeutic drug development. This book may also be useful to clinical scientists seeking to advance their knowledge of the difficulties in brain drug delivery through the blood-brain barrier.
Features: Ideas portrayed in the book are further emphasized through numerous diagrams, tables, and figures. Each chapter is dedicated to a particular mode of brain drug targeting with subdivisions that review specific details.
Assessment: This book provides an extensive review of brain drug targeting of large molecules and will be a valuable reference to those interested in completing research in this field. However, the complexity of the material reviewed requires pre-existing knowledge in the area of neurological disorders and neurotherapeutics. This does not dimish the readibility of the book, which is further enhanced with the inclusion of numerous diagrams and figures.

Doody's Review Service

3 Stars from Doody