Bøger af Horatio Finley

Anti-cancer agents are the chemicals that are utilized for arresting the growth of cancer cells. These chemicals affect the abnormal growth of cancer cells but they also impact the normal cells such as the cells in the bone marrow, skin, gonads and gastrointestinal tract. Various drugs that are utilized for inhibiting the growth of cancer cells include hydroxyurea, platinum-based drugs and L-asparaginase. Anti-HIV agents on the other hand, are those compounds which decrease the viral load and probability of transmitting HIV to others. Various compounds that are utilized for the treatment of HIV infections include nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NtRTIs), and nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs). The NtRTIs are developed to fight virus resistance as they are phosphorylated and require less cellular processing. A significant role is played by secondary metabolites produced by living organisms in the drug development and discovery, as they have biological and structural diversity. They hold the potential for developing anti-cancer and anti-HIV drugs. This book unfolds the innovative aspects of clinical drug research on anti-cancer and anti-HIV agents which will be crucial for the progress of this field in the future. It will serve as a valuable source of reference for graduate and post graduate students.

Clinical pharmacology comprises all the aspects of interactions between drugs and humans. Cancer and HIV are major public health issues and the development of anti-cancer and anti-HIV drugs is an important area of study within clinical pharmacology. An anticancer drug is a drug that is effective in the treatment of cancerous or malignant disease. Alkylating agents, antimetabolites, natural products, and hormones are the four major classes of anticancer drugs. Antiretroviral drugs are used for the treatment of HIV, which work by preventing the replication of virus in the body. They are used in a combination of two or more drugs, as HIV can become resistant to a single drug. There are several classes of anti-HIV drugs namely, non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs), nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs), protease inhibitors (PIs), fusion inhibitors, CCR5 antagonists, integrase strand transfer inhibitors (INSTIs) and post-attachment inhibitors. This book contains some path-breaking studies in the field of clinical pharmacology with a focus on anti-cancer and anti-HIV drugs. The readers would gain knowledge that would broaden their perspective about these drugs. With state-of-the-art inputs by acclaimed experts of this field, this book targets medical students and professionals.