Inflammation, Lifestyle and Chronic Diseases


Book Description

Oxidative stress and inflammation are among the most important factors of disease. Chronic infections, obesity, alcohol and tobacco usage, radiation, environmental pollutants, and high-calorie diets have been recognized as major risk factors for a variety of chronic diseases from cancer to metabolic diseases. All these risk factors are linked to chronic diseases through inflammation. While short-term, acute inflammation generated by the immune system serves a therapeutic role, chronic low-level inflammation that may persist "silently" for decades is responsible for chronic diseases. Inflammation, Lifestyle, and Chronic Diseases: The Silent Link describes the role of dysregulated inflammation in persistent and recurring diseases. It investigates links to lifestyle and presents research on how the suppression of proinflammatory pathways may provide opportunities for both prevention and treatment of chronic diseases. The book covers neurodegenerative diseases, pulmonary diseases, asthma, rheumatic and arthritic diseases, skin disease, heart disease, chronic wounds, infectious disease, neuropsychiatric disorders such as depression, gastrointestinal diseases, insulin resistance, and cancer, many of which are also diseases of old age. For each chronic disease, contributors review the clinical and scientific literature and examine current and potential therapies, including conventional pharmacotherapies as well as natural products. Noting that the long-term use of steroids and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) can cause adverse side effects, many of the chapters address the role of dietary agents such as fruits, vegetables, legumes, pulses, nuts, and spices as ideal anti-inflammatory agents that can be consumed regularly. The book also suggests directions for further research. Clinical and science researchers, students, and health professionals interested in the link between inflammation, lifestyle, and chronic diseases will find this an informative resource.




Anti-inflammatory Nutraceuticals and Chronic Diseases


Book Description

This comprehensive volume focuses on anti-inflammatory nutraceuticals and their role in various chronic diseases. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved drugs such as steroids, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS), statins and metformin have been shown to modulate inflammatory pathways, but their long-term intake has been associated with numerous side effects. This means that there is enormous potential for dietary agents that can modulate inflammatory pathways in humans. Leading experts describe the latest research on the role of anti-inflammatory nutraceuticals in preventing and treating chronic diseases.




Principles of Immunopharmacology


Book Description

This textbook provides a unique support in gaining essential knowledge on the immune response, its diagnosis and its modification by drugs and chemicals. The first section of the book, covering a basic introduction to immunology and its relevance for human disease, has been updated to accommodate new immunological concepts. The second section on immunodiagnostics has been further expanded to describe widely used molecular techniques and is followed by a systematic coverage of drugs affecting the immune system, revised to cover recent developments. The book concludes with a chapter on immunotoxicology. This third edition continues the unique format dealing with four related topics in a single volume, obviating the need to refer to several different textbooks. New aids to the reader include a two-column format, glossaries of technical terms and appendix reference tables. The emphasis on illustrations is maintained from the first edition.




Nijkamp and Parnham's Principles of Immunopharmacology


Book Description

Principles of Immunopharmacology provides a unique source of essential knowledge on the immune response, its diagnosis and its modification by drugs and chemicals. The 4th edition of this internationally recognized textbook has been revised to include recent developments, but continues the established format, dealing with four related fields in a single volume, thus obviating the need to refer to several different textbooks. The first section of the book, providing a basic introduction to immunology and its relevance for human disease, has been updated to accommodate new immunological concepts, particularly the role of epigenetics and the latest understanding of cancer immunology. The second section on immunodiagnostics offers a topical description of widely used molecular techniques and a new chapter on imaging techniques. This is followed by a systematic coverage of drugs affecting the immune system, including natural products. This third section contains 15 updated chapters, covering classical immunopharmacological topics such as anti-asthmatic, anti-rheumatic and immunosuppressive drugs, but also deals with antibiotics, plant-derived and dietary agents, with new chapters on monoclonal antibodies, immunotherapy in sepsis and infection, drugs for soft-tissue autoimmunity and cell therapy. The book concludes with a chapter on immunotoxicology and drug safety tests. Aids to the reader include a two-column format, glossaries of technical terms and appendix reference tables. The emphasis on illustrations is maintained from the first three editions. The book is a valuable single reference for undergraduate and graduate medical and biomedical students, postgraduate chemistry and pharmacy students, researchers in chemistry, biochemistry and the pharmaceutical industry and researchers lacking basic immunological knowledge, who want to understand the actions of drugs on the immune system.




Index Medicus


Book Description

Vols. for 1963- include as pt. 2 of the Jan. issue: Medical subject headings.




Immunopharmacology


Book Description

During the past decades, with the introduction of the recombinant DNA, hybridoma and transgenic technologies there has been an exponential evolution in understanding the pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment of a large number of human diseases. The technologies are evident with the development of cytokines and monoclonal antibodies as therapeutic agents and the techniques used in gene therapy. Immunopharmacology is that area of biomedical sciences where immunology, pharmacology and pathology overlap. It concerns the pharmacological approach to the immune response in physiological as well as pathological events. This goals and objectives of this textbook are to emphasize the developments in immunology and pharmacology as they relate to the modulation of immune response. The information includes the pharmacology of cytokines, monoclonal antibodies, mechanism of action of immune-suppressive agents and their relevance in tissue transplantation, therapeutic strategies for the treatment of AIDS and the techniques employed in gene therapy. The book is intended for health care professional students and graduate students in pharmacology and immunology.







Nuts and Seeds in Health and Disease Prevention


Book Description

Nuts and Seeds in Health and Disease Prevention, Second Edition investigates the benefits of nuts and seeds in health and disease prevention using an organizational style that will provide easy-access to information that supports identifying treatment options and the development of symptom-specific functional foods. This book examines seeds and nuts as agents that affect metabolism and other health-related conditions and explores the impact of compositional differences between various seeds and nuts, including differences based on country of origin and processing technique. Finally, the book includes methods for the analysis of seed and nut-related compounds. Written for nutrition researchers, nutritionists, food scientists, government regulators of food, and students of agriculture, oils and feeds, nutrition and life sciences, this book is sure to be a welcomed resource. Identifies options and opportunities for improving health through the consumption of nut and seed products Provides easy access to information that supports the identification of treatment options Contains insights into health benefits that will assist in development of symptom-specific functional foods Examines seeds and nuts as agents that affect metabolism and other health-related conditions Explores the impact of compositional differences between various seeds and nuts, including differences based on country of origin and processing technique Includes methods for analysis of seed and nut-related compound




Immunopharmacology


Book Description

The concept of immunotherapy was in infancy when the first edition was written; since then, major advances have been made, not only with several prominent clinical trials, but also with the approval of cell-based therapy by the FDA for the treatment of cancer in 2010. These events resulted in a gradually narrowing gap between early scientific knowledge and the late development of immune-based therapies. Consequently, the significance and magnitude of these advances warranted a revision of this contribution; this revised edition will provide a deeper understanding of the recent advances and discoveries related to the function of the immune response and their applications in the development of novel therapies to treat human diseases. Some of the key discoveries during the past five years include: the identification of the new subsets of helper T cells; new cytokines and their networks; and novel signal transduction mechanisms. For example, the identification of TH17 subset of helper T cells, in addition to TH1 and TH2 cells, not only advanced our understanding of the function of the basic immune response, but also raised our awareness of the possible etiology and pathogenesis of diseases such as allergy, asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, and other auto-immune/immune system based diseases. The newly identified powerful cytokine networks, that regulate both innate and acquired immune responses, emerged as a result of the finding of new cell types such as innate lymphoid cells and iNKT. Identification of the novel cytokines and their networks has advanced our knowledge of the mechanisms involved in the maintenance of tissue homeostasis, including inflammation and tissue repair during stress and injury. The development of HIV vaccines has also seen dramatic changes over the last few years. There has been a shift from a sole focus on T cell vaccines to a holistic approach that pertains to the induction of both humoral and cellular elements. This entails the induction of antibodies – both binding and neutralizing – to prevent infection. The cellular vaccination produces a safety net of CD8+ T-cell responses to suppress the replication of the virus in the infected patients, and both of the effector arms are aided by helper T cells. From the perspective of clinical applications, significant advances have also been made in: oral immunotherapy for allergic disease, the possible treatment of HIV infection, the development of new monoclonal antibodies and their fragments to treat human diseases, and immune cell based therapies for cancer.