Network Pharmacology


Book Description

This book introduces “network pharmacology” as an emerging frontier subject of systematic drug research in the era of artificial intelligence and big data. Network Pharmacology is an original subject of fusion system biology, bioinformatics, network science and other related disciplines. It emphasizes on starting from the overall perspective of the system level and biological networks, the analysis of the laws of molecular association between drugs and their treatment objects, reveals the systematic pharmacological mechanisms of drugs, and guides the research and development of new drugs and clinical diagnosis and treatment. After it was proposed, network pharmacology has been paid attention by researchers, and it has been rapidly developed and widely used. In order to systematically reveal the biological basis of diagnosis and treatment in traditional Chinese medicine and modern medicine, we proposed a new concept of "network target" for the first time, which has become the core theory of "network pharmacology". The core principle of a network target is to construct a biological network that can be used to decipher complex diseases. The network is then used as the therapeutic target, to which multicomponent remedies are applied. This book mainly includes four parts: 1) The concept and theory of network pharmacology; 2) Common analysis methods, databases and software in network pharmacological research; 3) Typical cases of traditional Chinese medicine modernization and modern drug research based on network pharmacology; 4) Network pharmacology practice process based on drugs and diseases.




Drug Discovery and Evaluation: Methods in Clinical Pharmacology


Book Description

Drug Discovery and Evaluation has become a more and more difficult, expensive and time-consuming process. The effect of a new compound has to be detected by in vitro and in vivo methods of pharmacology. The activity spectrum and the potency compared to existing drugs have to be determined. As these processes can be divided up stepwise we have designed a book series "Drug Discovery and Evaluation" in the form of a recommendation document. The methods to detect drug targets are described in the first volume of this series "Pharmacological Assays" comprising classical methods as well as new technologies. Before going to man, the most suitable compound has to be selected by pharmacokinetic studies and experiments in toxicology. These preclinical methods are described in the second volume „Safety and Pharmacokinetic Assays". Only then are first studies in human beings allowed. Special rules are established for Phase I studies. Clinical pharmacokinetics are performed in parallel with human studies on tolerability and therapeutic effects. Special studies according to various populations and different therapeutic indications are necessary. These items are covered in the third volume: „Methods in Clinical Pharmacology".




What Is Medicine?


Book Description

What Is Medicine? Western and Eastern Approaches to Healing is the first comparative history of two millennia of Western and Chinese medicine from their beginnings in the centuries BCE through present advances in sciences like molecular biology and in Western adaptations of traditional Chinese medicine. In his revolutionary interpretation of the basic forces that undergird shifts in medical theory, Paul U. Unschuld relates the history of medicine in both Europe and China to changes in politics, economics, and other contextual factors. Drawing on his own extended research of Chinese primary sources as well as his and others' scholarship in European medical history, Unschuld argues against any claims of "truth" in former and current, Eastern and Western models of physiology and pathology. What Is Medicine? makes an eloquent and timely contribution to discussions on health care policies while illuminating the nature of cognitive dynamics in medicine, and it stimulates fresh debate on the essence and interpretation of reality in medicine's attempts to manage the human organism.




Systems Biology and Its Application in TCM Formulas Research


Book Description

Systems Biology and Its Application in TCM Formulas Research presents a theoretical research system formed for Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) formulas, along with information on the study of Shexiang Baoxin Pill (SBP), a TCM formula that has shown significant clinical efficacy in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. The content combines theory and practice, and includes guidance for both theoretical concepts and operable technical routes. This is a valuable source not only for biomedical researchers involved in Systems Biology studies, but also for students and scientists interested in learning more about Traditional Chinese Medicine and its applications in contemporary medicine. - Explains, in detail, the Shexiang Baoxin Pill (SBP), a TCM formula efficiently applied in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases - Presents TCM formulas from perspectives of systems biology, basic chemical material groups, modern pharmacology and network biology - Offers an overview on biology, modern chemistry and information technology as applied in Systems Biology research




Approaching Complex Diseases


Book Description

This volume – for pharmacologists, systems biologists, philosophers and historians of medicine – points to investigate new avenues in pharmacology research, by providing a full assessment of the premises underlying a radical shift in the pharmacology paradigm. The pharmaceutical industry is currently facing unparalleled challenges in developing innovative drugs. While drug-developing scientists in the 1990s mostly welcomed the transformation into a target-based approach, two decades of experience shows that this model is failing to boost both drug discovery and efficiency. Selected targets were often not druggable and with poor disease linkage, leading to either high toxicity or poor efficacy. Therefore, a profound rethinking of the current paradigm is needed. Advances in systems biology are revealing a phenotypic robustness and a network structure that strongly suggest that exquisitely selective compounds, compared with multitarget drugs, may exhibit lower than desired clinical efficacy. This appreciation of the role of polypharmacology has significant implications for tackling the two major sources of attrition in drug development, efficacy and toxicity. Integrating network biology and polypharmacology holds the promise of expanding the current opportunity space for druggable targets.





Book Description




Ethnopharmacology


Book Description

Ethnopharmacology is one of the world’s fastest-growing scientific disciplines encompassing a diverse range of subjects. It links natural sciences research on medicinal, aromatic and toxic plants with socio-cultural studies and has often been associated with the development of new drugs. The Editors of Ethnopharmacology have assembled an international team of renowned contributors to provide a critical synthesis of the substantial body of new knowledge and evidence on the subject that has emerged over the past decade. Divided into three parts, the book begins with an overview of the subject including a brief history, ethnopharmacological methods, the role of intellectual property protection, key analytical approaches, the role of ethnopharmacology in primary/secondary education and links to biodiversity and ecological research. Part two looks at ethnopharmacological contributions to modern therapeutics across a range of conditions including CNS disorders, cancer, bone and joint health and parasitic diseases. The final part is devoted to regional perspectives covering all continents, providing a state-of-the –art assessment of the status of ethnopharmacological research globally. A comprehensive, critical synthesis of the latest developments in ethnopharmacology. Includes a section devoted to ethnopharmacological contributions to modern therapeutics across a range of conditions. Contributions are from leading international experts in the field. This timely book will prove invaluable for researchers and students across a range of subjects including ethnopharmacology, ethnobotany, medicinal plant research and natural products research. Ethnopharmacology- A Reader is part of the ULLA Series in Pharmaceutical Sciences www.ullapharmsci.org




Traditional Herbal Medicine Research Methods


Book Description

This book introduces the methodology for collection and identification of herbal materials, extraction and isolation of compounds from herbs, in vitro bioassay, in vivo animal test, toxicology, and clinical trials of herbal research. To fully understand and make the best use of herbal medicines requires the close combination of chemistry, biochemistry, biology, pharmacology, and clinical science. Although there are many books about traditional medicines research, they mostly focus on either chemical or pharmacological study results of certain plants. This book, however, covers the systematic study and analysis of herbal medicines in general – including chemical isolation and identification, bioassay and mechanism study, pharmacological experiment, and quality control of the raw plant material and end products.




Innovative Approaches in Drug Discovery


Book Description

Despite considerable technological advances, the pharmaceutical industry is experiencing a severe innovation deficit, especially in the discovery of new drugs. Innovative Approaches in Drug Discovery: Ethnopharmacology, Systems Biology and Holistic Targeting provides a critical review and analysis of health, disease and medicine, and explores possible reasons behind the present crisis in drug discovery. The authors illustrate the benefits of systems biology and pharmacogenomics approaches, and advocate the expansion from disease-centric discovery to person-centric therapeutics involving holistic, multi-target, whole systems approaches. This book lays a path for reigniting pharmaceutical innovation through a disciplined reemergence of pharmacognosy, embracing open innovation models and collaborative, trusted public-private partnerships. With unprecedented advances made in the development of biomedically-relevant tools and technologies, the need is great and the time is now for a renewed commitment towards expanding the repertoire of medicines. By incorporating real-life examples and state-of-the-art reviews, this book provides valuable insights into the discovery and development strategies for professionals, academicians, and students in the pharmaceutical sciences. - Analyzes the reasons behind historical drug failures to provide valuable insights on lessons learned - Uses current scientific research to promote learning from traditional knowledge systems and through the integration of traditional and western medicines - Discusses advances in technologies and systems biology to support the transition from formulation discovery to therapeutic discovery




Dietary Chinese Herbs


Book Description

This work presents up-to-date information on chemical, pharmacological, clinical studies and historical uses of common dietary Chinese herbs. Authored by native experts in the field, the reader is introduced to each herb with a brief chronological review of Chinese literature on dietary herb uses, with chapters dedicated to each selected herb including color photos for each herb. In addition, Chinese characters as well as the Latin botanical name indices, and chemical structures for the known active compounds are also provided. The clear layout examines the health benefits that have been studied for centuries, including current clinical and toxicological data. A wide range of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) herbs are investigated for their suitability into daily diets for maintaining general wellness or disease prevention. In the past decades, natural health products, dietary supplements, functional foods, or nutraceuticals have emerged in the West due to the increasing demand for non-pharmaceutical healthcare products. Traditional Chinese Medicine disease prevention and treatment incorporates the use of foods, and herbal medicine in an integrated manner, and thus the dietary Chinese herbs in used in TCM for thousands of years could be sources for developing new, effective, and safe ingredients to capture the rapidly expanding opportunity in the global market place.