drug targets

Psoriasis, one of humanity's oldest known diseases, has also been one of its most misunderstood. But in a new study that could change researchers' perspective of the skin disorder and potentially lead to powerful new drug targets, scientists have found that the source of psoriasis may be a single population of inflammatory cells that act as instigators by priming the body's immune system for self-attack.

(University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences) Pittsburgh researchers report that alterations in a molecular brain pathway activated by marijuana, called cannabinoid 1 receptor, may contribute to the cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia, suggesting possible new drug targets that could help to improve functioning and memory in people with the mental illness.

Expression of CB1R, the site of action of the main chemical ingredient of marijuana, is significantly reduced in the brains of individuals with schizophrenia.

In recent months a spate of mutations have been found in a disease protein called TDP-43 that is implicated in two neurodegenerative disorders: amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also called Lou Gehrig's disease, and certain types of frontotemporal dementia.

These mutations could potentially become candidates for drug targets. Recently, scientists have found two more mutations.

A new mathematical model gives scientists a smarter way to learn which cellular processes are key in many diseases and thus find the most effective drug targets.

Scientists say the model, now freely available to researchers, should speed the search for effective treatments for cancer, inflammation and other conditions that affect millions of people.

A new mathematical model gives scientists a smarter way to learn which cellular processes are key in many diseases and thus find the most effective drug targets.

University of Michigan scientists say the model, now freely available to researchers, should speed the search for effective treatments for cancer, inflammation and other conditions that affect millions of people.

Research funded by the Wellcome Trust has provided a number of promising new drug targets for Huntington's disease, a neurodegenerative disease.

Scientists at the University of Cambridge have identified a number of candidate drugs to investigate further which encourage cells to "eat" the malformed proteins that lead to the disease.

Better understanding of Parkinson's disease onset during aging is important for improving diagnostics and developing strategies for therapeutic intervention.

Scientists have now identified genes and processes that may underlie what makes some people more susceptible to this disease.

For the first time, a Brown University research team has linked pain receptors found throughout the nervous system to learning and memory in the brain.

The findings, published in Neuron, point up new drug targets for memory loss or epileptic seizures.

The identification of two cellular receptors that likely contribute to the genesis of hormone-dependent breast cancer points the way to new, highly targeted therapies against the disease.

The finding also helps explain how daily use of medicines such as aspirin might help keep these breast tumors at bay.

A new compound that blocks an early step in cell death could lead to a novel class of drugs for treating heart attacks and stroke.

The researchers screened 23,000 compounds to find those that blocked mitochondrial division in yeast cells.

From three "hits" they picked the one that was most effective.