Advances of pathogenesis and drug development in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis / 中国药理学通报

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease affecting both upper and lower motor neurons. ALS patients develop progressive muscle atrophy, muscle weak and paralysis, finally died of respiratory failure. ALS is characterized by fast aggression and high mortality. What' s more, the disease is highly heterogeneous with unclear pathogenesis and lacks effective drugs for therapy. In this review, we summarize the main pathological mechanisms and the current drugs under development for ALS, which may provide a reference for the drug discovery in the future.

Evaluation of non-clinical anxiety disorder models / 药学学报

Anxiety disorders are one of the most common mental disorders in adults, the cause of which derives from a combination of genetics and environmental factors. A series of animal models have been established according to their pathogenesis to measure the level of anxiety or induce anxiety only, and these models have been widely applied in the non-clinical evaluation of anxiolytics. In this review, we present the current trends in the study of anxiety disorders and summarize typical non-clinical anxiety animal models, including models that both measure anxiety levels and induce anxiety, and models that induce anxiety only. This review summarizes the important issues in standardized non-clinical research of anxiety disorders and proposes criteria for the selection of an appropriate R&D model.

Exploration of nonclinical pharmacodynamics evaluation system of Alzheimer's disease / 药学学报

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common neurodegenerative disease that causes dementia among elderly people. The pathogenesis of AD is still unclear, and currently approved drugs only provide symptomatic benefits and do not prevent or delay progressive neurodegeneration. Meanwhile, potential drugs in development are facing great challenges in clinical translation. Therefore, finding effective treatment for the unmet clinical needs of AD is of great economic value and social significance. In this review, we will summarize the current models and pharmacodynamics evaluation methods of anti-AD drug based on the recent studies at home and abroad, and provide reference for drug development in AD at nonclinical stage.

Recent advances in pharmacological intervention for prediabetes / 药学学报

Prediabetes is an abnormal condition between normal glucose metabolism and diabetes mellitus. Impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) is an indicator of high-risk state of prediabetes. Positive interventions of IGT, including life style changes and pharmacological intervention, can effectively postpone and reduce the development of prediabetes into type 2 diabetes mellitus, suggesting that IGT is a key point of diabetes prevention. Currently, pharmacological intervention for prediabetes is still at early stage. In this review, we summarizes recent clinical and preclinical studies on pharmacological intervention for prediabetes, and studies in the development of animal models with IGT and the application of new techniques. We also discuss the prospects of drugs for diabetes prevention, especially with the traditional Chinese medicine.