Progress In Drug Research

Volume 36 of "Progress in Drug Research" contains 5 articles and the various indexes which facilitate its use and establish the connec tion with the previous volumes. While all articles deal with some of the topical aspects of drug research, the contribution by Robert R. Ruffolo et al. on "Drug receptors and control of the cardiovas cular system: Recent advances" is indeed in its own right a mono graphic presentation of this important domain. The remaining four reviews provide an overview of the work in volved in the search for new and better medicines, with a focus on chemical, pharmacological, toxicological, biological, biochemical and molecular modeling studies. In the 31 years this series has existed, the Editor has enjoyed the help and advice of many colleagues. Readers, the authors of the in dividual articles, and, last but not least, the reviewers have all con tributed greatly to the success of PDR. Although many comments received have been favorable, it is nevertheless necessary to analyze and to reconsider the current position and the direction of such a series. So far, it has been the Editor's aim to help spread informa tion on the vast domain of drug research, and to provide the reader with a tool helping him or her to keep abreast of the latest develop ments and trends.

Progress in Drug Research is a prestigious book series which provides extensive expert-written reviews on a wide spectrum of highly topical areas in current pharmaceutical and pharmacological research. It serves as an important source of information for researchers concerned with drug research and all those who need to keep abreast of the many recent developments in the quest for new and better medicines.

Volume 36 of "Progress in Drug Research" contains 5 articles and the various indexes which facilitate its use and establish the connec tion with the previous volumes. While all articles deal with some of the topical aspects of drug research, the contribution by Robert R. Ruffolo et al. on "Drug receptors and control of the cardiovas cular system: Recent advances" is indeed in its own right a mono graphic presentation of this important domain. The remaining four reviews provide an overview of the work in volved in the search for new and better medicines, with a focus on chemical, pharmacological, toxicological, biological, biochemical and molecular modeling studies. In the 31 years this series has existed, the Editor has enjoyed the help and advice of many colleagues. Readers, the authors of the in dividual articles, and, last but not least, the reviewers have all con tributed greatly to the success of PDR. Although many comments received have been favorable, it is nevertheless necessary to analyze and to reconsider the current position and the direction of such a series. So far, it has been the Editor's aim to help spread informa tion on the vast domain of drug research, and to provide the reader with a tool helping him or her to keep abreast of the latest develop ments and trends.

In the first years of the existence of this series of monographs, during the so-called "Golden Age" of drug research, the majority of the pa pers published were mainly concerned with the traditional domains of drug research, namely chemistry, pharmacology, toxicology and pre clinical investigations. The series' aim was to give coverage to impor tant areas of research, to introduce new active substances with thera peutic potential and to call attention to unsolved problems. This objective has not changed. The table of contents of the present volume makes evident, however, that the search for new medicines has become increasingly complex, and additional, new disciplines have entered the research arena. The series now includes reviews on bio chemical, biological, immunological, physiological and medicinal aspects of drug research. Researchers actively engaged in the various scientific fields forming the entity of drug research can benefit from the wealth of knowledge and experience of the respective authors, and will be assisted in their endeavour to discover new pharmaceutical agents. Those simply wanting to keep abreast of new developments in the complex, multi-discipline science can turn to the "Progress in Drug Research" volumes as an almost encyclopaedic source of information without having to consult the innumerable original publications. Volume 33 contains 13 reviews, a subject index, an index for the close to 400 articles published in the series so far, and an author and titles index for all 33 volumes.

Founded in 1959 by its current Editor, the series has moved from its initial focus on medicinal chemistry to a much wider scope. Today it encompasses all fields concerned with the development of new therapeutic drugs and the elucidation of their mechanisms of action, reflecting the increasingly complex nature of modern drug research. Invited authors present their biological, chemical, biochemical, physiological, immunological, pharmaceutical, toxicological, pharmacological and clinical expertise in carefully written reviews and provide the newcomer and the specialist alike with an up-to-date comprehensive list of prime references. Each volume of Progress in Drug Research contains fully cross-referencing indices which link the books together, forming a virtually encyclopaedic work. The series thus serves as an important, time-saving source of information for researchers concerned with drug research and all those who need to keep abreast of the many recent developments in the quest for new and better medicines.