http://www.brjpharmacol.org Current issue RSS Feed http://www.brjpharmacol.org/details/journalArticle/747065/Sir_James_Black_FRS_Nobel_Laureate_Pharmacologist.html 2010-06-24T00:00:00Z http://www.brjpharmacol.org/details/journalArticle/702433/EDITORIAL.html 2010-05-19T00:00:00Z http://www.brjpharmacol.org/details/journalArticle/684669/GSK3x03B2_role_in_therapeutic_landscape_and_development_of_modulators.html Glycogen synthase kinase-3 beta (GSK3β) is a multifunctional serine/threonine kinase which was originally identified as a regulator of glycogen metabolism. It plays a key role in the regulation of numerous signalling pathways including cellular process such as cell cycle, inflammation and cell proliferation. Over the last few years there is a considerable rise in the number of journals and patents publication by different workers worldwide. Many pharmaceutical companies are focusing on GSK3β... 2010-03-19T00:00:00Z http://www.brjpharmacol.org/details/journalArticle/587857/EDITORIAL.html G protein-coupled receptors are the largest group of membrane proteins and are the targets for approximately 30% of drugs currently used therapeutically. These 7-transmembrane-spanning proteins continue to provide new opportunities to develop therapeutics based on emerging knowledge of their structure, signalling properties and interactions with other proteins. This themed issue of the British Journal of Pharmacology contains a series of papers that cover these issues and identify approaches... 2010-03-10T00:00:00Z http://www.brjpharmacol.org/details/journalArticle/678387/Pharmacology_of_transient_receptor_potential_melastatin_channels_in_the_vasculat.html Mammalian transient receptor potential melastatin (TRPM) non-selective cation channels, the largest TRP subfamily, are widely expressed in excitable and non-excitable cells where they perform diverse functions ranging from detection of cold, taste, osmolarity, redox state and pH to control of Mg2+ homeostasis and cell proliferation or death. Recently, TRPM gene expression has been identified in vascular smooth muscles with dominance of the TRPM8 channel. There has been in parallel considerable... 2010-03-05T00:00:00Z http://www.brjpharmacol.org/details/journalArticle/688129/Challenges_for_and_current_status_of_research_into_positive_modulators_of_AMPA_r.html AMPA receptors consist of a family of hetero-oligomeric (tetrameric) receptors arising from four genes, each of which encodes a distinct receptor subunit (GluA1-4). Recombinant homo-tetrameric AMPA receptors, comprising four identical subunits, are functionally active and have been used in in vitro assays. However, the many different subunit permutations make possible the functional and anatomical diversity of AMPA receptors throughout the CNS. Furthermore, AMPA receptor subunit stoichiometry... 2010-03-04T00:00:00Z http://www.brjpharmacol.org/details/journalArticle/741689/The_role_of_monoamines_in_the_changes_in_body_temperature_induced_by_34methylene.html Hyperthermia is probably the most widely known acute adverse event that can follow ingestion of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, ecstasy) by recreational users. The effect of MDMA on body temperature is complex because the drug has actions on all three major monoamine neurotransmitters [5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), dopamine and noradrenaline], both by amine release and by direct receptor activation. Hyperthermia and hypothermia can be induced in laboratory animals by MDMA, depending on... 2010-03-03T00:00:00Z http://www.brjpharmacol.org/details/journalArticle/574005/EDITORIAL.html This themed section on Imaging in Pharmacology comprising reviews and original articles arose from two symposia held at the Summer Meeting of the British Pharmacological Society in Edinburgh 8–10 July 2009 on Developments in Receptor Imaging and Imaging and Targeting Inflammation in Stroke and Atherosclerosis. The reports cover a broad spectrum of pharmacological studies, from whole animal imaging to gene expression and emphasize the importance of imaging techniques in pharmacology. The... 2010-02-23T00:00:00Z http://www.brjpharmacol.org/details/journalArticle/702429/Nonsynaptic_receptors_and_transporters_involved_in_brain_functions_and_targets_o.html Beyond direct synaptic communication, neurons are able to talk to each other without making synapses. They are able to send chemical messages by means of diffusion to target cells via the extracellular space, provided that the target neurons are equipped with high-affinity receptors. While synaptic transmission is responsible for the 'what' of brain function, the 'how' of brain function (mood, attention, level of arousal, general excitability, etc.) is mainly controlled non-synaptically using... 2010-02-05T00:00:00Z http://www.brjpharmacol.org/details/journalArticle/588543/Open_questions_in_current_models_of_antidepressant_action.html Research on depression and antidepressant drugs is necessary, as many patients display poor response to therapy. Different symptomatic and pathophysiological features have been proposed as end points of the depressive phenotype and of the antidepressant action, including anhedonia, depressed mood, alterations in morphology and activity of some brain areas (amygdala, nucleus accumbens, hippocampus, prefrontal cortex and cingulate cortex), modifications in the connectivity between brain... 2010-02-02T00:00:00Z http://www.brjpharmacol.org/details/journalArticle/590465/Principles_of_pharmacoeconomics_and_their_impact_on_strategic_imperatives_of_pha.html The importance of evidence-based health policy is widely acknowledged among health care professionals, patients and politicians. Health care resources available for medical procedures, including pharmaceuticals, are limited all over the world. Economic evaluations help to alleviate the burden of scarce resources by improving the allocative efficiency of health care financing. Reimbursement of new medicines is subject to their cost-effectiveness and affordability in more and more countries.... 2010-02-02T00:00:00Z http://www.brjpharmacol.org/details/journalArticle/559297/Glucagonlike_peptide_1_receptor_stimulation_as_a_means_of_neuroprotection.html Glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) is a relatively recently discovered molecule originating in the so-called L-cells of the intestine. The peptide has insulinotrophic properties and it is this characteristic that has predominantly been investigated. This has led to the use of the GLP-1-like peptide exendin-4 (EX-4), which has a much longer plasma half-life than GLP-1 itself, being used in the treatment of type II diabetes. The mode of action of this effect appears to be a reduction in pancreatic... 2010-01-29T00:00:00Z http://www.brjpharmacol.org/details/journalArticle/554599/2010_Relaunch_of_BJP.html BJP has a new look and is re-launching in this first issue of 2010. We have been listening to what authors and readers want from a pharmacology journal and hope that you will choose to submit your best papers here. Similarly, readers will find the best science on how drugs work in every system and at every level. However, the substantial aspects that should attract you are as follows: Impact Factor for 2008 is a highly competitive 4.902 Wider scope – we cover all aspects of pharmacology,... 2010-01-19T00:00:00Z http://www.brjpharmacol.org/details/journalArticle/489697/Positive_allosteric_modulation_of_x03B17_neuronal_nicotinic_acetylcholine_recept.html Background and purpose: α7-Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (α7 nAChRs) play an important role in cognitive function. Positive allosteric modulators (PAMs) amplify effects of α7 nAChR agonist and could provide an approach for treatment of cognitive deficits in neuropsychiatric diseases. PAMs can either predominantly affect the apparent peak current response (type I) or increase both the apparent peak current response and duration of channel opening, due to prolonged desensitization (type II).... 2009-11-27T00:00:00Z http://www.brjpharmacol.org/details/journalArticle/555657/Procalcitonin_in_sepsis_and_systemic_inflammation_a_harmful_biomarker_and_a_ther.html The worldwide yearly mortality from sepsis is substantial, greater than that of cancer of the lung and breast combined. Moreover, its incidence is increasing, and its response to therapy has not appreciably improved. In this condition, the secretion of procalcitonin (ProCT), the prohormone of calcitonin, is augmented greatly, attaining levels up to thousands of fold of normal. This hypersecretion emanates from multiple tissues throughout the body that are not traditionally viewed as being... 2009-11-27T00:00:00Z