During the past several years tremendous advancements have been made in the field of pharmacology and therapeutics. While new therapeutic strategies are coming up, old ones are being improved by modifications, or being replaced with newer ones. The major topics covered in this book include: endothelins, current topics in cardiovascular research, molecular pharmacology, recent developments in cancer research, antioxidants, oxidants and human disease, herbal drugs, developments in neuropharmacology, myelin biology and demyelinating disease, pharmacovigilance, role of cytokines in health and disease, ocular pharmacology, detoxification of xenobiotics-biotransformation and transport, and several other topics of current interest.
The aim of this book is to fulfill the needs of the basic and clinical researchers as well as the students, particularly related to areas of current interest in pharmacology and therapeutics.

Preface. 1. Endothelial Dysfunction and Vascular Disease; P.M. Vanhoutte. 2. Endothelin Receptors: Targets for drug development; A. Ray, et al. 3. Role of Endothelins in Cardiovascular Disease; L.C. Katwa. 4. The Diabetic Vasculature and Endothelin; D.A. Misurski, et al. 5. Beneficial Effects of Renin-Angiotensin System Blockade in Myocardial Infarction; N.S. Dhalla, X. Guo. 6. Role of Angiotensinogen in Human Hypertension; A. Kumar. 7. Biological Function of Cardiac High Molecular Weight Calmodulin-binding Protein; R. Kakkar, et al. 8. A Synthetic Calmodulin-binding Peptide Unmasks Crucial Calmodulin Control of the Calcium-Pumping ATPase in Cardiac Sarcoplasmic Reticulum; N. Narayanan, A. Xu. 9. Pharmacology of Vascular Adenosine Receptors; M.A.H. Talukder, et al. 10. Aquaretic Vasopressin Antagonists to Treat Chronic Hyponatremia; C.N. Corder, et al. 11. Regional Differences in the Regulation of L-type Calcium Current in Heart Cells; R. Kumar, et al. 12. Domoic Acid as a Tool in Molecular Pharmacology; S.K. Sharma, N.S. Dhalla. 13. Molecular Basis of Adapted Heart; D.K. Das, N. Maulik. 14. Gene Therapy and Renin-Angiotensin System; A.S. Pachori, et al. 15. Transgenic and Knockout Mouse Models in New Drug Discovery; V. Kumar. 16. Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor mRNA in Prostate: Clinical Implications and Hormonal Regulation; V.L. Kumar. 17. Angiogenesis: Concepts and Research Methodologies; S. Sengupta, S.K. Gupta. 18. Metabolism-Based Antifolate Drug Design: MDAM and MTREX; A. Amato, et al. 19. Angiogenesis: A New Approach to Glutamine Related Therapy; P. Maity, P. Bhattacharya. 20. Isolation and Characterization of Apoptosis Resistant Mutants: Molecular Targets for Chemoprevention; N. Singh, et al. 21. High Exposure to Caffeine-Derived N-Nitroso Compounds as Carcinogenic Risk for G.I.T. Cancers in Kashmir; M. Siddiqi. 22. Regulation of N-Myristoyl-transferase in Human Colon Cancer; R.V.S. Rajala, et al. 23. Differential Activation and Inhibition of Calmodulin-Dependent Cyclic Nucleotide Phosphodiesterase Isozymes; R.K. Sharma. 24. Antioxidants in the Prevention of Hypercholesterolemic Atherosclerosis; P. Lee, K. Prasad. 25. Oxidative Stress and Aniline-Induced Splenic Toxicity; M.F. Khan, G.A.S. Ansari. 26. Efficacy of High Dose Multiple Antioxidants as an Adjunct to Standard Cancer Therapy; K.N. Prasad, et al. 27. Carotenoid/Retinol Dosage in Prevention/Treatment of Second Primary Cancer, Cyclical Mastodynia Syndrome and AIDS; L. Santamaria, A. Bianchi-Santamaria. 28. Complimentary Medicines and 21st Century Therapeutics: Challenges for Pharmacologists; D.B.A. Narayana, R.M. Dobriyal. 29. Strategies to Identify New Compounds and Pharmacological Activities from Traditional Herbal Medicines in Single and Combined Usage; I. Kimura, M. Kimura. 30. Plant-Derived Agents Against Cancer; F. Abdullaev. 31. Antidiabetic Effect of Viayasar (Pterocarpus marsupium); R.R. Chaudhury. 32. Development of Hepatoprotective Formulation from Plant Sources; S.S. Agrawal. 33. Kava <(Piper methysticum): From a Pacific Island Curiosity to a Herbal Superstar; Y.N. Singh. 34. Antiproliferative and Chemopreventive Potential of Indian Medicinal Plants, Withania somnifera and Ocimum sanctum; S.K. Gupta, J. Prakash. 35. Antiepileptic Drug Therapy in the New Millennium; Y.K. Gupta, J. Malhotra. 36. Neurochemical Abnormalities in the Hippocampal Formation with Schizophrenia; E. Scarr. 37. Changes in the Dopaminergic and Serotonergic Systems of the Prefrontal Cortex in Subjects with Schizophrenia: Evidence from Postmortem Stuides; B. Dean. 38. The Mammalian Metabotropic GABA£Y/Y£ Receptor and Its Role; N.G. Bowery. 39. Signal-Transducing Activity of the Natriuretic Peptide C Receptor (NPR-C) in Neuronal Tissue; G.J. Trachte. 40. Carotenoid Interactions with Cellular Isoprenoid Pathways: A Common Mechanistic Theme for Diverse Biological Activities; W.C. Cole, K.N. Prasad. 14. Psychotherapeutic Implications of Cooperation and Control-Operations Among Multiple Opioid Receptors; K.K. Sharma, P.K. Mediratta. 42. Opioid Gastrointestinal Dependence; T.F. Burks, et al. 43. A Role for Calcium-Activated Neutral Proteinase in Myelin Protein Degradation Associated with Optic Neuritis and Multiple Sclerosis; D.C. Shields, N.L. Banik. 44. Myelin Galactosphingolipids as Negative Regulators of Differentiation; R. Bansal. 45. The Need for Pharmacovigilance; S. Olsson. 46. Pharmacovigilance and its Status in India; S.K. Gupta, U. Singh. 47. Pharmacovigilance and Detection of Signals; A. Misra, S. Sinha. 48. Reinforcing Drug Safety and Pharmacovigilance in Graduate Medical Curriculum; M. Thomas. 49. Treatment of Viral Pneumonia using a Combination of Antiviral and Antiinflammatory Medications; G.A. Prince. 50. Environmental Pollutants and Certain Therapeutic Agents Enhance the Severity of Virus Infection: Role of Cytokines; P. Seth, et al. 51. Inhibitory Effect of Interferon on Sexual Stages of Simian Malaria Parasites in Rhesus Monkeys; R. Tripathi, et al. 52. Therapeutic Strategies for Prevention of Cataract; S.K. Gupta, S. Joshi. 53. Reversal of Cholinergic Response of Intraocular Muscles by Atropine: Drug Antagonism Re-examined; P.N. Patil. 54. The Changing Target in the Treatment of Peptic Ulcer: From pH to Hp; U. Klotz. 55. Nitric Oxide and Peroxynitrite in Airway Disease; F.P. Nijkamp, G. Folkerts. 56. Therapeutic Agents for Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia: Achieving Pharmacological Selectivity; J.P. Hieble, A.C. Sulpizio. 57. Pharmacology Teaching, Learning and Testing at Academic Institutions; P.N. Patil. 58. Strategies for Reduction of Anthracycline Cardiac Toxicity; M.U.R. Naidu. 59. Cyclooxygenase Isoenzymes: Their Selective Inhibitors; S.K. Kulkarni, et al. 60. Contribution of the Clinical Pharmacologist to Control of Tropical Diseases; N.A. Kshirsagar, N.J. Gogtay. 61. Glutathione S-Transferases: Some New Functional Roles; U. Pandya, et al. 62. Catalytic Mechanism of mGSTA4-4, An Enzyme Involved in Response to Oxidative Stress; S.P. Singh, et al. 63. Xenobiotic Conjugates of Fatty Acids; B.S. Kaphalia, et al. 64. Aldose Reductase Efficeintly Detoxifies Lipid Derived Aldehydes; S.K. Srivastava, et al. 65. Identity of RLIP76 with the ATP-Dependent Transporter for Glutathione Conjugates and Doxorubicin in Human Tissues; S. Awasthi, et al. 66. The Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase Inhibitor Vanadyl Sulfate Prlongs Insulin-induced Activation of Mitogen-activated Protein Kinases ERK 1 and ERK 2 as well as Phosphatidylinositol-3-Kinase; J.-F. Théberge, et al. Index.