T he field of neurotrophin biology has made great advances in recent years to include a greater understanding of signaling pathways and broader understanding of the diverse biological roles of these molecules. This review will focus primarily on the nerve growth factor family of neurotrophins and how recent descriptions of the molecular function of both the ligands and the receptors have helped...

number of new drugs which have appeared during the last three years have been included and the author has been very wise in exercising a judicious caution in their selection. The sulphanilamide group of drugs which, is still in an experimental stage has received adequate attention. The book has been well written and brings out with great clarity the really important actions and therapeutic uses...

Animal venoms have been used for therapeutic purposes since the dawn of recorded history. Only a small fraction, however, have been tested for pharmaceutical utility. Modern computational methods enable the systematic exploration of novel therapeutic uses for venom compounds. Unfortunately, there is currently no comprehensive resource describing the clinical effects of venoms to support this co...

A meta-analysis was performed in an attempt to clarify the proposed relationship between religiosity and psychological adjustment. Specific focus was given to the issue of definition, namely, whether differences in researchers’ conceptualizations of religiosity and mental health could account for the various contradictory findings by psychologists of religion. Analysis of 34 studies conducted d...

Less than a decade after the founding of the American Pharmaceutical Association, the noted American physician Oliver Wendell Holmes, addressing the Massachusetts Medical Society in 1860, made his oft-quoted statement that " ...if the whole materia medica, as now used, could be sunk to the bottom of the sea, it would be all the better for mankind-and all the worse for the fishes. " 1 The pharma...

Exosomes are membrane vesicles with a diameter of 40-100 nm that are secreted by many cell types into the extracel‐ lular milieu. Exosomes are found in cell culture superna‐ tants and in different biological fluids and are known to be secreted by most cell types under normal and pathological conditions. Considerable research is focusing on the exploitation of exosomes in biological fluids for b...

Many people remember vaguely that LSD and other psychedelic drugs were once used experimentally in psychiatry, but few realize how much and how long they were used. This was not a quickly rejected and forgotten fad. Between 1950 and the mid-1960s there were more than a thousand clinical papers discussing 40,000 patients, several dozen books, and six international conferences on psychedelic drug...

Magnesium is an essential mineral for optimal metabolic function. Research has shown that the mineral content of magnesium in food sources is declining, and that magnesium depletion has been detected in persons with some chronic diseases. This has led to an increased awareness of proper magnesium intake and its potential therapeutic role in a number of medical conditions. Studies have shown the...