This volume comprises five authoritative reviews on timely topics in drug research. The first two chapters deal with chemotherapeutic agents (selective antiviral agents and cepham antibiotics) and subsequent chapters deal with the cardiovascular system and topics in neuropharmacology.

For 50 years, antibiotics have been dispensed like sweets. This must not be allowed to continue. This unique book assembles contributions from experts around the world concerned with responsible use of antibiotics and the consequences of overuse. For the first time, it provides up to the minute texts on both the theoretical aspects of antibiotic stewardship and the practical aspects of its implementation, with consideration of the key differences between developed and developing countries. All concerned with teaching, practice and administration of clinical medicine, surgery, pharmacy, public health, clinical pharmacology, microbiology, infectious diseases and clinical therapeutics will find Antibiotic Policies: Theory and Practice essential reading. Antibiotic use and resistance is not just the responsibility of specialists in the field but the responsibility of all doctors, pharmacists, nurses, healthcare administrators, patients and the general public.

Reviews and recent results of studies with medically important fungi. Throughout the volume, outstanding mycologists treat the ecological role of pathogenic fungi, how they cause disease, their interactions with the immune system, and their responses to antifungal agents. Most of the presented results are based on molecular biological approaches: areas where classical and descriptive methods are applied are also included.

This text was developed with the practicing physician in mind, however, it will be of considerable interest to the virologist, pharmacologist, chemist and all scientists interested in antiviral agents. Progress in the field of antiviral development is now moving rapidly and there is hope that one day there will be successful treatment modalities for most viral diseases. This work contains contributions from experts around the world, capturing worldwide practices. An online version providing the current status of antiviral research is planned for the near future.

Antiviral drugs are vital - but imperfect - tools for treatment and prevention of viral infections. Undesirable effects, from drug resistant viruses to low oral bioavailability, toxicity and severe side effects limit clinical usefulness. These factors drive demand for improved antiviral strategies. This book offers an up-to-date review of new drugs and targets, novel modes of action, vector-based treatments and even the blocking of defined genes by inhibiting mRNA formation (siRNA). Includes contributions by acknowledged experts; the book will serve as a compendium for R&D and educational professionals, and be of value for students.

Over the past decade, significant progress has been made in the theory and applications of pharmacodynamics of antimicrobial agents. On the basis of pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic modeling concepts it has become possible to describe and predict the time course of antimicrobial effects under normal and pathophysiological conditions. The study of pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic relationships can be of considerable value in understanding drug action, defining optimal dosing regimens, and in making predictions under new or changing pre-clinical and clinical circumstances. Not surprisingly, pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic modeling concepts are increasingly applied in both basic and clinical research as well as in drug development. The book will be designed as a reference on the application of pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic principles for the optimization of antimicrobial therapy, namely pharmacotherapy, and infectious diseases. The reader will be introduced to various aspects of the fundamentals of antimicrobial pharmacodynamics, the integration of pharmacokinetics with pharmacodynamics for all major classes of antibiotics, and the translation of in vitro and animal model data to basic research and clinical situations in humans.