Scientific Frontiers in Developmental Toxicology and Risk Assessment reviews advances made during the last 10-15 years in fields such as developmental biology, molecular biology, and genetics. It describes a novel approach for how these advances might be used in combination with existing methodologies to further the understanding of mechanisms of developmental toxicity, to improve the assessment of chemicals for their ability to cause developmental toxicity, and to improve risk assessment for developmental defects. For example, based on the recent advances, even the smallest, simplest laboratory animals such as the fruit fly, roundworm, and zebrafish might be able to serve as developmental toxicological models for human biological systems. Use of such organisms might allow for rapid and inexpensive testing of large numbers of chemicals for their potential to cause developmental toxicity; presently, there are little or no developmental toxicity data available for the majority of natural and manufactured chemicals in use. This new approach to developmental toxicology and risk assessment will require simultaneous research on several fronts by experts from multiple scientific disciplines, including developmental toxicologists, developmental biologists, geneticists, epidemiologists, and biostatisticians.

Nervous system diseases and disorders are highly prevalent and substantially contribute to the overall disease burden. Despite significant information provided by the use of animal models in the understanding of the biology of nervous system disorders and the development of therapeutics; limitations have also been identified. Treatment options that are high in efficacy and low in side effects are still lacking for many diseases and, in some cases are nonexistent. A particular problem in drug development is the high rate of attrition in Phase II and III clinical trials. Why do many therapeutics show promise in preclinical animal models but then fail to elicit predicted effects when tested in humans? On March 28 and 29, 2012, the Institute of Medicine Forum on Neuroscience and Nervous System Disorders convened the workshop "Improving Translation of Animal Models for Nervous System Disorders" to discuss potential opportunities for maximizing the translation of new therapies from animal models to clinical practice. The primary focus of the workshop was to examine mechanisms for increasing the efficiency of translational neuroscience research through discussions about how and when to use animal models most effectively and then best approaches for the interpretation of the data collected. Specifically, the workshop objectives were to: discuss key issues that contribute to poor translation of animal models in nervous system disorders, examine case studies that highlight successes and failures in the development and application of animal models, consider strategies to increase the scientific rigor of preclinical efficacy testing, explore the benefits and challenges to developing standardized animal and behavioral models. Improving the Utility and Translation of Animal Models for Nervous System Disorders: Workshop Summary also identifies methods to facilitate development of corresponding animal and clinical endpoints, indentifies methods that would maximize bidirectional translation between basic and clinical research and determines the next steps that will be critical for improvement of the development and testing of animal models of disorders of the nervous system.

This one-stop reference is the first to present the complete picture -- covering all relevant organisms, from single cells to mammals, as well as all major disease areas, including neurological disorders, cancer and infectious diseases. Addressing the needs of the pharmaceutical industry, this unique handbook adopts a broad perspective on the use of animals in the early part of the drug development process, including regulatory rules and limitations, as well as numerous examples from real-life drug development projects. After a general introduction to the topic, the expert contributors from research-driven pharmaceutical companies discuss the basic considerations of using animal models, including ethical issues. The main part of the book systematically surveys the most important disease areas for current drug development, from cardiovascular to endocrine disorders, and from infectious to neurological diseases. For each area, the availability of animal models for target validation, hit finding and lead profiling is reviewed, backed by numerous examples of both successes and failures among the use of animal models. The whole is rounded off with a discussion of perspectives and challenges. Key knowledge for drug researchers in industry as well as academia.

This book provides essential insights into microbial pathogenesis, host-pathogen interactions, and the anti-microbial drug resistance of various human pathogens on the basis of various model organisms. The initial sections of the book introduce readers to the mechanisms of microbial pathogenesis, host-pathogen interactions, anti-microbial drug resistance, and the dynamics of biofilm formation. Due to the emergence of various microbial resistant strains, it is especially important to understand the prognosis for microbial infections, disease progression profiles, and mechanisms of resistance to antibiotic therapy in order to develop novel therapeutic strategies. In turn, the second part of the book presents a comparative analysis of various animal models to help readers understand microbial pathogenesis, host-pathogen interactions, anti-microbial drug discovery, anti-biofilm therapeutics, and treatment regimes. Given its scope, the book represents a valuable asset for microbiologists, biotechnologists, medical professionals, drug development researchers, and pharmacologists alike.

Improving and Accelerating Therapeutic Development for Nervous System Disorders is the summary of a workshop convened by the IOM Forum on Neuroscience and Nervous System Disorders to examine opportunities to accelerate early phases of drug development for nervous system drug discovery. Workshop participants discussed challenges in neuroscience research for enabling faster entry of potential treatments into first-in-human trials, explored how new and emerging tools and technologies may improve the efficiency of research, and considered mechanisms to facilitate a more effective and efficient development pipeline. There are several challenges to the current drug development pipeline for nervous system disorders. The fundamental etiology and pathophysiology of many nervous system disorders are unknown and the brain is inaccessible to study, making it difficult to develop accurate models. Patient heterogeneity is high, disease pathology can occur years to decades before becoming clinically apparent, and diagnostic and treatment biomarkers are lacking. In addition, the lack of validated targets, limitations related to the predictive validity of animal models - the extent to which the model predicts clinical efficacy - and regulatory barriers can also impede translation and drug development for nervous system disorders. Improving and Accelerating Therapeutic Development for Nervous System Disorders identifies avenues for moving directly from cellular models to human trials, minimizing the need for animal models to test efficacy, and discusses the potential benefits and risks of such an approach. This report is a timely discussion of opportunities to improve early drug development with a focus toward preclinical trials.