Drug Discovery And Evaluation: Pharmacological Assays

Drug Discovery and Evaluation: Pharmacological Assays H. Gerhard Vogel (Ed.) Drug Discovery and Evaluation: Pharmacological Assays Third Completely Revised, Updated and Enlarged Edition With 5 Figures and 66 Tables 123 Hans Gerhard Vogel Bohl Str. 28 73430 Aalen Germany ISBN: 978-3-540-70995-4 This publication is available also as: Print publication under ISBN 978-3-540-71420-0 and Print and electronic bundle under ISBN 978-3-540-71419-4 Library of Congress Control Number: 2007936031 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in other ways, and storage in data banks. Duplication of this publication or parts thereof is only permitted under the provisions of the German Copyright Law of September 9, 1965, in its current version, and permission for use must always be obtained from Springer-Verlag. Violations are liable for prosecution under the German Copyright Law. Springer is part of Springer Science+Business Media springer.com © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg New York 2008 The use of registered names, trademarks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. Product liability: The publishers cannot guarantee the accuracy of any information about the application of operative techniques and medications contained in this book. In every individual case the user must check such information by consulting the relevant literature. Printed on acid-free paper SPIN: 11733775 2109 - 5 4 3 2 1 0 Preface to the Third Edition The third edition of the book Drug Discovery and Evaluation. Pharmacological Assays is presented here. The volume of data has risen considerably compared to the second edition. In particular, a large number of assays have been added. Meanwhile, data on Safety Pharmacology have been removed from this edition. An extended discussion of that important aspect of pharmacology was published in the book Drug Discovery and Evaluation. Safety and Pharmacokinetic Assays, edited by H. G. Vogel, F. J. Hock, J. Maas, and D. Mayer, by Springer in 2006. Several of my colleagues provided essential contributions to this edition. In particular I am indebted to S. A. Mousa for rewriting the chapter Pharmacological Assays in Thrombosis and Hemostasis, S. G. E. Hart, for rewriting the chapter Activity on Urinary Tract, G. Müller for rewriting and amending the chapter Antidiabetic Activity, B. Schultz for amending the chapter Ophthalmologic Activity, and J. Sandow for rewriting the chapter Endocrinology. All chapters have been revised and thoroughly updated as well. The approach to drug discovery is changing continuously. Decades ago, many drugs were found by serendipity in clinical trials. Most new drugs, however, were found by the classical approach in animal experiments. This approach has the advantage of relatively high predictability, but it also has the disadvantage that little information is provided about the molecular mechanisms involved in