[Possible applications of rac-hopantenic acid in the treatment of cognitive, anxiety and depressive disorders in patients with essential arterial hypertension]

Essential arterial hypertension (AH) is one of the main risk factors for the development of cognitive impairment and dementia. Cognitive decline is an early sign of brain damage as a target organ of hypertension, it occurs even in patients with uncomplicated hypertension with minimal duration of disease. Cognitive impairment progresses with increasing age and hypertension duration, as well as in non-controlled AH. In patients with hypertension, the prevalence of emotional disorders - anxiety and depression is also high. In addition to antihypertensive therapy, hypertensive patients need correction of concomitant cognitive and emotional disorders. Rat-gopantenic acid simultaneously corrects both emotional and cognitive impairment, and has a good tolerability profile as well. An analysis of the evidence base of rac-gopantenic acid showed its high efficacy in the treatment of mental disorders and good tolerability along with a positive effect on somatic disorders and results of antihypertensive therapy. Taken together, they enhance adherence to treatment and, consequently, reduce the cardiovascular risk.

Progress with peptide scanning to study structure-activity relationships: the implications for drug discovery

INTRODUCTION

Peptides have gained renewed interest as candidate therapeutics. However, to bring them to a broader clinical use, challenges such as the rational optimization of their pharmacological properties remain. Peptide scanning techniques offer a systematic framework to gain information on the functional role of individual amino acids of a peptide. Due to progress in mastering new chemical synthesis routes targeting amino acid backbone, they are currently diversified. Structure-activity relationship (SAR) analyses such as alanine- or enantioneric- scanning can now be supplemented by N-substitution, lactam cyclisation- or aza-amino scanning procedures addressing not only SAR considerations but also the peptide pharmacological properties.

AREAS COVERED

This review highlights the different scanning techniques currently available and illustrates how they can impact drug discovery.

EXPERT OPINION

Progress in peptide scanning techniques opens new perspectives for peptide drug development. It comes with the promise of a paradigm change in peptide drug design in which peptide drugs will be closer to the parent peptides. However, scanning still remains assimilable to a trial and error strategy that could benefit from being combined with specific in silico approaches that start reaching maturity.