Thirteen years of the fight against doping in figures

Every year, the World Anti‐Doping Agency (WADA) publishes the main statistics reported by the accredited laboratories, which provide very valuable information for assessing changes in the patterns of doping in sports over time. Using the information provided since 2003 as the basis for the analysis, the evolution of doping/anti‐doping figures over the last decade can be examined in reasonable detail, at least in reference to samples analyzed and categories of substances more commonly found in athletes' samples. This brief analysis of the WADA statistical reports leads us to the following outcomes: the increase in anti‐doping pressure from 2003 to 2015, as evidenced by increased numbers of samples analyzed and banned substances, has not directly produced a higher frequency of adverse/atypical findings. Although this could be interpreted as steady state in the capacity to detect doping through this whole period, it also resulted in a significant increase in the absolute number of samples catalogued as doping (from 2247 in 2003 to 5912 in 2015). Anabolic agents have been the most common doping substances detected in all statistics reports while the remaining groups of substances are much less frequently found in doping control samples. Given that one might have expected the enhancement of the anti‐doping programme led by WADA over this last decade to have increased the percentage of adverse/atypical findings, the fact that it did not might indicate the need to take another step in sampling strategies, such as ‘more intelligent testing’ based on the differences in the prevalence of doping substances among sports. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Emerging pharmacological strategies in the fight against cocaine addiction

Cocaine addiction continues to be an important public health problem worldwide. At present, there are no proven pharmacotherapies for cocaine addiction. The studies reviewed here revealed a number of emerging targets for cocaine pharmacotherapy. First, disulfiram, a medication with dopaminergic effects, reduced cocaine use in a number of clinical trials. Second, GABA medications, tiagabine and topiramate, were found promising in clinical trials. Third, a β-adrenergic blocker, propranolol, may be effective especially among cocaine-addicted individuals with high withdrawal severity. Fourth, treatment with a stimulant medication, modafinil, has reduced cocaine use. Last, a cocaine vaccine that slows entry of cocaine into the brain holds promise. These promising findings need to be further tested in controlled clinical trials.     

近红外光谱技术在打击假药中的应用

近红外光谱技术以其快速、无损、预处理简便等优势,已广泛应用于药学领域,尤其在打击假药领域。与常规色谱方法相比,近红外光谱技术在快速打假中具有更广阔的前景。本文简要概述了近红外分析技术的原理、特点和该技术在药学领域中的应用．重点介绍了近红外技术在快速打假中的应用．并对其应用前景进行了展望。     

Emerging pharmacological strategies in the fight against cocaine addiction

Cocaine addiction continues to be an important public health problem worldwide. At present, there are no proven pharmacotherapies for cocaine addiction. The studies reviewed here revealed a number of emerging targets for cocaine pharmacotherapy. First, disulfiram, a medication with dopaminergic effects, reduced cocaine use in a number of clinical trials. Second, GABA medications, tiagabine and topiramate, were found promising in clinical trials. Third, a beta-adrenergic blocker, propranolol, may be effective especially among cocaine-addicted individuals with high withdrawal severity. Fourth, treatment with a stimulant medication, modafinil, has reduced cocaine use. Last, a cocaine vaccine that slows entry of cocaine into the brain holds promise. These promising findings need to be further tested in controlled clinical trials.     

Leading the charge--pioneering treatments in the fight against neuropathic pain

Neuropathic pain, arising from nerve injury, results in a chronic and debilitating form of pain that in the past has been poorly diagnosed and treated. During the past few years, intensive research has resulted in major progress towards understanding the basic mechanisms that contribute to this condition, and the renewed possibility of safe and effective medicines. Indeed, the next few years should see the first fruits of this labour reaching the market place and, with them, the opportunity to assess whether the scientific advances achieved have resulted in significant clinical improvement. In this article, some of the key compounds that will lead this charge and the clinical results obtained so far are discussed.     

Review Anti-infectives: Gene therapy in the fight against AIDS

This review summarises the patent and primary literature relating to gene therapy for HIV infection over the last year and comments on treatments under pre-clinical evaluation or in Phase I and II clinical trials. There is relatively little activity as yet in the clinical trial arena and there have been few major innovations in gene therapy approaches over this period. Hanging over this field, as in other areas of gene therapy, is the controversy over patenting of ex vivo gene therapy and doubts regarding the utility of certain vectors such as adeno-associated virus (AAV).     

The fight against bacteria: the antibiotics policy]

Development of bacterial resistance towards antibiotics is no longer a local phenomenon. It has by now become a European and global problem, as a result of unjustified and unprofessional administration of antibiotics in gratuitously high quantities, not only in the medicinal practice, but also in the agriculture. The resistant bacteria may spread from animals to humans, transmitted by the food-chain. A recent danger includes the appearance of the vancomycin-resistant strains (VRSA) besides the methycillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections. The number of the vancomycin-resistant Enterococci (VRE) is also expected to grow in the future. The present paper reports the results of the international activities in the past decades, which is related to the fight against resistant bacteria. Such research involves the production of synthetic compounds, the development of semi-synthetic beta-lactam-, aminocyclitol-, macrolide-, and glycopeptide antibiotics, as well as the introduction of new enzyme-inhibitory substances. Elaboration of basic principles of the rational application of antimicrobial agents is an increasingly urgent need along with the establishment of national and European data bases in which the supply and consumption of related medicines are registered and kept under control.