Antiviral Chemotherapy

by Challand, Richard; Young, Robert J.

• ISBN13: 9780198504801
• ISBN10: 0198504802
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1998-07-16
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

This text is part of the Biochemical and Medicinal Chemistry Series Series Editor: John Mann, Professor of Organic Chemistry, University of Reading The aim of this series of short textbooks is to present full accounts of topics which are at the interface of chemistry and biology, frommedicinal chemistry to molecular biology. The topics chosen for inclusion are popular subjects for upper-level undergraduate and postgraduate modular courses, and yet they receive inadequate coverage in traditional textbooks of organic chemistry and of biochemistry. Each text in the series providesa concise and up to date introduction to its subject in an attractive format. Viral diseases have been the scourge of mankind throughout evolution, causing unpleasant and sometimes fatal diseases. Advances in the understanding of the genetic make-up of viruses and of the precise function of their proteins has led in recent years to the emergence of antiviral chemotherapy asone of the fastest growing scientific and commercial areas of drug therapy. This introduction to the field covers the discovery of nucleosides to combat herpes virus infections; advances in the understanding of HIV in particular, and of viruses in general, which have led to a rapid increase in thenumber of experimental chemotherpeutic agents to treat HIV and other viral infections; progress in the treatment of viral respiratory ailments, such as the common cold and influenza; and the many viral agents responsible for hepatitus. The first three chapters of this book give an introduction toviruses through their occurrence, biology and biochemistry. An awareness of the concepts introduced in these chapters is fundamental to an understanding of the rationales used in the design of chmotherapeutic agents. A chapter on nucleic acids, particularly nucleosides, follows, which deals withsuch molecules, the most important viral chemotherapeutic targets, from the point of view of medicinal chemists. In the main body of chapters, chemotherapeutic approaches to important individual groups and families of viruses are discussed, with a closing chapter which highlights potential areas forfuture progress in the field. This text is suitable for upper-level undergraduate courses given to chemists, biochemists, microbiologists, pharmacologists, and medical students. Postgraduates and entrants to the pharmaceutical industry will find it an invaluable introduction to the area.

Author Biography

Richard Challand was head of the Anti-Infective Section at the former Wellcome Research Laboratories, at Beckenham, UK Robert Young was a senior chemist in the Anti-Infective Section at the former Wellcome Research Laboratories, at Beckenham, UK

Table of Contents

General Introduction

Introduction to viruses

Biological assays for viruses

Biochemical targets for chemotherapy

Nucleoside analogues as antiviral agents

Herpes viruses

Human immunodeficiency virus and AIDS

Hepatitis virus

Respiratory viruses

Future directions in antiviral chemotherapy

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