Pharmacology down under in 2005--focus on targets

At the joint meeting of the Australasian Society of Clinical and Experimental Pharmacology and the Australasian Pharmaceutical Sciences Association, held December 4-7, 2005, in Melbourne, Australia, and other select meetings, drugs for the treatment of the overactive bladder, benign prostatic hyperplasia, cancer, stroke, pain, malaria and cardiovascular disease were discussed. During these discussions, the following possible drug targets were considered: urothelium-derived inhibitory factor, muscarinic receptors in the bladder, purinergic signaling, pacemaking cells in the urogenital tract, cannabinoid receptors in the prostate, vascular endothelial growth factor in cancer, the nonselective cation channel TPRV1 in pain, and angiotensin receptors, Rho kinase, connective tissue growth factor and NADPH oxidase in cardiovascular disease.