Published Special Issue: Addictions special issue
Edited by David Weinshenker

Drug addiction remains a major problem in the 21^st century, having a continuing negative impact on society, from medical, economic and law enforcement costs to the disintegration of the social fabric of large cities and cultures with the loss of many lives through incarceration or death. Treating the various addictions has proven challenging from both a behavioural and pharmaceutical standpoint. Despite the efforts of the biomedical community, including the  National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA), there have been limited successes - disulfiram and naltrexone for alcoholism, buproprion and varenicline for smoking cessation, and methadone and buprenorphine for opioid dependence  - that work in some but not all individuals.  There remain no effective  treatments for  cocaine, methamphetamine, and marijuana addiction.

In the first issue of Biochemical Pharmacology for 2008, a special issue devoted to drug addiction, David Weinshenker, one of the leading young researchers in academia in the field of addiction research, has assembled an outstanding list of contributors focused on the current state of research in addiction medicines and pathways to the development of novel therapies. These include: (a) the use of brain imaging, to further understand  brain and behavioural development, addiction, and its consequences; (b) identifying genetic and environmental factors that predict vulnerability to addiction and treatment response; (c) applying knowledge gained from basic and cognitive neuroscience to improve prevention and treatment strategies; (d) developing and testing new medications to treat addiction.

Future Special Issue : Apoptosis World 2008. Edited by Marc Diederich

This special issue features topics from the "Apoptosis World 2008" conference in Luxembourg in January 2008, including exciting new information on the extrinsic and intrinsic signalling pathways involved in apoptosis and the cellular regulation of apoptosis by pharmacological agents. 

We believe that this issue, as with the previous BCP Luxembourg meeting special issues,  will again attract the attention of our readers, not only because of the high quality content but also because of the interest that this meeting generates. Previous issues have been highly cited and we look forward to publishing an equally interesting special issue later on this year.