Immunopharmacology of the Renal System (Handbook of Immunopharmacology)

The consequences of diseases involving the immune system such as AIDS, and chronic inflammatory diseases such as bronchial asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, and atherosclerosis, now account for a considerable economic burden to governments worldwide. In response to this there has been an enormous research effort investigating the basic mechanisms underlying such diseases, and a tremendous drive to identify novel therapeutic applications for their prevention and treatment. Though a plethora of immunological studies have been published in recent years, little has been written about the implications of such research for drug development. As a consquence, this area has not gained the prominence of other new fields such as molecular pharmacology or neuropharmacology, and focal information source for the many pharmacologists interested in diseases of the immune system remains unpublished.