Abstract
Arachidonic acid (AA) can be metabolised by various enzymes, most notably the cyclooxygenases and the lipoxygenases. The secondary messenger pathway leads to the formation of mediators that are implicated in pathologies such as asthma, inflammation and cancer. Leukotrienes (LTs) are produced through the lipoxygenase pathway. The observation that modulation of leukotriene production by inhibition of 5-lipoxygenase (5-LOX) leads to therapeutic benefit has encouraged research of potent 5-LOX inhibitors. As a consequence, many patents concerning 5-LOX inhibition and the uses of 5-LOX inhibitors as therapeutic agents are claimed each year. This article reviews these patents for the period 1999-2002.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1-13 |
| Number of pages | 13 |
| Journal | Expert Opinion on Therapeutic Patents |
| Volume | 13 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Jan 2003 |
Funding
The authors would like to thank the French Community of Belgium, Direction of Scientific Research, Concerted Research Action number 99-04.244 and Léon Fredericq Foundation for their financial support. Dr Pirotte is a research associate of the National Fund for Scientific Research (F.N.R.S.).
Keywords
- 5-LOX selective inhibitorsarachidonic acid metabolism
- Asthma
- Cancer
- Inflammation
- Lipoxygenases
