Issues
SARS-CoV-2 does not stop pharmacologists
The second 2021 issue of Pharmadvances is a cornucopia of state-of-the-art papers covering several aspects of modern-day Pharmacology.
During this Covid-19 pandemic much attention is being paid to the potential protective actions of vitamin D (1). We still do not know much of its pharmacokinetics (2), but two papers (3, 4) help us better understand its role and its increasing popularity. It is worth underscoring that the border between the pharmacology of synthetic molecules and those of natural origin is becoming increasingly thinner. It is no coincidence that the Italian Pharmacological Society (SIF) promoted the IUPHAR Mediterranean group of natural products pharmacology (https://www.imgnpp.org/it), a trans-national organization that, under the auspices of IUPHAR, is studying and promoting the pharmacology of molecules derived from traditional medicine and from plants. Two notable examples can be found in this issue (5, 6) and we
should all pay close attention to the rapid development of this field of research.
Cancer still represents one of the main causes of death and disability and can be in part prevented by a healthy diet and an active lifestyle (7). However, we should put much effort in finding the most appropriate pharmacological treatments, to lessen its burden and improve therapeutic outcomes. Pharmadvances publishes two comprehensive reviews on pre-clinical models (8) and on the new frontiers of oncological treatment, i.e. pharmacogenetics (9). Basic pharmacologists and clinicians will find useful information in this June 2021 issue.
From an editorial viewpoint, Pharmadvances is evolving rapidly and – together with publisher Edra – is now two important services to help its authorship. One is the “online first” feature, through which accepted.
Enjoy this issue!
Prof. Francesco Visioli
Executive Editor
