No abstract

5-Hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) 1A receptors play an important role in multiple cognitive processes, and compelling evidence suggests that 5-HT 1A antagonists can reverse cognitive impairment. We have examined the therapeutic potential of a potent (K i ϭ 1.1 nM), selective (Ͼ100-fold), orally bioavailable, silent 5-HT 1A receptor antagonist (K B ϭ 1.3 nM) (R)-N-(2-methyl-(4-indolyl-1-piperazinyl)-ethyl)-N-(2-pyridinyl)-cyclohexane carboxamide (WAY-101405). Oral administration of WAY-101405 was shown to be effective in multiple rodent models of learning and memory. In a novel object recognition paradigm, 1 mg/kg enhanced retention (memory) for previously learned information, and it was able to reverse the memory deficits induced by scopolamine. WAY-101405 (1 mg/kg) was also able to reverse scopolamine-induced deficits in a rat contextual fear conditioning model. In the Morris water maze, WAY-101405 (3 mg/kg) significantly improved learning in a paradigm of increasing task difficulty. In vivo microdialysis studies in the dorsal hippocampus of freely moving adult rats demonstrated that acute administration of WAY-101405 (10 mg/kg) increased extracellular acetylcholine levels. The selective radioligand [3 H]WAY-100635, administered i.v., was used for in vivo receptor occupancy studies, where WAY-101405 occupied 5-HT 1A receptors in the rat cortex, with an ED 50 value of 0.1 mg/kg p.o. Taken together, these studies demonstrate that WAY-101405 is a potent and selective, brain penetrant, orally bioavailable 5-HT 1A receptor "silent" antagonist that is effective in preclinical memory paradigms at doses where approximately 90% of the postsynaptic 5-HT 1A receptors are occupied. These results further support the rationale for use of this compound class in the treatment of cognitive dysfunction associated with psychiatric and neurological conditions. 5-Hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) exerts its diverse physiological and pharmacological effects through actions on multiple receptor subtypes (for review, see Hoyer et al., 2002), of which the 5-HT 1A receptor was the first described. The 5-HT 1A receptor has been implicated in numerous behavioral and physiological functions, including learning and memory. This receptor is located in brain regions associated with learning and memory, such as the hippocampus, frontal cortex, and entorhinal cortex (Chalmers and Watson, 1991), and the cellular and subcellular localization of the 5-HT 1A receptors allows for direct and indi- -100135, N-tert-butyl-3-[4-(2-methoxyphenyl)

No abstract

A potent, highly insoluble, GnRH antagonist with a 2-phenyl-4-piperazinylbenzimidazole template and a quinoxaline-2,3-dione pharmacophore was modified to maintain GnRH antagonist activity and improve in vitro pharmaceutical properties. Structural changes to the quinoxaline-2,3-dione portion of the molecule resulted in several structures with improved properties and culminated in the discovery of 6-([4-[2-(4-tert-butylphenyl)-1H-benzimidazol-4-yl]piperazin-1-yl] methyl)quinoxaline (WAY-207024). The compound was shown to have excellent pharmacokinetic parameters and lowered rat plasma LH levels after oral administration.

Twelve subjects received single 15 mg oral doses of 14C-ciramadol. Excretion of the dose occurred almost entirely by the renal route (93.5 +/- 11.7 (S.D.)% of the dose), and only 0.7 +/- 0.6% of the dose was recovered in faeces indicating that absorption was essentially complete. More than 90% of the amount recovered in urine was excreted within 24 h after dosing. Unchanged drug accounted for 43.9 +/- 6.5% of the dose, while a phenolic glucuronide conjugate was the only major urinary metabolite accounting for a further 37.9 +/- 7.8%. A second glucuronide that was conjugated with the alicyclic ring was also identified but constituted only 2.3 +/- 0.6% of the dose. Concentrations of radioactivity in plasma reached a peak at 2 h after dosing and declined with a terminal disposition half life of 4.9 h. Only ciramadol and the aryl-O-glucuronide were detected in substantial amounts in plasma. Renal clearance of ciramadol amounted to 298 +/- 54 ml/min suggesting tubular secretion in addition to glomerular filtration.