Patent Update: Central & Peripheral Nervous System: Recent patent activity relating to serotonin pharmacology

Abstract

Recent patents are reviewed for compounds that seek to treat various medical disorders by altering the neurotransmitter serotonin (5-HT). Besides selective 5-HT reuptake blockers, 5-HT₁-like agonists for use in migraine are covered, as well as potential anx-iolytics and antidepressants that are ligands for the 5-HT_1A receptor. in addition, patents are reviewed that cover ligands for the 5-HT₂, 5-HT₃ and 5-HT₄ receptors, i.e., compounds that have possible therapeutic use against hypertension and psychoses, emesis, and gastrointestinal disorders, respectively. In order to augment and reinforce the patent literature, numerous references to the primary literature are included.