Abstract
This article analyses the publications and patents on the therapeutic potential of 5-lipoxygenase (5-LOX) inhibitors appearing during the period 2001 – 2004. There have been long-standing attempts to introduce 5-LOX inhibitors for the treatment of asthma and allergic disorders but new evidence suggests that inhibition of 5-LOX may also prove useful against certain cardiovascular diseases and human tumours. This review summarises current knowledge on the regulation of 5-LOX and the commonly adopted approaches for enzyme inhibition, before going on to discuss new strategies for anti-LOX therapy and the development of inhibitors for the treatment of disease in these new therapeutic areas.
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