Rolipram is a selective

phosphodiesterase-4 inhibitor A phosphodiesterase-4 inhibitor, commonly referred to as a PDE4 inhibitor, is a drug used to block the degradative action of phosphodiesterase 4 (PDE4) on cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP). It is a member of the larger family of Phosphodiester ...

discovered and developed by

Schering AG Schering AG was a research-centered German multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in Wedding, Berlin, which operated as an independent company from 1851 to 2006. In 2006, it was bought by Bayer AG and merged to form the Bayer subs ...

as a potential antidepressant drug in the early 1990s. It served as a prototype molecule for several companies' drug discovery and development efforts.McKenna, JM and Muller, GW. Medicinal Chemistry of PDE4 Inhibitors. Chapter 33 in Cyclic Nucleotide Phosphodiesterases in Health and Disease, Eds Joseph A. Beavo et al. CRC Press, Dec 5, 2006 Rolipram was discontinued after clinical trials showed that its

therapeutic window The therapeutic index (TI; also referred to as therapeutic ratio) is a quantitative measurement of the relative safety of a drug. It is a comparison of the amount of a therapeutic agent that causes the therapeutic effect to the amount that causes ...

was too narrow; it could not be dosed at high enough levels to be effective without causing significant gastrointestinal side effects. Rolipram has several activities that make it a continuing focus for research. The etiology of many neurodegenerative diseases involves misfolded and clumped proteins which accumulate in the brain. Cells have a mechanism to dispose of such proteins called the proteasome. However, in Alzheimer's disease and some other conditions the activity of these proteasomes is impaired leading to a buildup of toxic aggregates. Research in mice suggests that rolipram has the ability to ramp up the activity of proteasomes and reduce the burden of these aggregates. Preliminary evidence suggests that this can improve spatial memory in mice engineered to have aggregate build-up. Rolipram continues to be used in research as a well-characterized PDE4 inhibitor. It has been used in studies to understand whether PDE4 inhibition could be useful in autoimmune diseases, Alzheimer's disease, cognitive enhancement, spinal cord injury, and respiratory diseases like

asthma Asthma is a long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wheezing, co ...

and

COPD Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a type of progressive lung disease characterized by long-term respiratory symptoms and airflow limitation. The main symptoms include shortness of breath and a cough, which may or may not produce ...

References

{{Phosphodiesterase inhibitors Abandoned drugs PDE4 inhibitors Phenol ethers Pyrrolidones Cyclopentyl compounds

See also

References