Application of pharmaceuticals to nitric oxide

Nitric oxide (NO) is an important and widespread physiological mediator. Both excess tissue NO and its deficiency have been implicated in the development of several disease states. It is therefore of great therapeutic value that appropriate pharmacological treatments are made available to either promote or inhibit NO production. This review will focus on the main areas of pharmaceutical development and application; these include the different types of NO donor treatments currently in use, inhibition of nitric oxide synthase and gene therapy. Furthermore, the recent pharmaceutical developments for the promotion of NO production and the problems associated with NO inhibitors will also be discussed. During the next few years it will become apparent whether manipulation of NO has multiple therapeutic applications or whether the diversity of effects renders intervention too non-specific.