Abstract

It is noteworthy that thirty three years of efforts in corticotropin releasing factor (CRF) research by academia and the pharmaceutical industry resulted in several thousand papers and patents, yet little progress has been made to identify and market diagnostic or therapeutic CRF peptides and small molecule ligands. We document the potential relevance of CRF peptide antagonists to reinvigorate stress/anxiety affected “anatomy systems” in order to boost their efficacy.

Keywords: CRF pharmacology, CRF antagonists, CRF receptors, CRF1, CRF2, astressin, astressin B, astressin2-B, [DPhe12]CRF, human/rat CRF (h/rCRF), ovine CRF (oCRF), α-hel CRF(9–41), immune system, cancer, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), bacteria resistant antibiotics.