Agents acting via cannabinoid receptors have been widely developed; starting from the chemical structure of phytocannabinoids isolated from cannabis sativa plant, specific and selective compounds of these receptors have been produced ranging from partial to full agonists and /or antagonists endowed with different potency. The enhanced interest on developing such classes of drugs is due to the beneficial properties widely reported by both anecdotal reports and scientific studies describing the potential medicinal use of cannabinoids and their derivatives in numerous pathological conditions in both in vitro and in vivo models. The use of these drugs has been found to be of benefit in a wide number of neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders, and in many other diseases ranging from cancer, atherosclerosis, stroke, hypertension, inflammatory related disorders, and autoimmune diseases, just to mention some. In particular, being the cannabinoid CB1 receptor a central receptor expressed by neurons of the central nervous system, the attention for the treatment of neurological diseases has been mainly focused on compounds acting via this receptor, however some of these compounds has been showed to act by alternative pathways in some cases unrelated to CB1 receptors. Nonetheless, endocannabinoids are potent regulators of the synaptic function in the central nervous system and their levels are modulated in neurological diseases. In this study, we focused on endocannabinoid mechanism of action in neuronal signaling and on cannabimimetic drug potential application in neurological disorders. Finally, novel patents on cannabis-based drugs with applicability in central nervous system disorders are highlighted, to suggest future potential therapeutic utility of derivatives of this ancient plant.

Exosomes are small extracellular vesicles (30-120 nm) of endosomal origin, which are gaining the attention of the scientific community. Originally considered only a waste disposal system, they are now emerging as another class of signal mediators. Exosomes are secreted by any cell type and retrieved in every body fluid, such as blood, urine, saliva and amniotic liquid. Remarkably, their biochemical content includes not only lipids and proteins, but also nucleic acids, mainly miRNA and mRNA, with a few reports also indicating the presence of genomic and mitochondrial DNA. Their properties have stimulated extensive research to exploit them as a source of biomarkers for the diagnosis and the follow-up of several pathologies. Furthermore, exosomes are relatively robust and stable, so they appear attractive as gene and drug delivery vehicles. They have also revealed immunomodulatory and regenerative properties, which are encouraging their application for therapeutic purposes. Several issues remain to be addressed: exosome isolation is still time consuming and unsatisfactorily reproducible, making it difficult to compare results among laboratories, improve our knowledge of their physiological function and correlate their features with pathological outcomes. Nevertheless, the number of patents trying to address these problems is growing exponentially and many novelties will reach the scientific community in the next few years.

Acute Ischemic stroke (IS) remains a leading cause of mortality and long-term disability. Owing to the time-constraints, only a fraction of acute IS patients receive the established and approved thrombolytic therapy and a sizeable proportion of acute IS stroke survivors remain permanently disabled. Rapid advances in various recanalization strategies have aimed at improving functional outcome and reducing mortality. Existing literature on various treatment approaches, including the evolution of various thrombolytic agents and interventional devices is presented in this review. In addition to describing intravenous drug trials, continual developments in the field of trials for interventional devices have been described. Additionally, some of the important recent patents filed for various experimental approaches are presented. We strongly believe that the recent therapeutic approaches, including endovascular interventional strategies, based on advanced neuroimaging evaluations appear to have a promising future for acute IS patients.

Pharmaceutical patenting involves writing claims based on both discoveries already made, and on prophesy of future developments in an ongoing project. This is necessitated by the very different timelines involved in the drug discovery and product development process on the one hand, and successful patenting on the other. If patents are sought too early there is a risk that patent examiners will disallow claims because of lack of enablement. If patenting is delayed, claims are at risk of being denied on the basis of existence of prior art, because the body of relevant known science will have developed significantly while the project was being pursued. This review examines the role of prophetic patenting in relation to the essential predictability of many aspects of drug discovery science, promoting the concepts of discipline-related and project-related prediction. This is especially directed towards patenting activities supporting commercialization of academia-based discoveries, where long project timelines occur, and where experience, and resources to pay for patenting, are limited. The need for improved collaborative understanding among project scientists, technology transfer professionals in, for example, universities, patent attorneys, and patent examiners is emphasized.

Tinnitus, a disorder with disruptive sound perception in the head without an external source, affects around 15 % of the worldwide adult population. Since there is no approved drug for the treatment for this symptom, novel strategies need to be developed to provide relief for the patient. A patent from the small French start-up company Sensorion suggests the use of histamine H4 receptor (H4R) inhibitors as potential treatment. Since histamine and its receptor subtypes are strongly involved in neuronal and inflammatory processes in vestibular areas, targeting the H4R could be a novel way to gain a treatment for tinnitus. Although mRNA and protein levels of H4R have been demonstrated on isolated spiral ganglion neurons from mice, the methods of receptor detection as well as the species relevance of the data are under discussion and require considerable further verification, especially on a disease with a high medical need like tinnitus.