Cholinesterase research at the National Institutes of Health, USA

Presented below is a brief description of research supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) on cholinesterases that was discussed at the IXth International Meeting on Cholinesterases in Suzhou, China. It is a partial description of the research conducted by researchers at academic and other institutions supported by the NIH, and by some of the researchers in NIH intramural laboratories. It does not represent a comprehensive survey of all research supported by the NIH related to cholinesterases, but rather a brief discussion of some of the studies discussed at the IXth International Meeting on Cholinesterases. The article describes exciting basic, translational and clinical research on therapies for neurological and other diseases. In addition, cholinesterases that may treat substance abuse are discussed, and pesticide and chemical warfare agents that inhibit cholinesterases are highlighted as part of the NIH portfolio. It is the intent of this article to share with the international community some of the research being supported by the NIH on cholinesterases that complements many of the studies being conducted elsewhere. The information was obtained only from published articles or from abstracts available to the public within the NIH CRISP database (http://crisp.cit.nih.gov/).