Recent advances in RNA biology have accelerated the progress of a new generation of molecular therapies based on RNA, with several agents now in advanced clinical trials. In our first Review, Kole and colleagues compare and contrast the mechanisms of action and effects of three RNA-based therapeutic technologies — RNA interference, antisense oligonucleotides and steric-blocking oligonucleotides — and discuss their progress in the treatment of neuromuscular diseases, bacterial and viral infections, hypercholesterolaemia and cancer. A hallmark of tumour cells is an intrinsic or acquired resistance to apoptosis. This evasion of cell death is often aided by the abnormal expression of members of a family of anti-apoptotic proteins known as the inhibitor of apoptosis (IAP) proteins, which have been linked to tumour progression, treatment failure and poor prognosis in various cancers. In their Review, Fulda and Vucic provide an overview of IAP biology and discuss the therapeutic strategies that are being developed to target IAP proteins in human malignancies. Our final Review this month comprehensively discusses cognitive dysfunction in patients with psychiatric disorders, which is common and severely compromises the quality of life of patients but is largely not addressed by existing treatments that focus on emotional symptoms such as depression and anxiety. Millan and colleagues summarize the characteristics of cognitive dysfunction as well as the cerebral and cellular networks integrating and modulating cognition that are disrupted in psychiatric disorders. They also critically analyse current and emerging strategies for improving cognition in patients suffering from such diseases, and consider key challenges such as the development of more effective translational research approaches.
