| abstract |
(57) [Summary]nAccording to the present invention, a novel class of heterocyclic compounds and methods of using them are provided. The compounds of the present invention have a substituted, unsaturated, 5-, 6- or 7-membered heterocycle having one or more nitrogen atoms and one or more carbon atoms. At the ring position adjacent to the ring nitrogen atom, the heterocycle has one or more substituents having an alkylene moiety, an alkynylene moiety, or a moiety linked to the heterocycle via an azo group. The compounds of the present invention can be used for various purposes such as regulating physiological processes by functioning as agonists and antagonists of receptors in the nervous system, as insecticides, and as fungicides. The present invention further provides a method of modulating excitatory amino acid receptor activity using a specifically defined class of heterocyclic compounds, such as the novel compounds described above. In one embodiment, a method for modulating metabotropic glutamate receptors is provided. The present invention also discloses a method for treating a disease using a heterocyclic compound. The invention further relates to pulmonary, nervous, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, endocrine, exocrine, skin, cancer, and ocular diseases. Also disclosed are methods of preventing disease states that occur. The present invention further discloses pharmaceutically acceptable salts of the above heterocyclic compounds. |