Recent progress in the discovery of selective, non-peptide ligands of somatostatin receptors.

Over the past 5 years, researchers in industry and academia have reported the design, synthesis and evaluation of many non-peptide ligands for somatostatin receptors. Structurally diverse agonists and antagonists that, in some cases, exhibit selectivity among the somatostatin receptor subtypes have been published. These agents represent research tools for the clarification of individual receptor pharmacology and are also promising leads for the development of orally active therapeutics for endocrine disorders, proliferative diseases and mood disorders. This review summarizes recent developments in the identification of non-peptide ligands of somatostatin receptors.