Neg-entropy is the true drug target for chronic diseases
This new article publication from Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B, discusses how neg-entropy is the true drug target for chronic diseases.
Molecular mechanisms of chronic diseases are complicated, and this impedes drug target identification and subsequent drug discovery. Entropy increase in human body can be considered the root cause of chronic diseases. Accordingly, the inherent neg-entropic mechanisms, for instance the homeostatic mechanisms for metabolism, immunity, self-healing, etc., are true drug targets. Only very few molecules (such as proteins) are decisive for neg-entropy related functions, thus they are termed “head goose molecules” (HGMs) in this article. Identification of HGMs is key to activating neg-entropic mechanism(s), and drug intervention of the HGMs’ functions might reprogram the disease process through a neg-entropy mediated drug cloud (dCloud) effect, resulting in a treatment of both symptoms and root causes of the diseases. The authors of this article recommend the “HGMs–neg-entropy–dCloud” axis as an important strategy for discovering new drugs. Clinically proven effective drugs that target HGMs are given as examples to illustrate the concept. Unlike most single-target drugs that block specific disease signaling pathways, neg-entropy drugs address chronic diseases by restoring order from disorder within the patient’s body. This perspective may help guide future drug discovery for chronic diseases.
Keywords: Entropy, Neg-entropy, Head goose molecules, Drug cloud
Graphical Abstract: available https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S2211383525007762-ga1.jpg
Chronic diseases are driven by increased biological entropy, so the authors propose targeting the body’s inherent neg-entropic mechanisms (such as homeostasis, immunity, and self-healing) rather than isolated disease pathways. They introduce “head goose molecules” (HGMs) as key regulators of neg-entropy and propose the “HGMs–neg-entropy–dCloud” axis as a new drug discovery strategy that can reprogram disease processes and treat both symptoms and root causes.
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The Journal of the Institute of Materia Medica, the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association.
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CiteScore: 24.3
Impact Factor: 14.6 (Top 6 journal in the category of Pharmacology and pharmacy)
JIF without self-citation: 13.8
ISSN 2211-3835
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Rui Li, Tian-Le Gao, Gang Ren, Lu-Lu Wang, Jian-Dong Jiang, Neg-entropy is the true drug target for chronic diseases, Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B, Volume 16, Issue 1, 2026, Pages 231-238, ISSN 2211-3835, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsb.2025.11.026
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