Among the different mammalian isoforms of Carbonic Anhydrase, the hCA VII is 
mainly expressed in the brain where it is involved in several neurological 
diseases. Thereby hCA VII has been validated as an attractive target for the 
discovery of selective inhibitors for the treatment of epilepsy and neurological 
pain. To identify new chemical entities as carbonic anhydrase inhibitors (CAIs) 
targeting hCA VII, we used a structure-based approach. By means of LigandScout 
software we built pharmacophore models from crystal structures of two well-known 
CAIs in complex with hCA VII. A merged pharmacophore hypothesis has been 
obtained. Subsequently, a focused library of compounds was screened against 
pharmacophore model and the most interesting hits were docked into the crystal 
structure of hCA VII. As a result, we identified new compounds displaying 
significant CA inhibitory effects in the nanomolar range.