The Journal of Neuroscience published findings by a team of scientists at Feinberg School of Medicine about what is being called a “one-size-fits-all” medication. It can, possibly, help those with Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, multiple sclerosis (MS) and those with traumatic brain injury.
Jennifer Park of Lima, Ohio has an aunt who has MS and a grandfather who died of Alzheimer's so this news is of particular interest to her. “My husband and I walk every year in our Walk MS and donate money to the Alzheimer's Foundation every year too so, yes, this is incredible news, “ she said.
“My sister and I have talked before about how these diseases have run in our family and have wondered if we were going to have to worry about it for ourselves and we'll be keeping an eye out, of course.”
A professor at Feinberg, Dr. Martin Watterson, had talked with FoxNews.Com saying they had to face a couple of challenges, saying they had to “come up with something to tone down the inflammatory response and do it with some selectivity [so that the immune response would not be toned down as well]” and they “wanted to have a small molecule taken by mouth once or twice a day that would be relatively safe and get into the brain.”
He's talking about lowering a type of inflammation known as neuroinflammation and how this drug, labeled MW151 and MW189, binds to and decreases cytokine. Cytokine(s) is a cell-signaling molecule that is also referred to as immune modulated agents like interferons.
The team had worked with mice that had been genetically engineered to develop Alzheimer's finding, 11 months later, the mice functioning well with their inflammation having decreased.
The Journal of Neuroscience publication doesn't show human studies but the article does mention it is safe for human consumption as Watterson was saying they are waiting for funding to start human clinical trials.
The timing couldn't have been any better as well considering how long it can take to develop and test a drug. Watterson is quoted, “The design, the synthesis and testing [of the drug] took less than a year. In drug development, that’s called a hit. It’s like a bite when you’re fishing, it’s significant, but you still have to reel in the fish… You have to take the hit and improve on it to get a lead compound which has better activity in vivo and does not have bad activity.”
Apparently there is what they are calling a 'target window' for the use of this therapy and that it isn't going to do much for those who are in later stages, so it appears as if the earlier a disease is diagnosed the better.
Which is what is different between the MS community and the Alzheimer's community: most therapies for those with MS focus on those with the earlier stages and worry is now for those with later stages; whereas with Alzheimer's, the focus has been on later-staged therapies with worry now being the need for the earlier stages of progression.
Most shot therapies for many MS patients have been working rather well through the years, but the article raises Watterson's thought of this drug not being used as a replacement but used with a patient's current therapy. It could “stop these conditions in their tracks”.
Sources: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2012/07/25/new-one-size-fits-all-drug-could-treat-alzheimer-ms-and-brain-injury/, Loren Grush; http://www.jneurosci.org/content/32/30/10201.abstract?sid=1793e5eb-fc6b-4d9a-9217-df8106cb6214; http://www.alzfdn.org/ContributetoAFA/makeadonation.html; http://www.nationalmssociety.org/donate/index.aspx
For more info: for those who live in Lima, Ohio, the Northwestern Ohio MS Chapter can be reached at: Tomahawk Drive at (419) 897-7263. They are located approximately an hour and a half from Lima, Ohio and 45 minutes from Findlay, Ohio. For directions please click here at Google Maps.
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Several therapies rolled into one for neurological diseases like MS - Lima multiple sclerosis | Examiner.com
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