Hi all,
I sent an e-mail to the Sunday Star Times explaining about this group and
asked if they could e-mail me their news item so I could forward it to the
group - and guess what, it just arrived. I'm sorry it is set out in a
funny way and I'm not competent enough to try to change it, so I am simply
posting it exactly as I received it. It makes for very exciting reading
but, being rationalists, I'm sure we would all appreciate feedback from all
you medical contributors as well.
Cheers - Christine Anderson 48/4
X-Mailer: Microsoft Internet Mail & News for Macintosh - 3.0a (370)=20
Date: Thu, 17 Dec 1998 02:43:07 +1300
From: Feedback <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
gcvdc,4,5=0FIN a stunning international=20
first, an Auckland research=20
team has discovered two=20
drugs it believes could halt=20
the progression of some of man=1D
kind's cruellest illnesses _ in=1D
cluding Alzheimer's disease,=20
Parkinson's disease and multiple=20
sclerosis.=20
Professor Peter Gluckman's=20
Auckland Medical School team=20
has spent 10 years developing=20
brain rescue therapy and has pat=1D
ented two drugs that have sparked=20
international excitement.
The drugs protect brain cells=20
from damage or death through dis=1D
ease and injury.=20
One, a hormone given by injec=1D
tion, is expected to begin multina=1D
tional clinical trials on multiple=20
sclerosis patients within 12=20
months _ and New Zealanders=20
will be among the first in the=20
world to take part.=20
The second is a small molecule=20
which because of its size can be=20
easily administered, is cheap to=20
make and has few apparent side-=20
effects.
It is this drug that holds new=20
hope for victims of progressive=20
neurological diseases such as=20
Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and=20
Huntington's, as well as acute=20
conditions such as strokes.
Clinical trials are expected to=20
begin in 2000 and if they go well,=20
the drugs could be on the market=20
by 2001.
=A1We are on the verge of some=1D
thing unique,=BF said Professor=20
Gluckman. =A1A small molecule=20
which can be given quite straight=1D
forwardly _ perhaps in pill form=20
_ doesn't have obvious side-ef=1D
fects and which is very potent in=20
stopping brain cells dying is ex=1D
actly what everyone has been=20
looking for for a long time.
=A1In a range of diseases, of=20
which Alzheimer's is a classic ex=1D
ample, we believe we can stop the=20
progression=20
of disease=20
by stopping=20
brain cells=20
dying. The=20
data we=20
have is suf=1D
ficient to=20
merit large-
scale investment. It is certainly the=20
best thing on the horizon=20
internationally.=BF
Professor Gluckman said the=20
power of the drug to prevent dam=1D
age was discovered by sheer luck.=20
=A1We thought it was a junk by=1D
product of a chemical reaction in=20
the brain. Everyone assumed it=20
had no biological role. But we=20
discovered it had a greater effect=20
than other molecules we were=20
testing.=BF
Professor Ross Clark, a research=20
team director, says the drug has=20
prevented brain cells dying in ani=1D
mals in which Parkinson's and=20
Huntington's type brain injuries=20
have been induced.=20
Both are progressive disorders=20
which cause physical disability,=20
and in the case of the inherited=20
disease Huntington's, dementia.=20
Animal studies on Alzheimer's,=20
which afflicts 38,000 New Zea=1D
landers, begin shortly. About 8000=20
people here have Parkinson's and=20
3000 MS.=20
Negotiations are under way=20
with international biotechnology=20
merchant bankers to raise $10 mil=1D
lion to fund MS trials for the=20
growth factor, a hormone known=20
as IGF1.
Although Professor Gluckman=20
believes the future hope for MS=20
sufferers may lie in a combination=20
of drugs, =A1it looks to us as if we=20
can slow the rate of progression of=20
the disease and maybe stop it=20
altogether=BF.
The drug is also thought to=20
have the potential to treat babies=20
who have suffered oxygen depri=1D
vation at birth.
The university has set up=20
NeuronZ _ effectively the coun=1D
try's first major New Zealand-
owned, research-based pharma=1C
ceutical company _ to trial the=20
drugs and ready them for the=20
world market.
Professor Gluckman estimates=20
the discovery could rocket the=20
company's worth to =A1hundreds of=20
millions of dollars=BF in the next=20
three to five years.
It is the first time a New Zea=1D
land-based company will clinically=20
trial drugs developed in this coun=1D
try. =A1It shows things in little old=20
New Zealand are of international=20
importance and can be commer=1D
cialised for New Zealand.=BF
The research started when Pro=1D
fessor Gluckman began to investi=1D
gate what the brain did to limit=20
damage after injury. He discov=1D
ered it cooled itself and also made=20
protective hormones known as=20
growth factors _ but that the pro=1D
cess took several days.=20
=A1We asked: `What if we do it a=20
bit better than the brain could do=20
itself?'
=A1Given that many of these dis=1D
eases can now be diagnosed at a=20
very early stage, the future holds a=20
lot of hope.=BF=20
=E8Profile FOCUS C3
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Sunday Star-Times
News Media (Auckland)
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