New drug holds promise for brain injury and disease
NEW YORK, Aug 24, 1999 (Reuters Health) -- A new drug under
investigation may one day prevent the death of brain cells due to head
injury, Alzheimer's disease, PARKINSON'S disease, stroke and other
neurologic disorders, according to preliminary research presented
Tuesday at the annual meeting of the American Chemical Society in New
Orleans.
Researchers at the Louisiana State University (LSU) Neuroscience Center
of Excellence in New Orleans have discovered how to turn off the genetic
switch that produces excessive amounts of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), a
protein which, in abundance, leads to death or damage in brain cells or
neurons.
"There is no comparable drug on the market. This is a totally new
concept," lead researcher Dr. Nicolas G. Bazan, director of the LSU
Neuroscience Center of Excellence, told Reuters Health.
"We have found signals within brain cells that result in cell death
(and) we have made a chemical that inhibits these signals," he added.
"This chemical may become a drug applicable to diseases where
injury-like processes take place, producing a damaging protein (that)
induces damage and cell death," explained Bazan, an Argentine-born
scientist.
Basically, injury or disease such as head trauma or stroke triggers a
chain reaction that signals the COX-2 gene to produce genetic material,
which, in turn, produces an abnormally high amount of the COX-2 protein.
"The new drug prevents the production of COX-2 and stops the signaling
process before the genes can be overactivated," Bazan explained. But due
to the testing required to ensure the drug's safety and effectiveness,
it will be several years before the new drug reaches human patients, he
noted.
"In our experimental models, our drug is very effective in preventing
the production of COX-2 and halting the signaling process before the
genes can be overactivated," Bazan said.
He added that the findings "may be applicable to neurodegenerative
diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, stroke and age-related
macular degeneration" -- an age-related eye disease that is a common
cause of blindness.
"We are achieving a clearer understanding of the mechanisms underlying
the consequences of brain injury. The brain is truly the last frontier
of medicine -- so complex," Bazan commented. "Yet neuroscience research
is moving forward at a rapid pace and, as we approach the new
millennium, we are finding new approaches and ultimately cures for
diseases, which only a couple of decades ago held no hope for cure," he
added.
Several new drugs on the market, known as super-aspirins, also target
COX-2. The drugs work by selectively blocking the COX-2 enzyme, which is
thought to play a role in causing arthritis pain.
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--
Judith Richards, London, Ontario, Canada
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