Breakthrough in Treatment to Prevent Blindness | www.ucsf.edu

In continuation of my update on Azithromycin....
Breakthrough in Treatment to Prevent Blindness | www.ucsf.edu

A Novel Neurotrophic Drug for Cognitive Enhancement and Alzheimer's Disease

A new drug candidate may be the first capable of halting the devastating mental decline of Alzheimer's disease.  The drug, known as J147 (above  structure), improved memory and prevented brain damage caused by the disease claims the researchers from Salk's Cellular Neurobiology Laboratory, lead by David Schubert. The new compound,  could be tested for treatment of the disease in humans in the near future.Researchers add that, J147 enhances memory in both normal and Alzheimer's mice and also protects the brain from the loss of synaptic connections.

Salk researchers went on to show that it prevented cognitive decline in animals with Alzheimer's and that mice and rats treated with the drug produced more of a protein called brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a molecule that protects neurons from toxic insults, helps new neurons grow and connect with other brain cells, and is involved in memory formation.

Because of the broad ability of J147 to protect nerve cells, the researchers believe that it may also be effective for treating other neurological disorders, such as Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), as well as stroke.

Although it is yet unknown whether the compound will prove safe and effective in humans, the Salk researchers' say their results suggest the drug may hold potential for treatment of people with Alzheimer's...

Ref : http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0027865

Bristol-Myers Squibb and Tibotec partner to evaluate daclatasvir-TMC435 combination for HCV

Bristol-Myers Squibb and Tibotec partner to evaluate daclatasvir-TMC435 combination for HCV: Bristol-Myers Squibb Company announced today that it has entered into a clinical collaboration agreement with Tibotec Pharmaceuticals to evaluate the utility of daclatasvir (BMS-790052), Bristol-Myers Squibb's investigational NS5A replication complex inhibitor, in combination with Tibotec Pharmaceuticals' investigational NS3 protease inhibitor, TMC435, for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV).

Alkermes commences ALKS 9070 phase 3 clinical trial for schizophrenia...

Alkermes plc (NASDAQ: ALKS)  announced the initiation of a phase 3 clinical trial of ALKS 9070 (Aripiprazole) for the treatment of schizophrenia. ALKS 9070, a proprietary Alkermes molecule, is designed to provide patients with once-monthly dosing of a medication that, once in the body, converts into aripiprazole...

Ref : http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=92211&p=irol-corporateNewsArticle&ID=1640788&highlight=

Lostartan can reduce cigarette smoke-induced lung injury

Researchers from Johns Hopkins University, BaltimoreLostartan, lead by have found that, Dr.Enid R. Neptune Losartan a drug used widely in the clinic (e.g., to treat high blood pressure), reduced lung disease in mice caused by exposure to cigarette smoke. Losartan blocks the protein angiotensin receptor type 1, and its effects on cigarette smoke-induced lung injury were a result of the fact that blocking angiotensin receptor type 1 leads to a decrease in levels of the soluble molecule TGF-beta. The authors therefore suggest that other TGF-beta-targeted therapeutics might also be viable candidates for the treatment of  chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, COPD....

Ref : http://www.jci.org/articles/view/46215?search[article_text]=&search[authors_text]=Enid+Neptune

MK 1775 shows promise against sarcomas..........

   2-Allyl-1-(6-(2-hydroxypropan-2-yl)pyridin-2-yl)-6- (4-(4-methyl- piperazin-1-yl)phenylamino)-1H-pyra -zolo [3,4-d]pyrimidin-3(2H)-one.  

MK 1775 (see structure), a small, selective inhibitor molecule, has been found to be active against many sarcomas when tested by researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Fla. Researchers found that MK1775 treatment induces apoptopic cell death in four sarcoma cell lines at clinically relevant doses.

To further prove that inhibition of Wee1 by MK1775 leads to mitotic cell death in sarcomas cells, the researchers performed additional studies, including studies on sarcomas related to mutations, such as with the p53 gene. They also showed that MK1775 was an active inhibitor of Wee1 regardless of the p53 mutation status of the tumors in the cell lines tested.

"The cytotoxic effect of Wee1 inhibition on sarcoma cells appears to be independent of p53 mutation status following our testing sarcoma cell lines with different p53 mutations," he said. "All of them were highly sensitive to MK1775, suggesting that Wee1 inhibition may represent a novel approach in the treatment of sarcomas."

Researchers concluded that their laboratory tests on sarcoma cell lines suggest that MK1775 is effective as a monotherapy even in the cell lines that include p53 wild, p53 null and p53 mutant statuses.

More... 

Oncolytics REOLYSIN-Gemzar combination Phase 2 pancreatic cancer clinical trial meets primary endpoint

In continuation of my update on gemcitabine

Oncolytics REOLYSIN-Gemzar combination Phase 2 pancreatic cancer clinical trial meets primary endpoint: Oncolytics Biotech Inc. announced the interim data from a Phase 2 clinical trial using intravenous administration of REOLYSIN® in combination with gemcitabine (Gemzar) in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer (REO 017) indicated that the clinical study had successfully reached its primary endpoint, and that the drug combination is active.

New Antibodies Treat Autoimmune Disease like Crohn's in Mice....

 Synthetic drugs treat (below structure)  Crohn's disease in mice.................

[zinc-binding motif (where X is any amino acid) in MMPs, a symmetrical tripodal tris-imidazol–zinc complex (Zn-tripod; ZnC₃₆H₅₉N₁₁O₈)]


New Antibodies Treat Autoimmune Disease in Mice
Ref : http://www.nature.com/nm/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nm.2582.html

Salk scientists develop new drug that improves memory and prevents brain damage in mice

A new drug candidate may be the first capable of halting the devastating mental decline of Alzheimer's disease, based on the findings by a research group of Salk's Cellular Neurobiology Laboratory.

When given to mice with Alzheimer's, the drug, known as J147 (see structure), improved memory and prevented brain damage caused by the disease. The new compound, developed by scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, could be tested for treatment of the disease in humans in the near future.

"J147 enhances memory in both normal and Alzheimer's mice and also protects the brain from the loss of synaptic connections," says David Schubert, the head of Salk's Cellular Neurobiology Laboratory, whose team developed the new drug. "No drugs on the market for Alzheimer's have both of these properties."

Although it is yet unknown whether the compound will prove safe and effective in humans, the Salk researchers' say their results suggest the drug may hold potential for treatment of people with Alzheimer's.

More.....

Notch inhibitor appears to treat breast cancer....

In a novel therapeutic approach to treating breast cancer, Loyola University Medical Center researchers are reporting positive results from a clinical trial of a drug that targets tumor stem cells. A pilot study at Loyola found that an experimental drug known as a "notch inhibitor" appears to block this process by turning off key genes. Prior to surgery, the patients received one of two commonly used drugs, tamoxifen or letrozole. These drugs work by blocking estrogen stimulation of breast cancer cells. In addition to tamoxifen or letrozole, patients also received the experimental notch-inhibitor drug, MK-0752 (see structure).

 "The notch inhibitor appears to be doing what it is intended to do," said Dr. Clodia Osipo....

There were minimal side effects from either the notch inhibitor or the estrogen-blocking drugs. One patient experienced puffy eyes and coughing and four patients experienced facial acne. No patients experienced diarrhea or surgical complications.

Ref : Loyola Medicine News Release