Category: Future Medicine

In a press release (12 December 2001), researchers with MetaPhore Pharmaceuticals, Inc. of St. Louis, MO and the University of Messina (Italy) announced that the companyís artificial enzyme significantly reduced the extent and severity of inflammation and tissue damage to the intestinal wall in an animal model of colitis. The study suggests that MetaPhoreís artificial molecule, which mimics the action of the enzyme superoxide dismutase (SOD), may have potential in the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), a group of disorders that cause inflammation or ulceration of the digestive tract.
Previous studies on the use of the artificial enzymes were covered here in July 2001.

from the Making-connections dept.
According to a press release (30 November 2001), researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) Divisions of Biology and Physical Sciences have succeeded in imaging the structural changes between neurons in the brain that many scientists believe take place when human brains store short-term and long-term memories. The images show brain cells forming temporary and permanent connections in response to various stimuli, and provide evidence for how nerve connections in the brain are changed temporarily and permanently by our experiences. Their research results were reported in the 30 November 2001 issue of Cell.

According to a press release, scientists at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois report they have been able to create nanoscale fibers that encourage mineral crystal growth and self-assemble into a matrix that resembles real bone. According to the researchers, the designer molecules hold promise for the development of a bonelike material to be used for bone fractures or in the treatment of bone cancer patients and have implications for the regeneration of other tissues and organs. Their research was reported in the 23 November 2001 issue of Science. Additional coverage is available in an item on the Nature Science Update website.

from the nano-radiation-therapy dept.
According to a press release, a team of researchers at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) have developed a complex, highly-specific anti-cancer agent which they call a îmolecular nanogeneratorî. These nanogenerators consist of a single radioactive atom contained inside a molecular cage and attached to a monoclonal antibody that homes in on cancer cells, where it is carried inside. The complex then releases a small cascade of atomic fragments known as alpha particles on the inside of cancer cells. — and destroys them. The results of this work are published in the 16 November 2001 issue of Science.

The atom contained inside the nanogenerator is actinium-225, which decays by giving off short-lived, high-energy alpha particles that blast through cancer cells and destroy their DNA and proteins. When actinium decays, it produces a series of three daughter atoms each of which gives off its own alpha particle. Each particle increases the chance that the cancer cell will be destroyed. The specificity for only certain types of cancer cells provided by the antibody component helps increase the nanogeneratorís effectiveness. If the radioactive atom remains outside of the cell, the alpha particle can travel in any direction, and it kills the cell only a fraction of the time. If the generator is inside the cell, every alpha particle will be effective and greatly reduces the possibility of damage to nearby healthy cells.

Some additional coverage can be found in this article (îRadioactive 'Trojan Horse' Hits Cancer Cellsî, by Maggie Fox, 15 November 2001) from Reuters News Service, and an item (îNuclear weapon blasts tumours", by Helen Pearson, 16 November 2001) from the Nature Science Update website.

According to a press release, a team of medical researchers reports they have demonstrated that synthetic catalytic anti-oxidants can help treat neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinsonís and Alzheimerís, and enhance overall lifespan in mice. The work was reported in the November 2001 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience. The report details experiments in which the treatment rescued a severe neurological phenotype in mice engineered to undergo a specific form of oxidative damage. Treatment with the synthetic catalytic scavengers of reactive oxygen species (SCSs) also resulted in a dramatic enhancement of lifespan of the mice.

from the molecular-medicine dept.
Demonstrating the wisdom of attacking some medical problems at the molecular level, researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago announced on 2 August 200 that they have designed and synthesized highly potent inhibitor compounds that could lead to an effective treatment for Alzheimerís disease. The researchers designed an inhibitor that blocks the action of a protein-cutting enzyme, or protease, thought to be responsible for Alzheimerís disease. This enzyme, called memapsin 2, severs a longer protein in the brain called amyloid precursor protein, or APP, to produce beta-amyloid, which accumulates in the brain and forms plaques that lead to the development of Alzheimerís disease. The synthetic inhibitor compound blocks memapsin 2 and keeps it from cutting APP, which could halt accumulation of beta-amyloid in the brain. The paper describes the inhibitor, designed and tested in the laboratory, which is comparable in size to HIV protease inhibitor drugs now being prescribed. "Designing a smaller, more potent inhibitor is an important step in the development of an effective treatment for Alzheimerís patients, " said one of the researchers.
The work was reported in the American Chemical Societyís Journal of Medicinal Chemistry.