(c) flickr & postbear
脳の炎症に効く新しいクラスの経口薬が，アルツハイマー病などの発症抑制，脳損傷や脳卒中後の合併症予防に有望であることが示された。これらの薬剤は炎症誘発性サイトカインの過剰な産生を防ぐことから，多数の神経変性疾患に効果が期待される。アルツハイマー病を発症するよう遺伝子操作したマウスに発症初期に投与すると進行が抑えられ，また，同じくマウスで多発性硬化症に似た疾患の発症も抑制し，脳損傷後の投与では脳を保護する効果が示唆された。臨床では外傷性脳損傷や脳卒中の後，早期に使用すれば痙攣発作や認知障害が予防できると期待される。（吉田素子）
New Drug Could Treat Alzheimer's, Multiple Sclerosis and Brain Injury
One-size-fits-all Drug Targets Harmful Brain Inflammation in Many Diseases
A new class of drug developed at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine shows early promise of being a one-size-fits-all therapy for Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis and traumatic brain injury by reducing inflammation in the brain.
Northwestern has recently been issued patents to cover this new drug class and has licensed the commercial development to a biotech company that has recently completed the first human Phase 1 clinical trial for the drug.
The drugs in this class target a particular type of brain inflammation, which is a common denominator in these neurological diseases and in traumatic brain injury and stroke. This brain inflammation, also called neuroinflammation, is increasingly believed to play a major role in the progressive damage characteristic of these chronic diseases and brain injuries.
By addressing brain inflammation, the new class of drugs -- represented by MW151 and MW189 -- offers an entirely different therapeutic approach to Alzheimer’s than current ones being tested to prevent the development of beta amyloid plaques in the brain. The plaques are an indicator of the disease but not a proven cause.
A new preclinical study published today in the Journal of Neuroscience, reports that when one of the new Northwestern drugs is given to a mouse genetically engineered to develop Alzheimer’s, it prevents the development of the full-blown disease. The study, from Northwestern’s Feinberg School and the University of Kentucky, identifies the optimal therapeutic time window for administering the drug, which is taken orally and easily crosses the blood-brain barrier.
［単語和訳］
Alzheimer's (disease)：アルツハイマー病 Multiple Sclerosis：多発性硬化症 Brain Injury：脳損傷 One-size-fits-all：万能の Brain Inflammation：脳炎症
Parkinson’s disease：パーキンソン病 traumatic：外傷性
patents：特許 has licensed：～のライセンスを供与した commercial development：商業的開発 biotech company：バイオテク企業 Phase 1 clinical trial：第I相臨床試験
common denominator：共通点 neurological diseases：神経疾患 stroke：脳卒中 neuroinflammation：神経炎症 play a major role：重要な役割を果たす progressive：進行性の characteristic of：～に特徴的な chronic：慢性の
therapeutic：治療的 beta amyloid plaques：βアミロイド斑 indicator：指標
preclinical：前臨床 Neuroscience：神経科学（Journal of Neuroscienceは雑誌名） genetically engineered：遺伝子操作された full-blown：本格的な optimal：最適な time window：期間 administering：～を投与すること orally：経口的に blood-brain barrier：血液脳関門
