(Press-News.org) Ann Arbor, Mich. — In the first clinical trial of gene therapy for treatment of intractable pain, researchers from the University of Michigan Department of Neurology observed that the treatment appears to provide substantial pain relief.
In a study published online in the Annals of Neurology last week, the researchers showed that the novel agent NP2 is safe and well-tolerated. In addition, measures of pain in the treated patients suggested that NP2 may provide a substantial analgesic effect.
NP2 is a gene transfer vector that expresses the naturally-occurring opioid peptide enkephalin. In preclinical work in animals, David Fink, M.D., Robert Brear Professor and chair of the Department of Neurology and his coworkers, had demonstrated that injection of NP2 into the skin reduces pain in models of pain caused by nerve damage, inflammation, or cancer.
In the clinical trial, 10 patients with unrelenting pain caused by cancer were injected with the gene transfer agent in the area of skin related to the location of pain.
"The concept underlying this therapeutic approach is that injection of NP2 into the skin results in uptake into the nervous system and the production and release of a pain-relieving chemical in a controlled site in the pain pathway," says Fink.
"In the study, patients who received the low dose of vector showed little reduction in pain; patients receiving the higher doses showed a greater than 80% reduction in pain over the course of 4 weeks following treatment."
Fink's laboratory has been working on the use of modified herpes simplex virus-based vectors that are taken up by sensory nerves following skin injection to develop therapies for diseases of the nervous system for more than 20 years. Patents related to this technology have been exclusively licensed by Diamyd Medical, a publicly-traded Swedish biotechnology company that sponsored the trial, and the human-grade vector NP2 was produced by Diamyd, Inc, the US subsidiary of Diamyd Medical.
The recombinant replication defective HSV approach represents a platform technology – a nerve targeting drug delivery system (NTDDS) - that can be used to deliver and express any one of a number of genes in the nervous system. A related NTDDS vector, NG2 reduces pain-related behaviors in preclinical models of neuropathic pain from nerve injury and diabetes.
NTDDS gene transfer to the DRG to express neurotrophins locally prevents the progression of polyneuropathy in relevant preclinical models, suggesting that the NTDDS platform may be used to treat degenerative polyneuropathies as well.
"This is an example of translational research in which we have moved from laboratory bench studies through animal models into new treatment that we are testing patients. There was no placebo control in this phase 1 study, but the apparent dose-dependent pain relief was encouraging to us," Fink says.
A phase 2 trial to compare NP2 to a placebo control has already been initiated under sponsorship from Diamyd.
###
In addition to Fink, other investigators participating in this trial at the University of Michigan included Marina Mata, M.D., Srinivas Chiravuri, M.D. and Susan Urba, M.D.
At Diamyd, the study was led by Darren Wolfe, Ph.D., James Wechuck, Ph.D., and David Krisky, M.D., Ph.D.
Journal citation: Ann Neurol 2011; DOI:10.1002/ana.22446
First clinical trial of gene therapy for pain reported by U-M neurologists
New study suggests treatment may provide substantial relief
2011-04-12
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Tiny antibody fragments raised in camels find drug targets in human breast cancer cells
2011-04-12
A new discovery published online in The FASEB Journal (http://www.fasebj.org) promises to help physicians identify patients most likely to benefit from breast cancer drug therapies. If the compound, called "Nanobody," proves effective in clinical trials, it would represent a significant advance for breast cancer drug therapy because some drugs are effective only in some people. In addition, some drugs have side effects that may cause damage to vital organs, making it more crucial for physicians to get the right treatment to the right patient the first time around.
"What ...
Statins may protect against kidney complications following elective surgery
2011-04-12
Taking a statin before having major elective surgery reduces potentially serious kidney complications, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society Nephrology (JASN).
Each year, more than 230 million major elective surgeries are performed around the world. Unfortunately, many patients who undergo major operations develop kidney injury soon after surgery, often due to decreased blood flow to the kidneys and/or the effects of inflammation.
Animal studies suggest that the cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins protect the ...
Atlanta Shredding Company Shred-Green to Hold Free Shredding Event in Lilburn
2011-04-12
Atlanta shredding company Shred-Green is partnering with Atlanta Recycling Solutions for a free shredding and electronics recycling event on April 16 for residents in Gwinnett and neighboring counties. Shred-Green will be on site to shred documents and collect electronics for recycling.
Shred-Green and Atlanta Recycling Solutions will be holding their free Atlanta paper shredding day from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. on April 16 at Gwinnett Bible Chapel. The chapel is located at 3819 Five Forks Trickum Road in Lilburn.
As with all of its free shredding events, Shred-Green ...
Estrogen treatment with no side-effects in sight
2011-04-12
Oestrogen treatment for osteoporosis has often been associated with serious side-effects. Researchers at the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sweden, have now, in mice, found a way of utilising the positive effects of oestrogen in mice so that only the skeleton is acted on, current research at the Academy shows.
The study is presented in the respected journal PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences).
Many women are affected by osteoporosis after the menopause, when the body's production of oestrogen decreases. Oestrogen is the hormone that ...
New genetic tool helps researchers to analyze cells' most important functions
2011-04-12
Although it has been many years since the human genome was first mapped, there are still many genes whose function we do not understand. Researchers from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, and the University of Toronto, Canada, have teamed up to produce and characterize a collection of nearly 800 strains of yeast cells that make it possible to study even the most complicated of genes.
One common way of studying the role of genes in cells is to remove a gene and investigate the effect of the loss. Genes are very similar in both yeast and people, which is one reason ...
Waited Until the Last Minute to File Taxes? Challenge Blue Tax to Get It Done!!
2011-04-12
Sometimes just when you think you've got it handled, you realize every month you're sinking deeper and deeper. This is how Juan (Freemont, TX) felt when he finally called Blue Tax to assist him with an existing payment plan to the IRS that was proving to be too high for him.
When Juan came to Blue Tax, he had an outstanding balance of $3,197 owed to the IRS for his 2007 tax returns. Juan still needed to file his 2008 and 2009 returns, having neglected to do so after being overwhelmed with the debt he still owed. For this 2007 debt, he was on a payment plan of $500 a ...
Antibiotic resistance spreads rapidly between bacteria
2011-04-12
The part of bacterial DNA that often carries antibiotic resistance is a master at moving between different types of bacteria and adapting to widely differing bacterial species, shows a study made by a research team at the University of Gothenburg in cooperation with Chalmers University of Technology. The results are published in an article in the scientific journal Nature Communications.
More and more bacteria are becoming resistant to our common antibiotics, and to make matters worse, more and more are becoming resistant to all known antibiotics. The problem is known ...
New ASPEN Virtual File Room and Virtual Records Center Releases Provide Organizations with Enhanced Business Intelligence Capabilities
2011-04-12
Archive Systems, Inc., a leading provider of records and document management services, today announced ASPEN Virtual File Room, Release 9.9 and ASPEN Virtual Records Center, Release 6.1 during the company's first annual User Conference in Orlando, Florida. The releases incorporate new features and functionality that dramatically enhance the business intelligence capabilities that records managers have available at their fingertips.
ASPEN Virtual File Room, Release 9.9, an on-demand document management solution, significantly improves business processes by allowing documents ...
New drug shows potential for treatment-resistant leukemia
2011-04-12
BOSTON (April 11) --A study from Tufts Medical Center researchers published today finds that a novel drug shows promise for treating leukemia patients who have few other options because their disease has developed resistance to standard treatment.
Appearing in the journal Cancer Cell, the study is the first published report showing that the drug, DCC-2036, fights chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) in a mouse model of the disease and is effective against human leukemia cells.
"These findings demonstrate that DCC-2036 is an excellent candidate for clinical development as a ...
Actions and personality, east and west
2011-04-12
People in different cultures make different assumptions about the people around them, according to an upcoming study published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. The researchers studied the brain waves of people with Caucasian and Asian backgrounds and found that cultural differences in how we think about other people are embedded deep in our minds. Cultural differences are evident very deep in the brain, challenging a commonsense notion that culture is skin deep.
For decades, psychologists believed that it's natural for ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
Bipolar disorder heterogeneity decoded: transforming global psychiatric treatment approaches
Catching Alport syndrome through universal age-3 urine screening
Instructions help you remember something better than emotions or a good night’s sleep
Solar energy is now the world’s cheapest source of power, a Surrey study finds
Scientists reverse Alzheimer’s in mice using nanoparticles
‘Good’ gut bacteria boosts placenta for healthier pregnancy
USC team demonstrates first optical device based on “optical thermodynamics”
Microplastics found to change gut microbiome in first human-sample study
Artificially sweetened and sugary drinks are both associated with an increased risk of liver disease, study finds
Plastic in the soil, but not as we know it: Biodegradable microplastics rewire carbon storage in farm fields
Yeast proteins reveal the secrets of drought resistance
Psychiatry, primary care, and OB/GYN subspecialties hit hardest by physician attrition
New Canadian study reveals where HIV hides in different parts of the body
Lidocaine poisonings rise despite overall drop in local anesthetic toxicity
Politics follow you on the road
Scientists blaze new path to fighting viral diseases
The mouse eye as a window to spotting systemic disease
AI and the Future of Cancer Research and Cancer Care to headline October 24 gathering of global oncology leaders at the National Press Club: NFCR Global Summit to feature top scientists, entrepreneurs
FDA clears UCLA heart tissue regeneration drug AD-NP1 for clinical trials
Exploring the therapeutic potential of cannabidiol for Alzheimer's
We need a solar sail probe to detect space tornadoes earlier, more accurately, U-M researchers say
Acute myeloid leukemia (AML): Disease risk but not remission status determines transplant outcomes – new ASAP long-term results
Sperm microRNAs: Key regulators of the paternal transmission of exercise capacity
Seeing double: Clever images open doors for brain research
Inhaler-related greenhouse gas emissions in the US
UCLA Health study finds inhalers for asthma and COPD drive significant greenhouse gas emissions
A surgical handover system for patient physiology and safety
Cardiovascular health changes in young adults and risk of later-life cardiovascular disease
Nurse workload and missed nursing care in neonatal intensive care units
How to solve the remote work stalemate – dissertation offers tools for successful hybrid work
[Press-News.org] First clinical trial of gene therapy for pain reported by U-M neurologistsNew study suggests treatment may provide substantial relief