Thursday, February 2, 2012

OX1 for Friedreich's Ataxia likely would enter Phase 2 clinical trials early in 2013

NEW YORK, Feb.2, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --Intellect Neurosciences, Inc. (OTCBB:ILNS), a biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery and development of disease-modifying therapeutic agents for the treatment of Alzheimer's and other neurological diseases today issued the following Letter to Shareholders from Dr. Daniel Chain, Chairman and CEO.

ViroPharma's CEO, spoke enthusiastically about his company's plans to develop OX1 for Friedreich's Ataxia, indicating OX1 likely would enter Phase 2 clinical trials early in 2013.

Drugs and mitochondrial diseases: 40 queries and answers

Expert Opinion on Pharmacotherapy 0 0:0, 1-17, Posted online on January 31, 2012. (doi:10.1517/14656566.2012.657177)

Michelangelo Mancuso †1 MD PhD, Daniele Orsucci 1, Massimiliano Filosto 2, Costanza Simoncini 1 & Gabriele Siciliano 1
1 University of Pisa, Neurological Clinic, Department of Neuroscience,
Via Roma 67, 56126 Pisa, Italy
2 University of Brescia, Italy

Keywords
carnitine, coenzyme Q10, creatine, mitochondria, mitochondrial diseases, mtDNA, riboflavin, Mitochondrial disorders, oxidative phosphorylation, respiratory chain cofactors, antioxidants, lactic acidosis, basic and clinical literature.

Nrf2 and oxidative stress protection

Role of nuclear factor (erythroid-derived 2)-like 2 in metabolic homeostasis
and insulin action: A novel opportunity for diabetes treatment?


World J Diabetes. 2012 January 15; 3(1): 19-28.
Published online 2012 January 15. doi: 10.4239/wjd.v3.i1.19.

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Zhi-Wen Yu, Dan Li, Wen-Hua Ling and Tian-Ru Jin.
Zhi-Wen Yu, Dan Li, Wen-Hua Ling, Tian-Ru Jin, Guandong Provincial Key
Laboratory of Food, Nutrition and Health, Department of Nutrition, Public
Health Institute, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510080, Guangdong
Province, China
Tian-Ru Jin, Division of Cell and Molecular Biology, Toronto General
Research Institute, University Health Network, Toronto M5G 1L7, Canada

"As the major cellular defense machinery against oxidative stress, the Nrf2
system has drawn extensive attention. However, its functional alteration in
metabolic diseases has been realized recently and needs to be explored
further. Impaired Nrf2 function is evident in several pathological
conditions, such as aging, neurodegeneration diseases and insulin
resistance, that are mechanistically linked to oxidative stress, while Nrf2
activation reverses the functional abnormality of these diseases"


Nrf2, a Guardian of Healthspan and Gatekeeper of Species Longevity

Integr. Comp. Biol. (2010) doi: 10.1093/icb/icq034

Kaitlyn N. Lewis*†‡, James Mele†‡, John D. Hayes§ and Rochelle Buffenstein1,*†‡

*Department of Cellular and Structural Biology, University of Texas
Health Science Center at San Antonio, 15355 Lambda Drive, STCBM 2.2, San
Antonio TX 78245, USA; †Department of Physiology, University of Texas Health
Science Center at San Antonio, 15355 Lambda Drive, STCBM 2.2, San Antonio TX
78245, USA; ‡Sam and Anne Barshop Institute for Aging and Longevity Studies,
University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, 15355 Lambda
Drive, STCBM 2.2, San Antonio TX 78245, USA; §Biomedical Research Centre,
University of Dundee, Dundee DD1 9SY, Scotland, UK

"The Nrf2-signaling pathway mediates multiple avenues of cytoprotection by activating the transcription of more than 200 genes that are crucial in the metabolism of drugs and toxins, protection against oxidative stress and inflammation, as well as playing an integral role in stability of proteins and in the removal of damaged proteins via proteasomal degradation or autophagy. Nrf2 interacts with other important cell regulators such as tumor suppressor protein 53 (p53) and nuclear factor-kappa beta (NF-κB) and through their combined interactions is the guardian of healthspan, protecting against many age-related diseases including cancer and neurodegeneration."

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Genetic activation of Nrf2 signaling is sufficient to ameliorate
neurodegenerative phenotypes in a Drosophila model of Parkinson’s disease.


Dis Model Mech. 2011 September; 4(5): 701–707.
Published online 2011 June 30. doi: 10.1242/dmm.007575

Maria Cecilia Barone,1 Gerasimos P. Sykiotis,2 and Dirk Bohmann1*
1Department of Biomedical Genetics, University of Rochester Medical Center,
Rochester, NY 14642, USA
2Division of Endocrinology, Department of Internal Medicine and Department
of Pharmacology, University of Patras Medical School, Patras 26500, Greece

"The transcription factor Nrf2, a conserved global regulator of cellular antioxidant responses, has been implicated in neuroprotection against PD pathology."
"Our data validate the sustained upregulation of the Nrf2 pathway as a neuroprotective strategy against PD."



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