Patient trial of ‘wonder drug’ FT-11 is to commence in Australia. The drug could be used to treat the spread of fibrosis - the irreversible scarring of vital organs. Fibrosis turns heart, liver and kidney diseases fatal.
Currently there is no available treatment which prevents or halts the spread of the condition and the race is on to produce an antifibrotic drug.
Dialysis - Hemodialysis, Peritoneal Dialysis and Role of Diet and Drugs
Dialysis is an artificial process for removing excess water and waste from the blood. Hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis are the types of dialysis.
Dialysis is an artificial process for removing excess water and waste from the blood. Hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis are the types of dialysis.
Professor Darren Kelly of Melbourne's St Vincent's Hospital, leader of the two-year research project, says it could save the lives of millions of patients around the world and bring an end to kidney dialysis and also offer an improved lifestyle.
Melbourne University shares patent rights for the drug through Fibrotech Therapeutics.
The drug could mean the difference between taking one tablet a day as against needing eight hours of dialysis every few days; the drug could also be used to prevent diabetes.
Kidney Health Australia, says fibrosis causes the majority of chronic kidney diseases and any drug that could stop the onset of scarring to the kidney would be a major advance. There are currently 10,000 Australians on dialysis.
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Cardiac Fibrosis may Be Prevented in Future
An animal study by researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine has revealed that a molecule called Epac plays a significant role in integrating the body's
An animal study by researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine has revealed that a molecule called Epac plays a significant role in integrating the body's
He says his team had just received a grant from the US government to accelerate the development program.
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Deaths From Pulmonary Fibrosis Predicted To Rise
Researchers from the University of Colorado say that death rates from pulmonary fibrosis have increased significantly in recent years, with no signs of slowing down.
Researchers from the University of Colorado say that death rates from pulmonary fibrosis have increased significantly in recent years, with no signs of slowing down.
Researchers initially were considering the drug as a treatment for diuretic kidney disease but it had implications in the treatment of heart failure, liver fibrosis, lung fibrosis and other complications.
"We know at the moment in rat studies that our compound inhibited the development of fibrosis and the interesting thing in the future would be to see whether we can actually reverse fibrosis," Professor Kelly said.
"Currently we have some quite strong data showing that our compounds prevent fibrosis occurring.
"We have looked at it in a series of animal models that are very predictive of clinical outcomes. Hence the reason we are quite confident that our data is robust."
The drug could be used on patients who suffered heart attacks.
"A lot of the remodelling or the fibrosis that occurs in patients with heart attacks causes the heart to fail over the short term," Professor Kelly said.
It could also be used to treat liver cirrhosis, fibrosis and some lung conditions.
"If it is the first of its kind on the market, it would be a huge step forward because there are currently no anti-fibrotics on the market," he said.
"It would be up there with some of the blockbuster drugs like the blood pressure lowering compounds. It would be a huge advance in medical knowledge."
Source-Medindia
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