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Drug Shows Promise Against Lou Gehrig's Disease, OK Medical Research Foundation Finds

Posted on: Wednesday, 29 March 2006, 21:00 CST

By David Page

Research at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation could result in an increased life span for patients with Lou Gehrig's disease.

A new study co-authored by Kenneth Hensley, a scientist with OMRF, found that a once-controversial drug might extend the lives of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, the neurological disorder also known as Lou Gehrig's disease.

This is a significant breakthrough, Hensley said. It offers hope to patients who currently face an extremely bleak treatment landscape.

Grants from the Muscular Dystrophy Association, the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Association, and the National Institutes of Health were used to fund the research.

Hensley was co-author of the study with researchers at the Cornell University Medical College in New York City. The study was published in the Journal of Neuroscience.

The study indicates thalidomide might slow progression of the disease known for striking the legendary first baseman of the New York Yankees.

Thalidomide has a controversial history. It was associated with birth defects and was withdrawn from the market for decades after women gave birth to severely deformed babies.

Previous concerns about thalidomide stemmed from birth defects, he said. But pregnancy is not an issue for women suffering from ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis).

Thalidomide is now used to treat some forms of arthritis, said Hensley, who is a scientist in OMRF's Free Radical Biology and Aging Research Program.

The new study found thalidomide and its derivative, lenalidomide, shut down production of messenger proteins thought to be crucial to progression of ALS, a fatal neurological condition with no known cure. In animal studies, treatment with thalidomide increased the life span and enhanced the motor performance of ALS patients.

An estimated 30,000 Americans - most between the ages of 40 and 70 - suffer from ALS, which attacks motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord. The disease results in the gradual loss of motor function and is always fatal.

Riluzole is the only drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration for ALS. Clinical trials are being conducted on thalidomide in the United States and Europe to determine if treatment is safe and tolerated in conjunction with Riluzole.

A quarter-century ago, who would have imagined that a drug best known for causing birth defects might one day help treat a deadly neurodegenerative disease or joint pain? Hensley said. These new results underscore why researchers continually need to examine and re-examine problems both old and new.

Source: Journal Record - Oklahoma City

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