Catching up on some news...
Vasogen Neuroinflammatory Disease Research Published in the Journal NeuroImmunoModulation
08:00 EDT Tuesday, September 17, 2002
TORONTO, Sept. 17 /CNW/ - Vasogen Inc. (TSX:VAS; AMEX:VSV) a developer of immune modulation therapies for inflammatory conditions, today announced that previously reported results from preclinical studies in neuroinflammation, an underlying mechanism in Alzheimer's disease and other neurological conditions, have been published in the October issue of NeuroImmunoModulation (10:40-46, 2002). This research was conducted under the direction of Professor Marina Lynch, Ph.D., at the Department of Physiology, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland.
"There is increasing recognition of the deleterious role that chronic inflammation plays in a number of disease states, including neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's," stated Professor Lynch. "Our preclinical research has shown that Vasogen's immune modulation therapy has the potential to prevent the progression of inflammation and the decline in neural activity resulting from inflammation within the brain."
Preclinical results from studies conducted on the hippocampus, the region of the brain involved in memory and learning, demonstrated that Vasogen's immune modulation therapy can significantly reduce cell death (p less than 0.01) induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS), an inflammatory stimulus. The attenuation of this inflammatory response was associated with an increase (p less than 0.05) in the anti-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-10 and a concomitant decrease (p less than 0.05) in the pro-inflammatory cytokine, interleukin-1B. The therapy also led to a reduction (p less than 0.05) in the expression of certain enzymes involved in the intra-cellular response to inflammation, including the stress-activated protein kinase c-Jun NH(2)- terminal kinase.
These results demonstrated the ability of Vasogen's immune modulation therapy to significantly abrogate LPS-induced inhibition of long-term potentiation in this preclinical model (p less than 0.01). Long-term potentiation describes the persistent enhancement of the synaptic response in a specific neural pathway in the hippocampus following stimulation and is considered to be a key physiological mechanism involved in memory and learning. While the blood brain barrier prevents the entry of many pharmaceuticals into the brain, the present data provide evidence that Vasogen's immune modulation therapy circumvents this problem.
Neurological conditions that are associated with an inflammatory response include such devastating diseases as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and multiple sclerosis. Together, these conditions are estimated to affect more than five million people in North America, with the total cost of care exceeding $100 billion per year.
Vasogen is developing immune modulation therapies for the treatment of
cardiovascular and other inflammatory diseases.
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For further information: Glenn Neumann, Investor Relations, 2155 Dunwin Drive, Mississauga, ON, Canada L5L 4M1, tel: (905) 569-9065, fax: (905) 569-9231, www.vasogen.com / investor@vasogen.com |
