Scott - Here is the answer I got from the Company for your question. BTW, it's spelled Neotrofin, with an f and not with a ph. And, incidentally you can call the company with a question on the science and the switchboard operator will get you through to somebody who will answer. Please let me know if, after you read this response, you agree that their press release about increasing stem cells in adult mice is a pretty big deal.
Neotrofin is a procainamide-based purine derivative. It has no relationship to norepinephrine.
First of all, you raised alot of good questions and there are still many answers we do not know yet.
The exact mechanism of action of Neotrofin is not understood yet. What I mean by this is that the receptor or enzyme that the drug targets when it hits a cell is not known. We have looked quite extensively and haven't found it yet. What we do know is that when you treat cells, or an entire animal, with the drug, it triggers an event which induces the selective expression of the neurotrophic growth factors. The drug doesn't turn on the factors in all cells. It triggers something in the cell which tells the cell "make factor X" and induces the cell to do that. In cell in another part of the brain, which needs factor Y to survive or regenerate, that factor is induced. We think that somehow the drug triggers some process which induces the cells to do what they should be doing if they were functioning properly. We have seen that not all areas of the brain produce any one factor. BDNF is produced in some areas and NT-3 in others, for example.
There is commonality in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. In these diseases, brain neurons die, leading to a variety of symptoms depending on the brain region effected. Since Neotrofin has the ability to induce the neurotrophic growth factors selectively and specifically, it has potential for a variety of different diseases where you want to regenerate neurons.
In extensive long term toxicity studies we have not seen any of the side effects you see with administration of these growth factors directly via catheters into the brain. We think this is because we are inducing the cells to make the amount of factors which is appropriate, rather than injecting large quantities to allow for a little to actually reach the target cells.
Regarding the stem cells, your brain stem cells are constantly proliferating. Things like exercise increase the amount of stem cell proliferation and stress decreases the number. Since Neotrofin increases stem cell proliferation 30-35%, we feel that this will provide benefit and not lead to abnormal cell proliferation. It has been demonstrated that in animals with some type of injury, there is an increase in stem cell proliferation. We feel that Neotrofin may be helping the body accomplish this. At this time, however, there is no evidence that stem cells can be redirected to diseased or injured areas if they were programmed to go somewhere else.
I think there are more studies to perform to understand this effect more completely. There are many research groups around the world working to increase the number of brain stem cells to treat disease and injury. It is generally believed that we will be able to harness this mechanism to more effectively treat disease. |
