Alteon's Investigational Drug Alagebrium Demonstrates Beneficial Effects on Heart and Kidney in Preclinical Studies
Monday May 24, 12:54 pm ET
Abstract Presented at the American Society of Hypertension Annual Meeting; Paper Published in the American Journal of Hypertension
PARSIPPANY, N.J., May 24 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Alteon Inc. (Amex: ALT - News) announced today that an abstract detailing the effects of Alteon's A.G.E. Crosslink Breaker alagebrium (formerly ALT-711) in the treatment of aged spontaneously hypertensive rats was presented on Saturday at the American Society of Hypertension Nineteenth Annual Scientific Meeting and Exposition in New York City. In addition, the abstract and a separate paper were recently published in the American Journal of Hypertension. Study results showed that alagebrium therapy demonstrated beneficial cardiovascular and renal effects by reducing systolic blood pressure, left ventricular mass and urinary protein excretion, as well as improving left ventricular (LV) function and aortic distensibility.
"Breaker of glycated collagen cross-links, ALT-711, improves left ventricular function and aortic distensibility in elderly spontaneously hypertensive rats," was conducted by researchers from the Hypertension Research Laboratory, Ochsner Clinic Foundation in New Orleans, LA. The abstract noted:
-- That treatment with alagebrium reduced aortic stiffness as compared to
placebo, as indicated by increased aortic distensibility (108 +/- 9
mm/mm Hg vs. 79 +/- 8; p<0.05) and reduced pulse wave velocity
(2.8 +/- 0.1 cm/s/mm Hg vs. 3.3 +/- 0.1; p<0.05).
-- Simultaneously, LV diastolic function improved in the treatment group,
as indicated by an augmented maximal rate of pressure fall (-dP/dT)
(-7300 +/- 280 mm Hg/s vs. -6360 +/- 350; p<0.05) and reduced
diastolic time constant (T) (15.5 +/- 0.4 msec vs. 17.3 +/- 0.5;
p<0.05).
-- The authors concluded that therapy with alagebrium, an A.G.E.
crosslink breaker, significantly improved cardiovascular function in
the elderly hypertensive rats.
The published study, "Cardiovascular and renal effects of a collagen cross-link breaker (ALT-711) in adult and aged spontaneously hypertensive rats," conducted by the same research group, further demonstrated:
-- That alagebrium given for four months (1 mg/kg/day) was effective in
reducing the size of the heart. LV index (3.09 +/- 0.10 vs. 3.44 +/-
0.05 mg/g) and aortic mass index (1.54 +/- 0.04 vs. 1.74 +/- 0.05
mg/mm) were reduced by treatment with alagebrium.
-- In older, spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR), the same dose of
alagebrium reduced systolic blood pressure (from 203 +/- 3 mm Hg at
outset to 187 +/- 3 mm Hg at 8 weeks). Systolic pressure remained
unchanged in placebo-treated rats.
-- In one experiment, one-year-old SHR were given alagebrium or placebo
until natural death. After three months, alagebrium markedly reduced
urinary protein excretion (74.5 +/- 8.6 vs. 135.4 +/- 11.8 mg/24h), an
indicator of improved kidney function.
"These results provide another set of consistent data showing the overall, beneficial effects of alagebrium," said Robert C. deGroof, Ph.D., Senior Vice President of Scientific Affairs, "and add to our enthusiasm for our ongoing Phase 2 human clinical development program in systolic hypertension and in diastolic dysfunction."
The study and abstract were published in the American Journal of Hypertension, and can be accessed at:
AJH, April 2004, Volume 17, Issue 4 Pages 328-333. Cardiovascular and renal effects of a collagen cross-link breaker (ALT-711) in adult and aged spontaneously hypertensive rats. Dinko Susic, Jasmina Varagic and Edward D. Frohlich. cardiosource.com AJH&uid=PIIS0895706104000226&kwhighligh=Susic
AJH, May 2004, Volume 17, Issue 5 (Supplement 0) Pages S169. Breaker of glycated collagen cross-links, ALT-711, improves left ventricular function and aortic distensibility in elderly spontaneously hypertensive rats. Dinko Susic, Jasmina Varagic, Jwari Ahn, Louis C. Matavelli and Edward D. Frohlich. cardiosource.com AJH&uid=PIIS0895706104005229&kwhighligh=Susic |
