New Evidence on Infection as Chronic Disease Trigger Published, Debated by World-Class Scientists
Cutting Edge Research Aimed at Redefining the Way Doctors Diagnose and Treat Disease
TAMPA, FL (Dec. 20, 2006) - New evidence that may help solve one of the great puzzles of 21st- century medicine was published today in a special section of the Journal of Investigative Medicine. It features leading scientists in the field brought together by The American Federation for Medical Research and the American Physiological Society.
Is chronic disease triggered by an infection? New evidence comes from scientists at NASA, Mayo Clinic, and Nanobac Pharmaceuticals who pioneered investigations into infectious calcifying particles.
A condition known as calcification occurs in most diseases on the leading cause of death list and in illnesses such as kidney, gallbladder and prostate stones. Calcification is also linked to chronic inflammation in atherosclerosis and end-stage renal disease, but it is unclear how this occurs.
Half-a-dozen papers in the Journal resulted from a symposium that assembled, for the first time in medical history, experts from biology, medicine and geology to debate these possible causes of calcification: chemical crystallization; cell-mediated crystallization; and potentially infectious calcifying nanoparticles (CNPs) that generate calcification.
One conclusion by symposium organizers: Although infection is just one of three potential causes of calcification, it deserves focus as a chronic disease trigger, based on new evidence presented.
"Increasingly, micro-organisms are being identified as an unexpected cause of disease..." writes symposium co-organizer and Mayo Clinic scientist Dr. Virginia Miller.
The symposium considered works by Dr. Neva Ciftcioglu and Dr.Olavi Kajander, lead scientists with Nanobac Pharmaceuticals, as well as two other works by Mayo researchers, which provide evidence that calcifying nanoparticles might be infectious and spark calcification in disease.
Although Dr. Miller says the idea of infectious nanoparticles is still controversial, she concludes that, "Nanoparticles might serve as an inflammatory stimulus that initiates cell transdifferentiation, stimulate the formation of matrix vesicles, or simply form a nidus for subsequent inorganic calcium accumulation."
Participants in the symposium included scientists from such world-class institutions as UCLA and various institutes in Europe.
Scientists from Nanobac Pharmaceuticals are the leading investigators on the issue of infection as a possible cause of calcification, and have published the most papers on this topic.
Participants list:
Neva Ciftcioglu, Ph.D., director of science at Nanobac Pharmaceuticals, is one of the scientists who originally isolated nanoparticles from mammalian blood and, working at NASA's Johnson Space Center, presented concepts of nanoparticles as a nidi for biomineralization.
Neal X. Chen, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Medicine at Indiana University, reviews mechanisms of cell transdifferentiation and crystallization in renal cells.
John C. Lieske, MD, associate professor of Medicine, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, continued the theme of calcification of renal tissue, in particular Randalls plaques, by presenting evidence for self-replicating, self-calcifying nanoparticles in renal stones.
Linda L. Demer, MD, Ph.D., professor of medicine, Division of Cardiology, The David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, reviewed transdifferentiation of vascular smooth muscle cells to a bone-associated phenotype and the importance of RANKL and receptor in that process.
Howard H.T. Hsu, Ph.D., associate professor, Department of Pathology, University of Kansas Medical Center, reviewed data supporting the contribution of matrix vesicles to vascular calcification and presents a provocative theory of the stimuli involved in their formation.
Karim Benzerara, Ph.D., Institut de Mineralogis et de Physique des Milieux Condenses and Institut de Physique du Globe of Paris, France, demonstrates how the state-of-the-art scanning transmission X-ray microscopy and near-edge x-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) can be used to define the biochemical characteristics of nanoparticles isolated from the environment and human tissue.
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For more information or to schedule a briefing/interview please contact Carson Chandler (202) 367-1625, cchandler@akerpartners.com or Matt Taylor (202) 367-1631, mtaylor@akerpartners.com.
About Nanobac Pharmaceuticals:
Nanobac Pharmaceuticals Inc. ((OTCBB:NNBP <http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=nnbp.ob&d=t> )) is dedicated to the discovery and development of products and services to improve human health through the detection and treatment of calcifying nanoparticles (CNPs). The company's pioneering research is establishing the pathogenic role of CNPs in soft tissue calcification, particularly in coronary artery, prostate and vascular disease. Nanobac's drug discovery and development is focused on new and existing compounds that effectively inhibit, destroy or neutralize CNPs. Nanobac manufactures In Vitro Diagnostic (IVD) kits and reagents for detecting calcifying nanoparticles. IVD products include a line of assays, proprietary antibodies, and reagents for uniquely recognizing CNPs. Nanobac's BioAnalytical Services works with biopharmaceutical partners to develop and apply methods for avoiding, detecting, and inactivating or eliminating CNPs from raw materials. For details visit nanobac.com .
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