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Biotech / Medical : EntreMed (ENMD) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Bedrock who wrote (1883)	4/5/1999 6:22:00 PM
From: songw	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 2135

Highly publicized cancer drug also shows promise against heart disease 1.41 p.m. ET (1741 GMT) April 5, 1999 BOSTON — The experimental drug that caused a sensation when it was found to wipe out cancer in mice by choking off the tumors' blood supply is also showing promise against heart disease. The treatment involves the Harvard-developed drug endostatin, which has been shown to be remarkably potent against cancer but has not been tested yet on people. Now, the same team that discovered endostatin found that in mice, at least, the drug may also greatly slow the development of atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries. Atherosclerosis is a buildup of fatty deposits. The research raises the possibility that a new category of drugs, the blood vessel inhibitors, may be useful weapons against both heart disease and cancer, the two most important diseases of the industrialized world. A team led by Dr. Judah Folkman of Harvard Medical School and Children's Hospital in Boston reported the development in Tuesday's issue of the American Heart Association journal Circulation. Folkman pioneered the study of angiogenesis, the growth of new blood vessels. Endostatin is a natural protein that blocks blood vessel formation. Without a blood supply, cancer in lab animals often stops growing and disappears. Heart disease also involves unwanted tissue growth -- the accumulation of cholesterol, blood cells and smooth muscle cells in lumps known as plaque. Plaque growing in the heart arteries is the chief cause of heart attacks and angina pain. Experts have long noticed that plaque often has its own network of tiny blood vessels called capillaries. "By blocking them, perhaps we can alter the progression of the disease,'' said Dr. Karen Moulton, who conducted the experiment in Folkman's lab. In the 16-week experiment involving 73 mice, the researchers tested endostatin on animals that were fed a high-cholesterol diet. They found that those on the drug averaged 85 percent less plaque buildup in their hearts' aortas than did untreated animals. "It's a very exciting concept,'' said Dr. Stephen Epstein of Washington Hospital Center in Washington. "If the data can be validated by other labs, it represents a whole new paradigm for strategies to prevent atherosclerosis and its complications.'' However, Epstein acknowledged that the discovery also presents "a very important conundrum,'' because drugs that promote blood vessel growth, rather than block it, are already one of the hottest areas of heart disease research. Epstein and others are testing the use of growth proteins that trigger the body to sprout new blood vessels. When injected into the heart, these proteins induce the growth of a new blood supply. This nourishes heart muscle that is starved by clogged arteries. Some human testing suggests this treatment can relieve the effects of atherosclerosis. But Epstein said the latest work raises the possibility that it could also make the underlying disease worse by promoting the growth of plaque. However, Dr. Jeffrey Isner of St. Elizabeth's Medical Center in Boston said his own animal experiments show no evidence that stimulating the growth of blood vessels will speed up atherosclerosis or do anything else bad. Moulton speculated that both treatments could eventually find a place in controlling heart disease. Blood vessel inhibitors like endostatin might be given at a relatively early stage of disease, just as cholesterol-lowering statins are now used to keep blood vessels healthy. The blood vessel stimulators would be reserved for relieving arteries that are already badly clogged. At EntreMed Inc. in Rockville, Md., which is developing endostatin, spokeswoman Mary P. Sundeed said the company is concentrating on the cancer uses of the drug and has no plans to test it against heart disease. She said initial safety testing of endostatin in cancer patients should begin this summer at the University of Wisconsin and M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. foxmarketwire.com