Science, Space and Technology News 2024
Researchers at Harvard’s Wyss Institute have used donepezil, an FDA-approved Alzheimer’s drug, to induce a hibernation-like state in tadpoles, potentially offering a new way to extend the critical treatment window after traumatic injuries. This method could replace current practices that require controlled hospital environments and leverage donepezil’s established clinical use and production methods for rapid deployment in emergency settings.
“Cooling a patient’s body down to slow its metabolic processes has long been used in medical settings to reduce injuries and long-term problems from severe conditions, but it can only currently be done in a well-resourced hospital,” said co-author Michael Super, Ph.D., Director of Immuno-Materials at the Wyss Institute. “Achieving a similar state of ‘biostasis’ with an easily administered drug like DNP could potentially save millions of lives every year.
In the new study, they once again turned to their algorithm, NeMoCad, to identify other compounds whose structures are similar to SNC80. Their top candidate was DNP, which has been approved since 1996 to treat Alzheimer’s.“Interestingly, clinical overdoses of DNP in patients suffering from Alzheimer’s disease have been associated with drowsiness and a reduced heart rate – symptoms that are torpor-like.
“Donepezil has been used worldwide by patients for decades, so its properties and manufacturing methods are well-established. Lipid nanocarriers similar to the ones we used are also now approved for clinical use in other applications.
Reference: “Donepezil Nanoemulsion Induces a Torpor-like State with Reduced Toxicity in Nonhibernating Xenopus laevis Tadpoles” by Maria Plaza Oliver, Erica Gardner, Tiffany Lin, Katherine Sheehan, Megan M. Sperry, Shanda Lightbown, Manuel Ramsés Martínez, Daniela del Campo, Haleh Fotowat, Michael Lewandowski, Takako Takeda, Alexander C. Pauer, Shruti Kaushal, Vaskar Gnyawali, Maria V. Lozano, Manuel J. Santander Ortega, Richard Novak, Michael Super and Donald E.
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