New twist on old drug could treat lupus

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New twist on old drug could treat lupus

United Press International

10/16/2002

ANN ARBOR, Mich., Oct 16, 2002 (United Press International via COMTEX) --

Scientists have discovered a chemical similar to those found in anti-anxiety

drugs such as Valium and Xanax could reduce significantly the kidney

inflammation caused by the autoimmune disorder lupus, according to a study

released Wednesday.

Lupus, a common disease caused by the body's immune system attacking itself,

has left researchers stumped. Because scientists still do not know the cause

of it, tracking down an effective treatment has proved difficult.

Researchers led by Glick of the University of Michigan Life Sciences

Institute have found a new twist on a common chemical may provide lupus

patients with relief.

As reported in the Oct. 16 issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation,

they used a compound called 1,4 bezodiazepine or Bz-423, which shares a

similar chemical structure pattern to the compounds found in anti-anxiety

medications. To test this chemical, researchers gave it to mice with lupus

and compared them to diseased mice who did not receive the treatment.

Results showed 60 percent of the untreated mice developed lupus-related

kidney inflammation compared to 16 percent of the treated animals. The

treated mice also showed none of the side effects caused by current standard

lupus drugs, which tend to kill healthy cells as well as diseased cells and

actually cause patients to feel sicker, much like some cancer medications.

" It's the bull in the China shop approach, " Glick told United Press

International. " The bull goes in and destroys everything. "

However, Bz-423 is much more selective, he explained. " When you think of

Valium, you don't think of something that will kill cells in the immune

system, " Glick said. " We feel this approach has a lot of promise for lupus,

because the molecular target ... or how this drug works in the cell is

completely new. "

Kidney inflammation, which can be fatal, is caused when the body's immune

system attacks its own organs and tissues. The kidneys are often a prime

target among lupus patients. The researchers suspects Bz-423 would be a good

drug to study because it triggers apoptosis, a natural cellular suicide that

does not harm surrounding healthy cells.

" This opens up a new family of very well-known compounds, very well-known

chemicals, that could potentially be useful, " Glick said. " We believe this

is going to prove useful for other autoimmune disorders, " such as arthritis.

Dr. , an associate professor of medicine at the University of

Alabama in Birmingham, Ala., who studies autoimmune disorders, said the

findings of this study is a new avenue toward treating a befuddling illness.

" It's a novel approach to develop new treatments for autoimmunity, "

told UPI. " Whether or not this compound will make it to clinic is anybody's

guess. "

Glick said additional research on Bz-423 already is underway and he plans to

apply to the Food and Drug Administration to begin human clinical trials.

said studying mice " is a long way from humans, " but the findings do

hold promise. " I think that's the other significance of this, " he said. " It

(Bz-423) doesn't seem to be generally toxic. "

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, 1.4

million Americans have lupus and more than 22,000 have died from the disease

over the past two decades. Women of childbearing age are at greatest risk

and African Americans are more likely than Caucasians to develop the

disorder, which has no known cause.

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