UIC Tests Diabetes Drug in Treatment of Multiple Sclerosis

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UIC Tests Diabetes Drug in Treatment of Multiple Sclerosis

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Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago are launching a

clinical trial to determine whether a drug commonly used for diabetes might

be effective in treating multiple sclerosis, an autoimmune disease that

affects 350,000 Americans.

Newswise ‹ Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago are

launching a clinical trial to determine whether a drug commonly used for

diabetes might be effective in treating multiple sclerosis, an autoimmune

disease that affects 350,000 Americans.

In an animal model of the disease, the researchers found that the drug

reduced the inflammation of nervous tissue that occurs with multiple

sclerosis and prevented the aberrant immune response that ends up destroying

the body's own brain and spinal cord.

" At present, few medications have been approved by the Food and Drug

Administration for the treatment of multiple sclerosis, " said

Feinstein, associate professor of anesthesiology in the UIC College of

Medicine. " These drugs are only partially effective, and none helps

significantly in the later, progressive forms of the disease. The drugs also

have undesirable side effects, and they need to be injected, making them

difficult to administer. "

The drug being tested, called pioglitazone, is prescribed for the treatment

of type 2 diabetes. Marketed by Takeda Pharmaceuticals North America,

pioglitazone " sensitizes " the body's cells to insulin, a hormone produced by

the pancreas that lets sugar into cells so that it can be converted into

energy. People with type 2 diabetes are unable to use insulin efficiently,

leading to elevated blood sugar levels (hyperglycemia) and tissue damage.

Research has shown that drugs like pioglitazone not only raise the levels of

certain proteins involved in the uptake and metabolism of glucose but also

lower the levels of other molecules involved in the immune response and

inflammation.

" It is amazing that this drug, at least in animal tests, has shown a

dramatic effect on two different targets of multiple sclerosis, namely the

immune system and the inflammation process, " Feinstein said.

Feinstein also noted that the drug is available as a tablet, simplifying its

administration.

The clinical trial will enroll about 30 patients with relapsing remitting

multiple sclerosis, the most common form of the disease. People with this

type of multiple sclerosis experience episodes of acute worsening of

neurological function, followed by partial or complete recovery. In most

patients, the disease will eventually change into a chronic, persistent

form, with symptoms worsening throughout life.

Participants in the trial will take a 30-milligram dose of pioglitazone

daily for a period of 18 months, during which they will be monitored for any

side effects or changes in their symptoms.

" At this stage in the drug trial, we are simply trying to determine whether

the drug is safe and can be tolerated by people with multiple sclerosis, "

Feinstein said. " But we'll also be doing neurological examinations and

biochemical analyses of blood samples, looking for signs of inflammation and

immune cell activation to determine whether the drug is having any effect on

symptoms of the disease. "

Employing UIC's state-of-the-art magnetic resonance imaging technology, the

researchers will do a series of three brain scans over the course of the

trial to look for changes in the cerebral lesions associated with multiple

sclerosis.

In multiple sclerosis, the T cells of the immune system go awry, attacking

proteins in the myelin sheath that insulates the nerve fibers. When the

sheath is destroyed, electrical signals that are normally transmitted

throughout the brain and spinal cord are disrupted, and the brain is no

longer able to correctly send or receive the messages that help control

muscle movements.

Patients with multiple sclerosis suffer a range of symptoms, including

tingling and numbness, loss of balance, blurry vision, weakness in the

limbs, difficulty walking, impaired thinking and even paralysis. The disease

affects women about twice as often as men.

In the United States, health care costs for multiple sclerosis are second

only to those for Alzheimer's disease.

Co-directors of the UIC study are Drs. Hier and Demetrios Skias, in

the department of neurology at UIC, and Dr. Dusan Stefoskil, director of the

multiple sclerosis clinic at Rush University Medical Center.

The study is funded by Takeda Pharmaceuticals North America, Inc.

For more information about the UIC College of Medicine, visit

http://www.uic.edu/depts/mcam/.