SLU Researchers Restore Muscle Strength
INSIDE
SLU Researchers Show How to
Stop Muscle Weakness Caused by Myasthenia Gravis
Problem with IMPAX/Global brand generic Mestinon
New Treatment Boosts Muscle
in Myasthenia Gravis
Tribute to John Newsome-Davis,
CBE, FRS
Have you lost your glasses?
REMEMBRANCES
SLU
Researchers Show How to Stop Muscle Weakness Caused by Myasthenia Gravis
Severe muscle weakness caused by Myasthenia
Gravis - a highly debilitating autoimmune disorder - can be prevented or
reversed by blocking a key step in the immune response that brings on the
disease, researchers at the Saint Louis University School of Medicine have
found.
Myasthenia Gravis, which affects
about 120,000 Americans, is caused when the immune system produces antibodies
that attack and damage acetylcholine receptors, which are mechanisms that play
a key role in transmitting the electrical impulses that cause muscles to move
and contract.
The immune response at the heart
of this process is called a complement cascade - a complex chain of chemical
reactions in which proteins bind together to attack a cell by punching a hole
in it. When acetylcholine receptors are damaged in this way, muscle movement is
severely impaired.
Using an animal model, the SLU
scientists found they could prevent muscle weakness, or restore muscle
strength, caused by Myasthenia Gravis by stopping the complement cascade at a
step called C5 - before the series of
chemical reactions had finished. They did this by administering an anti-CS
agent, which targets one of the proteins involved in the cascade and thus stops
the process.
The researchers' findings are
published in a recent edition of the Journal of Immunology (http://www.jimmunol.org/cgi/reprint-l79/12/8562)
Henry J. Kaminski, M.D.,*
professor and chairman of the department of neurology and psychiatry at the
Saint Louis University School of Medicine, one of the study's authors, said the
findings are promising enough that human clinical trials involving the anti-05
agent - called eculizumab - are likely within a year.
"We believe this therapeutic
approach has strong potential for improving the lives of patients with
Myasthenia Gravis," Kaminski said. "And if it proves successful
there, it could also one day help us find new therapies for other auto-immune
disorders, such as rheumatoid arthritis and lupus."
In addition to Kaminski, the
study's authors include Yuefang Zhou, Ph.D., and Bendi Gong, Ph.D., both of Saint
Louis University; M.
Edward Medof, M.D., and Feng
Lin, Ph.D., both of the Institute of Pathology at Case
Western Reserve University
in Cleveland; and Russell Rother, Ph.D., of Alexion Pharmaceuticals in Cheshire, Conn.
The research was supported by
grants from the National Institutes of Health.
* National MG Medical/Scientific
Advisory Board Member
AMPS: MGF of Illinois
Problem with IMPAX/Global brand generic Mestinon
It appears that a number of people around the country have been experiencing a
problem with their pyridostigmine bromide (generic Mestinon) tablets disintegrating rather quickly when placed
in their pill boxes, even with the use of desiccants. "Global"
appears to have replaced the Generic "Watson" brand in many of the
pharmacies around the country. According to one pharmacist, it is the least
expensive generic for them
to buy, despite the fact that there are others; e.g., Corepharma(Sandoz), Oceanside(Watson),
and others.
If you are experiencing the above complaint with your IMPAX/Global brand pyridostigmine tablets, please follow the complaint process
listed below.
1. File a
complaint with the FDA at .">www.fda.gov/medwatch
.
2. Contact your pharmacy and advise the pharmacist of
the problem.
3. Contact Ms Nenita Erni at "IMPAX/Global. Her phone number is (215)
289-2220 Ext. 1733. Have the "LOT #" when you call Ms. Erni. This is VERY important. Having the lot number is the
only way IMPAX/Global can hunt down the problem. The lot number can be found
printed in black on the original white plastic bottle. It may be buried under
the label the pharmacist glues on the bottle.
4. Alert Mat Spaan at mspaan@nonprofitsolutions.com or
1-800-541-5454 at the MGFA National Headquarters. Mat is keeping
"score." It is too early to tell whether or not the problem is just
one lot, or whether it's a total production issue. Until the problem is solved,
you may request another brand at your pharmacy. IMPAX Laboratories has
suggested that patients keep their tablets in the original bottle.
New Treatment Boosts Muscle in
Myasthenia Gravis
Science Daily (Aug. 20, 2007)-A new
type of treatment significantly reduces the severity of muscle weakness in
myasthenia gravis (MG), giving hope for a new class of drugs to treat
neurological disorders, according to a recent study.
The drug, oral EN 101 antisense, inhibits the production of acetylcholine
esterase, which is an important enzyme in the function of the neuromuscular
junction, where nerves connect with muscles. Antisense
is a synthetic, short segment of DNA that locks onto a strand of mRNA and
blocks production of specific proteins.
This is the first time we've been
able to show that antisense is effective and safe
when taken orally for a neurological disease," said study author Zohar Argov, MD, with Hadassah
Hebrew University Medical Center in Jerusalem and member of the American
Academy of Neurology. "Oral delivery of antisense
has long been sought after since it is expected to improve patient compliance
because daily injections won't be needed." People with myasthenia gravis
have increased fatigue and reduced strength in their voluntary muscles.
Symptoms may also include a drooping eyelid, double vision, difficulty in
swallowing, or slurred speech. Myasthenia gravis is believed to affect 20 out
of every 100,000 people.
For the study, 16 people with
Myasthenia gravis were given daily doses of oral EN 101 antisense
for four days and monitored for one month. Four of the people later took the
drug for a month. The study found that oral antisense
reduced disease severity by an average of 46 percent, with patients
experiencing improved muscle function, improved swallowing time and the
disappearance of a drooping eyelid. Side effects reported during the study were
dryness of eyes and mouth.
Experts say this discovery may have
implications beyond Myasthenia gravis. "Oral antisense
may become another mode of therapy in neuromuscular disease and further study
is needed," said Argov. However, these
preliminary results should be evaluated with caution since this was an open
label study."
American Academy of Neurology (2007,
August 20). New Treatment Boosts Muscle Function
In Myasthenia
Gravis. Science Daily.
http://www.sciencedaily.coln/releases/2007/08/070813162521.1
Itl 11
AMPS: MGA of Detroit
2008 MGFA Annual Meeting
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
June 12-14
Tribute to John Newsome-Davis, CBE,
FRS
John Newsom-Davis died in an
automobile accident in Romania on August 24, 2007. During a 40-year career in
medicine, Dr. Newsom-Davis made many landmark contributions to the
identification, classification, and treatment of autoimmune neurological
disorders.
John Michael Newsom-Davis was his
parents' first child, born 10 minutes before his
twin sister, Julia. He
attended prep school in England, followed by two years of national service in
the Royal Air Force, flying Meteor jets. Experiences as a fighter pilot
remained a source of pride and of stories throughout his life. He entered
Cambridge University in 1954, received a BA degree in Natural Sciences, and
qualified as a doctor at Middlesex Hospital in 1960, earning his MD in 1966. He
was a house physician at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery
(Queen Square) from 1966-1968, and then moved to New York to train with Dr.
Fred Plum, continuing earlier investigations into the physiology and neural control
of breathing.
He returned to Queen Square and Royal
Free Hospital as a consultant neurologist, establishing an active research
group. In 1987, he was recruited to Oxford University as the Ac-
tion Research Chair of
Clinical Neurology, bringing several colleagues with him from London. Notable
contributions from work with London and Oxford colleagues (Anthony Pinching,
Keith Peters, Alastair Compston, Richard Batchelor,
and Angela Vincent, among others) include the dramatic effect of plasmapheresis in myasthenia gravis, pathogenic effects of
antibodies to the acetylcholine receptor, characterization of antibodies to
voltage-gated calcium channels in Lambert-Eaton myasthenic
syndrome and to voltage-gated potassium channels in acquired neuromyotonia and other forms of peripheral nerve hyperexcitability, and the recent discovery of antibodies
to muscle-specific tyrosine kinase in a large
proportion of seronegative MG patients.
Although officially retired in 1998,
Dr. Newsom-Davis remained active in both clinical
and research arenas.
He was editor-in-chief of Brain until 2004 and, at the time of his death, was
leading the international effort to conduct a randomized, controlled study of thymectomy in non-thymomatous MG.
This National Institute of Health supported study is actively recruiting
patients at more than 80 sites worldwide.
Highlights among his many honors
include Fellow of the Royal Society, foreign membership in the Institute of
Medicine and National Academy of Sciences (US), president of the Biomedical
Section of the British Association of the Advancement of Science, president of
the Association of British Neurologists, and Commander of the British Empire.
He traveled extensively and was widely recognized as a superb lecturer. He will
be remembered for pairing boundless energy and
enthusiasm with genuine warmth and concern for
colleagues and students, a great sense of humility, and his devotion to family,
classical music, and good wine.
Dr. Newsom-Davis is survived by his
wife of 44
years, Rosemary (who is
recovering from the accident), three children, and seven grandchildren.
By Donald B. Sanders, MD
Source: MGFA News for Chapters,
9/2007
Have you lost your glasses?
A
pair of eyeglasses were left behind at the last chapter meeting. If you
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REMEMBRANCES
In Memory of: By:
Dick George Jeanne
Kalil
Marge Lovewell
Jackie Tice Schultz Juanita
Buren
Essie & Charles Anthony Ginger
& Bill Hines
Dr. Chelly Hines
Dykes
Adam Dykes
Juanita Buren
Donald Espy Florence
Espy
Alphonso Jackson Anthony
Jackson
Morris L. Weinstein Arva Weinstein
Jerry O. Roberson Claudia
Roberson
Richard Johns Beth
& Bob Tarkington
In Honor of: By:
Leigh Munson Regina
Burrell
Beth Beggs Regina
Burrell