(NAPS)—Even more than cancer, there’s one disease most people fear. The thought of falling prey to Alzheimer’s disease and to the inevitable desecration of the mind is something that can make even the bravest shudder.
After all, if you’re robbed of your sense of who you really are,
you’re doomed to live your last days without the dignity that defines
you and that you hold dear. Perhaps the ultimate horror of Alzheimer’s
disease is that it is as indiscriminate, merciless, and devastating as a
wind-swept wildfire.
As a result, a disease-modifying treatment for Alzheimer’s
disease has become a Holy Grail of sorts in the biotech industry. The
disease is so ubiquitous, it casts a shadow over just about everyone’s
family. At the same time, it exacts a devastating financial toll on
society—perhaps even greater than cancer—with Alzheimer’s disease
patients needing 24-hour care for an average of eight years and
sometimes as many as 20 years.
The estimated cost for caring for Americans with Alzheimer’s
disease and other dementias is well in excess of a quarter of a trillion
dollars per annum. This doesn’t even include unpaid caregiving. Also,
Alzheimer’s disease is ranked as the third leading cause of death of
seniors in the United States, surpassed only by heart disease and
cancer. Approximately 6 million Americans have become its victims, and
this number rises each year as lifespans increase due to advancements in
medical science.
Progress From Pharmaceuticals
Fortunately, a
few pharmaceutical companies, including Biogen, AC Immune SA and
NervGen Pharma, have come up with ways to potentially treat the
condition and perhaps slow it down. NervGen’s medical researchers are
working on what may become an important breakthrough for Alzheimer’s and
other afflictions that are defined by nerve damage.
Could This Be Modern Medicine’s Holy Grail?
Until
recently, NervGen’s focus has mostly been on developing nerve
regeneration for the treatment of spinal cord injuries. In fact, some
remarkable results have been achieved in preclinical trials, including
one where the treated rodents regained substantial functionality in
their legs after sustaining severe spinal cord damage.
Assuming it also works in humans, the medical science world will
be paying very close attention because there are no known therapies that
can stimulate human nerve regeneration now.
In addition, NervGen intends to commence a Phase 2 clinical trial
for treating multiple sclerosis. The company’s drug candidate is
expected to treat many of such debilitating symptoms as numbness, loss
of sensation, chronic and debilitating pain, partial loss of movement,
paralysis, and even incontinence due to additional mechanisms of action
called “remyelination” and “plasticity.”
The research team also believes that the same nerve-rejuvenating
biotechnology can be adapted to treat Alzheimer’s disease, not just
mitigate its symptoms due to its truly novel and innovate approach.
The essence of this technology is that it unlocks a damaged
nervous system’s natural ability to repair itself. Proprietary molecules
“unstick” nerves and prevent new ones from getting stuck by interfering
with synaptic-like connections so the nerves can regrow in places that
are normally highly inhibited by scar tissue.
The co-inventor of NervGen’s technology, Dr. Jerry Silver, is one
of the world’s most foremost neuroscience researchers of spinal cord
injury. Dr. Silver, who is also Professor of Neurosciences at
Cleveland’s Case Western Reserve University’s School of Medicine, has
been working this unique approach to nerve rejuvenation biotechnology
since the early ’90s by focusing on a protein called CSPG that inhibits
the body’s natural ability to grow and regenerate.
Heretofore, no drugs have been approved anywhere in the world for
nerve regeneration and remyelination, as well as improved plasticity in
damaged nerves. Additionally, existing treatments are not considered
very effective. So, the stakes are especially high for NervGen to create
a blockbuster drug candidate that promises to even outshine any other
Alzheimer’s disease drug. This is a wonderful opportunity to pioneer
nerve repairing drug therapies that target some of the most devastating
and pervasive diseases known to humankind.
Learn More
For further facts and figures about NervGen Pharma, go to www.nervgen.com.
“NervGen Pharma Corp. and some of the leading medical researchers in the United States are looking into ways to deal with such dreaded conditions as Alzheimer’s disease, MS and spinal cord injuries.http://bit.ly/2tZju0W”