These guys sound very happy!10 Mar 2022 13:23
Howard Weiner, MD, Director of the Multiple Sclerosis Program at BWH and Chairman of Tiziana’s Scientific Advisory Board, commented, “The potential for intranasally administered foralumab to suppress microglial activation is a novel and well-tolerated immunologic approach to potentially treat SPMS, a form of MS that currently has no effective treatment. We are extremely pleased with the tolerability of intranasal foralumab and with the positive clinical and PET imaging responses observed after completion of six months of dosing in the first patient. We look forward to treating additional patients to fill a major unmet need for the treatment of SPMS.”
Tanuja Chitnis, MD, Principal Investigator and Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School (HMS) and senior neurologist at BWH and Massachusetts General Hospital added, “New treatments for progressive MS are urgently needed. Intranasal foralumab could revolutionize treatment for this disabling form of disease.”
Tarun Singhal, MD, Director of PET Imaging Program in Neurologic Diseases, associate neurologist and nuclear medicine physician at BWH commented, “The longitudinal PET imaging results suggesting sustained reduction in microglial activation in the first SPMS patient treated with foralumab, are highly encouraging. We are very excited to further investigate the effects of foralumab in SPMS patients using additional quantitative PET approaches.”
About the Role of Microglial Activation in Neurodegenerative Diseases
Activation of microglia is a hallmark of brain inflammation. It is believed to play an important role in the pathway leading to neuronal cell death in several neurodegenerative diseases including Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, prion diseases, multiple sclerosis and HIV-dementia. The chronic activation of microglia causes neuronal damage through the release of cytotoxic molecules such as pro-inflammatory cytokines, reactive oxygen intermediates, proteinases and complement proteins. Suppression of microglial inflammation has been considered as an important strategy in neurodegenerative disease therapy.
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