TILS.L Regulatory News (TILS)

11 Feb 2008 07:00

ReGen Therapeutics PLC11 February 2008 Monday 11 February 2008 embargoed for 7am ReGen's ColostrininTM Improves Senility and/or Cognition in Aging Cats and Dogs ReGen Therapeutics Plc ('ReGen'or the 'Company') announces that its productColostrininTM, which is currently marketed in the USA and Australia under thebrand name CogniSureTM, a nutritional supplement to 'support healthy brain agingand cognition in humans'* has recently been shown to be beneficial andwell-tolerated in aging pet cats and dogs with signs of senility and/orcognitive dysfunction. Open pilot studies, conducted by Cinque Ports Veterinary Associates, Hawkhurst,Kent, UK involved the daily dosing of aged cats and dogs with ColostrininTMpowder sprinkled into their food or drink. To be eligible for the study, subject animals displayed acknowledged clinicalsigns of senility and/or cognitive dysfunction. Eighteen cats and twenty-twodogs, each resident in their normal domestic environment, received a daily doseof ColostrininTM for four months. The clinical condition of each animal wasassessed by a veterinary surgeon and the owner completed a questionnaire aboutaspects of the animal's behaviour at monthly intervals. Results were compared toindividual base-line assessments, prior to treatment. Summarising the study findings Nicholas Mills, Principal Investigator to thestudy said 'These results clearly show that ColostrininTM can significantlyreduce the symptoms of cognitive dysfunction in aged cats and dogs. ThatColostrininTM was effective was reinforced by the fact that when animals wereassessed one month after completion of the study, and having had noColostrininTM for one month, most animals showed a worsened condition'. The study showed ColostrininTM to be well tolerated. With regard to specificbenefits, a number of owners noted improvements in symptoms related todisorientation, sleep and grooming. A significant proportion of owners reportedan increase in appetite, water consumption and an improvement in coat condition. Percy Lomax, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of ReGen said 'These resultsshow a potential benefit for aging cats and dogs and we are entering intodiscussions with potential licensees. The full results are being written up witha view to publication in a peer-reviewed veterinary journal'. * ColostrininTM for use as a human nutraceutical is licensed in North Americaand Australasia to Metagenics Inc. of San Clemente, California (www.Metagenics.com). Discussions are ongoing with potential distributors inother regions of the world. Notes for Editors: Cognitive dysfunction in cats and dogs: The increasing awareness of Alzheimer's disease and senile dementia in humanshas in recent years resulted in the owners of companion animals being moreaware of their animals suffering from similar cognitive dysfunction. This has probably been aided by advances in veterinary medicine resulting in a greaternumber of healthy animals and an increased life expectancy both of which willhave helped increase the number of animals showing symptoms of cognitive dysfunction (Gunn-Moore et al. 2006). Dogs have been known to suffer from cognitive dysfunction for some time and havebecome an accepted model for the study of related conditions in humans (e.g.Cummings et al. 1996 & Studzinski et al. 2006). It is only relatively recentlythat cats have been suggested to suffer from a condition akin to Alzheimer'sdisease (Gunn-Moore et al. 2006), characterised by ss-amyloid and AT8immunoreactive phosphoryated tau deposits. Figures for the prevalence of age related behavioural problems suggest that 28%of dogs aged 11-12 show at least one symptom. This rises to 65% in the 12-16years age group (Neilson et al. 2001). The situation would appear to be similarin cats where 28% of animals aged 11-14 show at least one symptom; rising tomore than 50% of cats aged 15 years or more (Gunn-Moore et al. 2006). Whilst some drugs have been useful in the treatment of dementia related symptomscaused by a decrease in blood supply to the brain, there is no treatmentcurrently available to deal directly with Alzheimer-like pathologies incompanion animals. For further information: Percy LomaxReGen Therapeutics PlcTel No 7153 4920 Roland Cornish/Felicity GeidtBeaumont Cornish LimitedTel No 020 7628 3396 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange