Rock Creek Pharmaceuticals, a wholly owned subsidiary of Glen Allen, Va.-based Star Scientific, has isolated a compound from nicotine, anatabine, that is a potential [image-nocss] Alzheimer's treatment, according to a press release.
Click herefor complete Rock Creek Pharmaceuticals press release.
Neurological research center Roskamp Institute will begin human trials with the antabine compound (named CigRx), and will complete the study after three months.
This is just the first step in a long process for any approval of an Alzheimer's treatment, the report added. The study at Roskamp will focus on "inflammation," and the theory appears to be that if chronic inflammation can be controlled or prevented then there is potential to fight the ravages of Alzheimer's. Many medical experts suspect chronic inflammation is behind not just Alzheimer's but also cancer and other serious ailments. Then even if the study is conclusive, there is a long process of refinement and further studies before any U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) approval that brings a cure or treatment to the general public.
A Roskamp article indicates that CigRx and antabine have already been linked to lower inflammation on human brain tissue--more so than the much lauded cholesterol mainteance drug Lipitor from Pfizer, it said.
If inflammation of the brain is, in fact, a big cause of Alzheimer's symptoms and progression of the illness, then this could prove a crucial first step, the report said.
Star Scientific is a technology-oriented company with a stated mission to reduce the harm associated with tobacco at every level. It is engaged in the development of dissolvable smokeless tobacco products that deliver fewer carcinogenic toxins, principally through the use of the StarCured tobacco curing technology. Its subsidiary, Rock Creek Pharmaceuticals, Inc., is involved in the development of nutraceuticals as well as products to address neurological and mood disorders.
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