[ExI] good bexarotene article

[spike]

>... On Behalf Of spike
Subject: Re: [ExI] good bexarotene article

 

 

>...  What I am doing now is trying to find out if there have been other
medications which have reduced amyloid plaques in mouse brains, then been
tested on humans and found not effective in treatment of humans.  If so,
that will be a clue.  A discouraging one, but a clue... spike

 

Woohooo, NO!  There has not been any class of drugs which do what bexarotene
appears to do to Alz mice.  Here's the money quote:

 

"This is an unprecedented finding," says Paige Cramer, PhD candidate at Case
Western Reserve School of Medicine and first author of the study.
"Previously, the best existing treatment for Alzheimer's disease in mice
required several months to reduce plaque in the brain."

 

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-02/cwru-dqr020512.php

 

>From the same article:  

 

Researchers are hoping for approval to study bexarotene in humans as soon as
possible. Dr. Landreath related to the post that there is an urgency since
he has heard from physicians that patients are already asking for this drug.
He does note "We've got to work fast, and we have got to be right, we can't
screw this up".

 

And from this article:

 

http://topnews.us/content/246219-skin-cancer-drug-bexarotene-reverses-alzhei
mers-mice

 

this delightful comment!:

 

Noting that that within hours of being given the drug, the destructive brain
plaque which was causing Alzheimer's in the mice started disappearing, lead
researcher Gary Landreth told AFP: "We were shocked and amazed. Things like
this had never, ever been seen before."

 

Ooooh, I like those words, purr them to me baby, NEVER EVER been seen
before.

 

>...One other thing, I recommend calling some large drug retailer and

inquiring about Targretin sales.  Are they spiking (no pun intended)?

 

Good question.   Eisai Corp's stock didn't spike way up, but the privately
owned company Banner Pharmacaps, which applied for the fast track last
October is sitting pretty.  Note there are other medications which contain
bexarotene besides Targretin.  That one is promising because it is an oral.


 

One possible scenario worries me: some lab tech from Case Western U buys a
bunch of shares of Eisai, breakes into the lab in the middle of the night,
switches the Alzheimer's mice with younger ones (seen one lab mouse ya seen
em all) next day the researchers come in, run the tests, mice are suddenly
smarter, the lab tech cashes out, flees into the night.  Then tech sells
short, reveals the trick, stocks drop, she cashes out a second time.

 

Note Dr. Landreth's comment above: he did say "...within hours of being
given the drug..." which counter indicates a sneaky lab technician in the
middle of the night.  Actually with that comment there should be preliminary
results: we have hospitals which have cancer patients taking Targretin, and
you know damn well someone somewhere would have suggested giving the caplets
to the Alz patients by now.

 

spike  

 

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