Metabolon公司获得寻找ALS新指标的拨款

 
美国国家环境健康科学研究院宣布了一项拨款，用于资助发现肌萎缩性脊髓侧索硬化的新型生物学标记物，该项目部分由美国国家健康研究所资助。

获得这项拨款的是Metabolon公司,该公司已经研制开发了新技术用于测量生化改变谱,然后描绘了这些改变导致代谢代谢途径的影响.这项技术能够被用于鉴别疾病地新生物指标,以及鉴别更加安全的化合物用于药物研发.

肌萎缩性脊髓侧索硬化,或者叫做Lou Gherig病,是一种进行性,神经退行性疾病,能够影响大脑神经细胞以及脊髓.仅仅在美国每年就诊断出5600例新病例.一旦诊断,肌萎缩性脊髓侧索硬化患者的平均寿命在2~5年之间.目前市场上只有一种药物用于治疗肌萎缩性脊髓侧索硬化.

Metabolon公司将使用该公司的metabolomics平台检测患者的血浆样本,以鉴别肌萎缩性脊髓侧索硬化的生物指标.这些生物标记将与那些其它运动神经元疾病进行比较,以确定肌萎缩性脊髓侧索硬化特征是独一无二的,或者与其它运动神经元疾病一样.Metabolon公司同时还将研究肌萎缩性脊髓侧索硬化的这些生物学标记如何随着疾病进展而发生改变.如果该公司能够成功鉴别出独特的生物学标记,这就成为开发新型诊断与治疗方法的基础.

Metabolon公司总裁兼首席执行官John Ryals博士指出:"我们获得第三项拨款,显示Metabolon公司的技术在开发肌萎缩性脊髓侧索硬化疾病的新型诊断与治疗方法方面,具有巨大的潜能." [本文由美迪医疗网成扬编译】
 
Metabolon to Search for ALS Biomarkers
 
A grant to discover novel biomarkers for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) has been announced by the U.S. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), part of the U.S. National Institutes of Health (Bethesda, MD, USA).

The recipient of the grant was Metabolon, Inc. (Research Triangle Park, NC, USA), which has developed new technology for measuring the spectrum of biochemical changes and then mapping these changes to metabolic pathways. The technology can be used to identify novel biomarkers of disease and identify safer compounds for drug development.

ALS, or Lou Gherig’s disease, is a progressive, neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. About 5,600 new cases are diagnosed each year in the United States alone. Once diagnosed, the average life expectancy of an ALS patient is two to five years. There is currently only one drug on the market for the treatment of ALS.

Metabolon will test plasma samples obtained from patients using its metabolomics platform to identify biomarkers for ALS. These biomarkers will be compared to those of other motor neuron diseases to determine if the ALS signature is unique or common to other motor neuron disorders. Metabolon will also study how biomarkers for ALS change with disease progression. If the company is successful in identifying unique biomarkers, these could become the basis for a diagnostic test and new therapies.

“It is clear from the receipt of our third grant that Metabolon’s technology has great potential to discover novel biomarkers for the diagnosis and treatment of ALS,” noted Dr. John Ryals, president and CEO of Metabolon.