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Can ‘toxic’ bilirubin treat a variety of illnesses?
Generations of medical and biology students have been instilled with a dim view of bilirubin. Spawned when the body trashes old red blood cells, the molecule is harmful refuse and a sign of illness. High blood levels cause jaundice, which turns the eyes and skin yellow and can signal liver trouble. Newborns can’t process the compound, and although high levels normally subside, a persistent surplus can cause brain damage. Yet later this year up to 40 healthy Australian volunteers may begin receiving infusions of the supposedly good-for-nothing molecule. They will be participating in a phase 1 safety trial, sponsored ...
Source: ScienceNOW - June 8, 2023 Category: Science Source Type: news

The effect of statins on the differentiation and function of central nervous system cells
Curr Med Chem. 2023 Mar 8. doi: 10.2174/0929867330666230308121645. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTStatins (3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase inhibitors) reduce plasma cholesterol and improve endothelium-dependent vasodilation, inflammation, and oxidative stress. The effect of statins on the central nervous system (CNS), particularly on cognition and neurological disorders such as cerebral ischemic stroke, multiple sclerosis (MS), and Alzheimer's disease (AD), has received increasing attention in recent years, both within the scientific community and in the media. This review aims to provide an updated discussion on t...
Source: Current Medicinal Chemistry - March 9, 2023 Category: Chemistry Authors: Sajjad Chamani Leila Mobasheri Shadi Zerehpoosh Ali Naghizadeh Alice P McCloskey Manfredi Rizzo Tannaz Jamialahmadi Amirhossein Sahebkar Source Type: research

The effects of statins on microglial cells to protect against neurodegenerative disorders: A mechanistic review
AbstractMicroglia are the primary innate immune system cells in the central nervous system (CNS). They are crucial for the immunity, neurogenesis, synaptogenesis, neurotrophic support, phagocytosis of cellular debris, and maintaining the CNS integrity and homeostasis. Invasion by pathogens as well as in CNS injuries and damages results in activation of microglia known as microgliosis. The activated microglia have the capacity to release proinflammatory mediators leading to neuroinflammation. However, uncontrolled neuroinflammation can give rise to various neurological disorders (NDs), especially the neurodegenerative disea...
Source: BioFactors - December 16, 2019 Category: Biochemistry Authors: Hossein Bagheri, Faezeh Ghasemi, George E. Barreto, Thozhukat Sathyapalan, Tannaz Jamialahmadi, Amirhossein Sahebkar Tags: Review Article Source Type: research

Preventable Cases of Oral Anticoagulant-Induced Bleeding: Data From the Spontaneous Reporting System
Conclusion: Our findings describe the most reported risk factors for preventability of oral anticoagulant-induced bleedings. These factors may be useful for targeting interventions to improve pharmacovigilance activities in our regional territory and to reduce the burden of medication errors and inappropriate prescription. Introduction Oral anticoagulant therapy is widely used for the prevention of stroke and systemic embolism in patients with atrial fibrillation, or for the prevention and treatment of deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism (Raj et al., 1994; Monaco et al., 2017). Oral anticoagulants can be di...
Source: Frontiers in Pharmacology - April 29, 2019 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Source Type: research

The beneficial effects of HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors in the processes of neurodegeneration
AbstractStatins, cholesterol lowering drugs, have been demonstrated to exert beneficial effects in other conditions such as primary and progressing neurodegenerative diseases beyond their original role. Observation that statins ameliorate the neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson ’s disease (PD), Alzheimer’s disease (AD), multiple sclerosis (MS) and cerebral ischemic stroke, the neuroprotective effects of these drugs are thought to be linked to their anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidative, and anti-excitotoxic properties. Despite the voluminous literature on the clinical adva ntages of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl Co-e...
Source: Metabolic Brain Disease - June 3, 2017 Category: Neurology Source Type: research

£6m statin trial raises hope drug can be used to treat multiple sclerosis
Trial involving almost 1,200 people aims to ‘establish definitively’ whether cholesterol drug can slow disability progressionScientists are hopeful a major drug trial will establish that statins can be used to treat multiple sclerosis.The low-cost drugs are typically prescribed to help lower levels of “bad cholesterol” associated with raised risk of a heart attack or stroke, but they have also shown “incredible promise” for the treatment of MS.Continue reading...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - May 8, 2017 Category: Science Authors: Haroon Siddique Tags: Multiple sclerosis Statins Medical research NHS Society Health Science UK news Source Type: news

Statins and Epilepsy: Preclinical Studies, Clinical Trials and Statin-Anticonvulsant Drug Interactions.
Abstract 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA (HMG-CoA) reductase inhibitors (statins) are potent cholesterol-lowering drugs which also possess beneficial antioxidant, antiinflammatory, immunomodulatory, and antiexcitotoxic effects. In addition, statins have proven neuroprotective effects in several neurological diseases: stroke, cerebral ischemia, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis and traumatic brain injury. Relatively few studies have investigated the potential anti-seizure properties of statins in epilepsy and the possible underlying protective mechanisms that may be involved. This review summar...
Source: Current Drug Targets - April 22, 2015 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Authors: Scicchitano F, Constanti A, Citraro R, Sarro G, Russo E Tags: Curr Drug Targets Source Type: research

Statins in neurological disorders: An overview and update
Publication date: October 2014 Source:Pharmacological Research, Volume 88 Author(s): Anna Maria Malfitano , Giuseppe Marasco , Maria Chiara Proto , Chiara Laezza , Patrizia Gazzerro , Maurizio Bifulco Statins have, at present, the potential to provide a new therapeutic target for various neurological diseases. It is well established that statins reduce cholesterol levels and prevent coronary heart disease. Moreover, evidence suggest that statins have additional properties such as endothelial protection via action on the nitric oxide synthase system as well as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-platelet effects. Thes...
Source: Pharmacological Research - November 6, 2014 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Source Type: research

Statins - Are they anticonvulsant?
Abstract Statins are the most popular and effective lipid-lowering medications beneficial in hypercholesterolemias and prevention of cardiovascular diseases. Growing evidence supports theory that statins exhibit neuroprotective action in acute stroke, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis or epilepsy. Hereby, we present available experimental data regarding action of this group of drugs on seizure activity and neuronal cell death. The most commonly examined statins, such as atorvastatin and simvastatin, display anticonvulsant action with only inconsiderable exceptions. However, the mechanism...
Source: Pharmacological Reports - June 22, 2014 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Authors: Banach M, Czuczwar SJ, Borowicz KK Tags: Pharmacol Rep Source Type: research