NRTS as Therapeutics for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

There are no therapeutics available to slow, stop, or cure the progressive neurodegeneration and muthat rapidly and inexorably leads to death in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) anddegenerative diseases. Research has provided evidence that oxygen free radicals and oxidative damageWe have demonstrated that certain nitrone related therapeutics (NRTs) protect the brain from oxygenby ischemia/reperfusion. We, as well as others, have shown that prototype NRTs mitigate the effects(another demonstrated component of ALS) in cell culture. Using a series of NRTs from the Centaur che250 compounds, we will determine if Centaur's proprietary NRTs can mitigate the effects of ALS usingthe disease: antisense to SOD rat motor neuron cell culture, mutant human Cu/Zn SOD transgenic miceculture, and the corresponding in vivo models. The effects of NRTs will be evaluated based on cell smodels and by protein oxidation, lipid peroxidation, glutamine synthetase activity, and cell survivaComparisons will be made to controls treated with placebo and to nonmutant mice.