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New
Drug Helps Treat Liver Disease
By Cheri Ghan
A breakthrough discovery of the structure
of water has led a University of Missouri-Columbia research team
to develop a new drug for the treatment of Wilson's Disease, a
liver disorder. Kattesh Katti, MU professor of radiology and a
senior research scientist at the MU
Research Reactor, said animal trials of the drug "MU-TAM"
have been successful and he expects human trials to follow after
obtaining an industrial sponsor for the pharmaceutical.
Typically, water forms small ring structures
with six or eight sets of water molecules. Working with Raghu
Kannan, MU research assistant professor of radiology, the researchers
found structural evidence for a large water ring structure with
18 sets of water molecules when water was mixed with the experimental
pharmaceutical. After further testing, the researchers discovered
MU-TAM was an amphiphile, a molecule with both hydrophobic, or
water repelling, and hydrophilic, or water loving, qualities.
In patients with Wilson's Disease, the liver
is unable to rid itself of excess copper. Katti says too much
copper can produce "free radicals" in the body that
attack the patient's DNA, protein and tissue. MU-TAM's amphiphile
attributes help the body fight Wilson's Disease directly.
"The hydrophobic portion of this drug
delivers the drug to the liver to rid it of the excess copper,"
Katti said. "The water loving, or hydrophilic portion, then
carries excess copper out of the liver through the urine. The
cleansing properties of MU-TAM will have important implications
in the treatment of various other diseases that affect the liver."
Katti says animal trials were conducted on
pigs in cooperation with Stan Casteel, MU professor of veterinary
medicine. Katti said the pigs provided an ideal test model
because they are so similar to humans in size and physiology.
Following the issuance of a patent from the federal government,
Katti hopes to secure an industrial sponsor to support human trials
within the next three to five years.
Katti's breakthrough research on water has
appeared in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.
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Last Update:
November 15, 2007
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