Technologies

Telbivudine to Abrogate Amyotropic Lateral Sclerosis

Dr. Ted Allison and his team at the University of Alberta have discovered that telbivudine, a blood brain barrier-permeable thymidine analogue approved for treatment of Hepatitis B, is effective in ameliorating Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). Results from in vitro studies have shown that telbivudine binds with tryptophan 32 residue in superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) gene and prevents SOD1 misfolding.In vivostudies in zebrafish models have shown that administration of telbivudine results in a significant improvement in motor neuron function and swim performance along with reduced toxicity effects in comparison to uridine and 5 Fluorouridine.