innovative therapies:

 A number of studies conducted in animal models of Parkinson’s Disease indicate that FGF-1 can stimulate the regeneration of dopamine-producing cells in the brain leading to an improvement in the classical Parkinson’s Disease symptoms that these animals display.   Based on clinical research with other disorders, it is well established that FGF-1 can also promote the growth and maintenance of a healthy microvasculature in damaged tissues or organs. An FDA approved human trial is planned for 2021. 

 This condition is also referred to as “multi-infarct dementia” and develops over a period of time after a person suffers numerous mini-strokes. This chronic lack of blood perfusion results in a gradual loss of neurons in the brain and dementia. Because FGF-1 can cross the blood-brain barrier, Zhittya Genesis Medicine will review IV infusions of the drug to see if this treatment can help reverse dementia by bringing additional blood flow to the brain.   

 Recent work from several medical research groups has indicated that one of the first steps in the development of Alzheimer’s Disease is a degeneration in the microvasculature of the brain. Researchers at McGill University in Canada analyzed more than 7,700 brain images and found that contrary to previous understanding, the first physiological sign of Alzheimer’s disease is a decrease in blood flow in the brain. This decline in brain perfusion precedes the classical symptoms of this disease including memory loss, plaque deposition outside of nerve cells and “neurofibrillary tangles” within neurons. Zhittya Genesis Medicine plans to initiate pre-clinical work in animal models of Alzheimer's Disease to see if therapeutic angiogenesis in the brain can delay or reverse the course of this disease (3).