Allergen and Pitt Partnership Led by Prof. Tzounopoulos

Very little information at the moment: http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsbur...inks-research-partnership-with-drugmaker.html

 

Another 3 years of research then many more before anything or nothing comes out of it

 

This differs as Thanos' previous research has been on onset and prevention on T becoming chronic although this seems to be more about finding out what changes happen when T becomes chronic and reversing that.

PITTSBURGH—Nearly 50 million Americans suffer from tinnitus, an audiological and neurological condition most frequently characterized by ringing in the ears when no actual noise is present, but little is known about the physiology underlying the condition. Allergan, a global pharmaceutical corporation, and the University of Pittsburgh have agreed to a research partnership to help understand the molecular and cellular mechanisms that sustain tinnitus once it has developed.

Thanos Tzounopoulos, professor of and endowed chair in auditory physiology, associate professor of otolaryngology, and member of the auditory research group at Pitt’s School of Medicine, will lead the research.

“The goal of the project collaboration is to discover the cellular and molecular mechanisms or targets underlying the maintenance of tinnitus,” said Tzounopoulos. Tzounopoulos, one of the world’s leading tinnitus researchers, has spent the past eight years working on projects funded by the Department of Defense and American Tinnitus Association that focused on determining the mechanisms that lead to the triggering—rather than maintenance—of tinnitus.

Tzounopoulos’ team found that exposure to excessive noise in mice caused a reduction in a potassium channel activity. In collaboration with Peter Wipf, Distinguished University Professor of Chemistry at Pitt, the team discovered a novel, highly potent and selective potassium channel activator that can prevent the development of tinnitus.

“Due to the structural relationship of this compound to the FDA-approved anticonvulsant drug retigabine, which has considerable side effects, there is a significantly enhanced probability that this activator will gain regulatory approval,” said Tzounopoulos.

The new project with Allergan will use two-photon in vivo imaging in mice to explore the cortical areas and the specific cell types that are different in mice with established tinnitus. Once cell-specific tinnitus-related differences are discovered, the researchers will perform experiments to identify the specific molecular changes that mediate these differences. “We believe that understanding these mechanisms will lead to the development of drugs and therapies for eliminating tinnitus after it becomes permanent,” said Tzounopoulos.

“Pitt’s mission is to make the world better through knowledge, and, to us, that can be accomplished through collaboration, partnership, and engagement—like this opportunity with Allergan,” said Rebecca Bagley, vice chancellor for economic partnerships at Pitt. “We look forward to continue our work with Allergan to benefit the region, the University, the company, and the patients.”

http://www.news.pitt.edu/news/sound-investment-pitt-allergan-collaborate-tinnitus-research

 

Wonder what happened to that modified version of retigabine that he discovered?
Why isn't that going anywhere yet being funded by defence department, money should not be an issue.

 

They are scientists do you think for a second the pharmaceutical culture will let two scientists make a med that treats 75,000,000 Americans with tinnitus?

 

But isn't that how drugs are discovered and eventually reach the market?

 

Reading the post from Twitch you can see that this research has a partnership with a pharmaceutical company...

 

It does not state this is related to his compound RL81, but this is positive for chronic suffers

 

So we know how to PREVENT tinnitus, 50% is done.
Didn't know that the triggering mechanism is different than the maintaining mechanism - good to know.

 

Maintaining is believed to be related to GABA and potassium channels in the brain (thus why drugs that operate those can sometimes reduce the symptoms) Onset it caused due noise trauma, ototoxicity of medications combined with the bodies release of Cortisol (stress hormone) which makes it stick.

 

Cool.

 

I like this partnership .allergen worth 17.5 billion . They must have a substantial investment into the research .and that sounds good to me . Seems about time a big drug company puts a investment into the hearing loss and tinnitus research .