EP1224322A2 - Gensequenz-variationen nützlich für die bestimmung der behandlungsmethode bei krankheiten - Google Patents

Gensequenz-variationen nützlich für die bestimmung der behandlungsmethode bei krankheiten

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Publication number
EP1224322A2
EP1224322A2 EP00919254A EP00919254A EP1224322A2 EP 1224322 A2 EP1224322 A2 EP 1224322A2 EP 00919254 A EP00919254 A EP 00919254A EP 00919254 A EP00919254 A EP 00919254A EP 1224322 A2 EP1224322 A2 EP 1224322A2
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
disease
gene
variance
treatment
patient
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Withdrawn
Application number
EP00919254A
Other languages
English (en)
French (fr)
Inventor
Vincent Stanton, Jr.
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Century Technology Inc
Original Assignee
Variagenics Inc
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Variagenics Inc filed Critical Variagenics Inc
Publication of EP1224322A2 publication Critical patent/EP1224322A2/de
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

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Definitions

  • This application concerns the field of mammalian therapeutics and the selection of therapeutic regimens utilizing host genetic information, including gene sequence variances within the human genome in human populations.
  • inte ⁇ atient va ⁇ abihty in drug safety, tolerabihty and efficacy are discussed in terms of the genetic determinants of inte ⁇ atient va ⁇ ation in abso ⁇ tion, dist ⁇ bution, metabolism, and excretion, i.e. pharmacokinetic parameters.
  • Adverse drug reactions are a p ⁇ ncipal cause of the low success rate of drug development programs (less than one in four compounds that enters human clinical testing is ultimately approved for use by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)).
  • Adverse drug reactions can be catego ⁇ zed as 1 ) mechanism based reactions and 2) idiosyncratic, "unpredictable" effects apparently unrelated to the p ⁇ mary pharmacologic action of the compound.
  • Adverse drug reactions can also be categorized into reversible and irreversible effects.
  • the methods of this invention are useful for identifying the genetic basis of both mechanism based and 'idiosyncratic' toxic effects, whether reversible or not. Methods for identifying the genetic sources of inte ⁇ atient va ⁇ ation in efficacy and mechanism based toxicity may be initially directed to analysis of genes affecting pharmacokinetic parameters, while the genetic causes of idiosyncratic adverse drug reactions are more likely to be att ⁇ butable to genes affecting variation m pharmacodynamic responses or immunological responsiveness.
  • Abso ⁇ tion is the first pharmacokinetic parameter to consider when determining the causes of mtersubject va ⁇ ation in drug response
  • the relevant genes depend on the route of administration of the compound being evaluated.
  • the major steps in absorbtion may occur during exposure to salivary enzymes in the mouth, exposure to the acidic environment of the stomach, exposure to pancreatic digestive enzymes and bile in the small intestine, exposure to enteric bacteria and exposure to cell surface proteins throughout the gastrointestinal tract.
  • uptake of a drug that is absorbed across the gastrointestinal tract by facilitated transport may vary on account of allelic variation in the gene encoding the transporter protein.
  • Many drugs are lipophilic (a property which promotes passive movement across biological membranes).
  • Variation in levels of such drugs may depend, for example, on the enterohepatic circulation of the drug, which may be affected by genetic variation in liver canalicular transporters, or intestinal transporters; alternatively renal reabsorbtion mechanisms may vary among patients as a consequence of gene sequence variances. If a compound is delivered parenterally then absorbtion is not an issue, however transcutaneous administration of a compound may be subject to genetically determined variation in skin absorbtive properties.
  • a drug or candidate therapeutic intervention is absorbed, injected or otherwise enters the bloodstream it is distributed to various biological compartments via the blood.
  • the drug may exist free in the blood, or, more commonly, may be bound with varying degrees of affinity to plasma proteins.
  • One classic source of inte ⁇ atient variation in drug response is attributable to amino acid polymo ⁇ hisms in serum albumin, which affect the binding affinity of drugs such as warfarin. Consequent inte ⁇ atient variation in levels of free warfarin have a significant effect on the degree of anticoagulation. From the blood a compound diffuses into and is retained in interstitial and cellular fluids of different organs to different degrees. Inte ⁇ atient variation in the levels of a drug in different anatomical compartments may be attributable to variation in the genetically encoded chemical environment of those tissues (cell surface proteins, matrix proteins, cytoplasmic proteins and other factors)
  • Biotransformation reactions can be divided into two phases Phase I are oxidation-reduction reactions and phase II are conjugation reactions The enzymes involved in both of these phases are located predominantly in the liver, however biotransformation can also occur in the kidney, gastrointestinal tract, skin, lung and other organs. Phase I reactions occur predominantly m the endoplasmic reticulum, while phase II reactions occur predominantly in the cytosol Both types of reactions can occur in the mitochond ⁇ a, nuclear envelope, or plasma membrane.
  • inflammatory diseases and other diseases in which modulation of immunologic function provides the basis for therapeutic intervention including, for example, diseases treated with antiinflammatory, analgesic or antipyretic drugs as well as autacoids, eicosanoids, interleukins, cytokines or their agonists or antagonists.
  • Diseases or conditions involving the inflammatory response or immune system constitute a complex and heterogeneous group of diseases, involving all organ systems from the central nervous system and the circulatory system to the viscera and skin.
  • the diseases may be acute or chronic, or may have an acute stage which later progresses to a chronic condition, or may exhibit a waxing and waning pattern of flare ups and remissions.
  • the endocrine system encompasses a number of organs that collectively regulate a wide array of physiologic, metabolic and developmental processes including metabolism, growth, reproduction, development, senescence, behavior, including adaptation to stress, the composition of intracellular and extracellular fluids (e.g. salt and water balance), digestion and wound healing, among other processes.
  • the endocrine organs include the hypothalamus, pituitary gland, thyroid, parathyroid, endocrine pancreas, adrenal gland, gonads, and cells of the gastrointestinal tract, liver, kidneys, heart, pineal gland, and placenta.
  • Endocrine signals can be classified as autocrine, paracrine, or endocrine depending on the distance over which a signal must be transmitted.
  • Endocrine signals are transmitted by hormones including peptides, proteins, steroids and small molecule neuro transmitters. The hormones cany biological signals to target cells.
  • Receptors located on the cell surface activate intracellular second messenger systems to ultimately alter intracellular metabolism, physiology and cell function.
  • Second messengers systems include adenylate cyclase, guanylate cyclase, phospholipases, and kinases.
  • Some membrane receptors interact with GTP- binding proteins; others produce intracellular signals themselves (for example receptors with tyrosine kinase domains). Other receptors are located intracellularly
  • hormone-receptor complex acts to stimulate intracellular processes such as gene transcription.
  • Regulation in the endocrine system occurs via a complex system of signals transmitted by hormones, neurotransmitters and other small molecules. These signals participate in feedback loops, recruitment of coordinate responses, and cycles or rhythms. The feedback loops function to coordinately stimulate or terminate hormone signals. In this way, communication occurs between cells or tissues that are physically separated. For example, a peripheral endocrine gland may release hormones in response to centrally produced stimulatory hormones, with the peripherally produced substances feeding back on the central nervous system to decrease production of the stimulatory signal. In other systems the action of multiple hormones must be coordinated. For example, female reproductive system requires hypothalamic, pituitary and ovarian signals and also includes effector targets in the breasts, uterus, and vagina.
  • Endocrine signalling systems that are regulated in a coordinated fashion include, for example, the hypothalamic-pituitary- gonadal axis, the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal corticotroph axis and the hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid axis.
  • the hypothalamic-pituitary- gonadal axis the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal corticotroph axis
  • hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid axis Within the endocrine system there is integration of endocrine responses that are grouped as.
  • a hormone gene encodes a preprohormone that contains several proteins or peptides in contiguous alignment that requires modification prior to becoming an active signaling hormone.
  • the preprohormone after nascent ribosome synthesis then is cut by specific or nonspecific processing proteins to a smaller prohormone within the Golgi apparatus, that then is glycosylated and placed into a secretory granule. Within the secretory granule, the prohormone is then further processed into the active hormone.
  • the active hormone is secreted as a response to physiologic signals and renders the specific biologic function at the target organ or tissue.
  • this complex protein processing mechanism there is the possibility of secreting more than one hormones or signaling peptides in the same secretory granule, and as desc ⁇ bed above, can lead to the delivery of multiple signals to one or more target tissues
  • endoc ⁇ ne function can be conducted by quantitation of circulating hormones and metabolic products, stimulation and suppression tests, and anatomic assessment. Aberrations of endoc ⁇ ne disease, disorder, or dysfunction manifests clinically as either a deficiency or a excess of 1 )endocnne function or 2) hormone production, or may be the result of loss of 1) feedback loops, 2) recruitment of hormone signals, or 3) cycles or pulsatile hormone secretion Lastly, there may be genetic determinants of endoc ⁇ ne disease, for example mutations or polymo ⁇ hisms in biosynthetic enzymes, hormone receptors, peptide hormone or small molecules, immune surveillance, tumor suppressor genes, and others such that these changes or differences from normally occurnng proteins or molecules alters their functional pattern and the clinical manifestation is then characte ⁇ stic of endoc ⁇ ne disease.
  • Endoc ⁇ ne or metabolic disease provide a unique se ⁇ es of complications for clinicians, patients, and care givers, the diseases often progress rapidly and disrupts a vast number of major life functions The progressive nature of these disease syndromes makes the passage of time a crucial issue in the treatment process.
  • Treatment choices for endoc ⁇ ne or metabolic disorders and their associated pathologies, particularly those affecting major organs, e g coronary, hepatic, renal systems, are often complicated by the fact that it often takes a significant pe ⁇ od of treatment to determine if a given therapy is effective Accordingly, treatment with the most effective drug or drugs is often delayed while the disease continues to progress.
  • Cardiovascular and Renal Disease In this application, we address the difficulties that a ⁇ se in treating cardiovascular and renal diseases, desc ⁇ be methods to enable more effective use of available therapeutics, and methods for developing new therapies Diseases of the cardiovascular and renal systems often progress, over pe ⁇ ods of years to decades, to severely debilitating and life threatening conditions. The efficacy of available treatments is limited and there are side effects associated with many of the drugsused to treat these diseases Due to the progressive nature of many cardiovascular and renal diseases it is of great importance to select an effective therapeutic regimen at the time of diagnosis.
  • the effectiveness of therapy is often assessed by short-term measurements of surrogate markers (e.g. blood pressure, blood lipid levels or blood clotting parameters), however the important endpoints (e.g. myocardial infarction, thromboembolism, renal failure) occur (or are prevented) over the long term.
  • surrogate markers e.g. blood pressure, blood lipid levels or blood clotting parameters
  • endpoints e.g. myocardial infarction, thromboembolism, renal failure
  • the tools for selecting optimal therapy for individual patients are currently limited, and as a result some patients receive treatment from which they do not benefit, while other patients may not receive treatment that would produce significant benefit.
  • the current empirical approach to prescribing pharmacotherapy in which each course of treatment for a given patient is a small experiment (e.g. the selection of effective therapy for blood pressure control), is unsatisfactory from both a medical and economic perspective.
  • Neoplastic Disorders In this application, we also address the difficulties that arise in treating neoplastic disease. Due to the often rapid progression and life-threatening nature of neoplastic diseases, both early detection and effective treatment are essential. Clearly, there would be great benefit to patients if therapies that will ultimately prove to be ineffective in curbing the progression of disease could be avoided initially, given the cost and often noxious side effects associated with such therapies.
  • neoplastic disease is targeted against processes such as cell growth and division that occur in both normal and cancerous tissues (albeit at different rates), resulting in pronounced toxicity to normal tissues.
  • Toxic reactions are the most severe in tissues which proliferate rapidly, such as gastrointestinal epithelium and hematopoietic tissues, however serious adverse reactions also occur in other organs occasionally, including heart, kidney, liver, lung and brain.
  • a method that would allow one to predict which patients will exhibit beneficial therapeutic response to a specific medication with minimal adverse effects would provide physical, psychological, and societal benefits.
  • those patients not likely to benefit from aggressive treatment could be offered palliative care.
  • Tumor growth exhibits gompertzian kinetics — growth rate declines with increasing tumor burden. Since chemotherapies are frequently most effective against rapidly growing tumors (low tumor burden), it is imperative that treatment begin immediately after disease detection and that the tumor responds to first-line therapy. Further, selection of optimal treatment for a neoplastic disease is complicated by the fact that it often takes weeks or months to determine if a given therapy is producing a measurable benefit.
  • Neoplastic diseases are related by the fact that they result from the unchecked growth of a previously normal cell, generally thought to be precipitated by one or more mutations in its genetic material. Cancerous cells can undergo gene loss and duplication to become aneuploid or partially polyploid, but usually retain some of the characteristics of their source tissue.
  • Neoplastic cells differ in their ability to form solid tumors, to disseminate from the original site of tumor formation and form metastases, and in their requirements for growth factors, which can include steroid hormones in the case of carcinomas of the prostate or breast.
  • Tumor cells while having sustained alterations to their genetic material that lead either to a loss of growth inhibition or to a gain of growth function, still produce all the enzymes and other macromolecules required for cell viability. In this regard, they are extremely similar to non-cancerous tissue, and selective poisoning of tumor tissue over normal tissue has for the most part proven elusive.
  • chemotherapies mainly target normal cell functions including DNA replication, cell division, RNA transcription, and nucleotide metabolism and are often associated with nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, hair loss, anemia, immune suppression (and consequent increased risk of infection), as well as a host of less common side effects including pulmonary fibrosis, and cardiac, hepatic and renal toxicity.
  • Radiation therapy often used in the treatment of inoperable tumors such as various brain and laryngeal tumors (but also widely used to treat breast cancer in patients who have had lumpectomies), has the advantage that it can be restricted to a small area, especially when used in conjuction with tissue selective radiosensitizers or radioprotectants. Radiation therapy also targets rapidly proliferating tissues and shares many of the side effects of cytotoxic agents. Minimization of severe toxic reactions to cancer therapy through knowledge of genetic variances in normal tissue that could impact either drug metabolism or cellular repair processes would be an invaluable addition to cancer therapy.
  • the present invention is concerned generally with the field of identifying an appropriate treatment regimen for a neurological or psychiatric disease, drug- induced disease or disorders, endocrine or metabolic disease, inflammatory disease
  • the present invention is additionally concerned generally with the field of pharmacology, specifically pharmacokinetics and toxicology, and more specifically with identifying and predicting inter-patient differences in response to drugs in order to achieve superior efficacy and safety in selected patient populations.
  • this invention describes the identification of genes and gene sequence variances useful in the field of therapeutics for optimizing efficacy and safety of drug therapy by allowing prediction of pharmacokinetic and/or toxicologic behavior of specific drugs in specific patients.
  • Relevant pharmacokinetic processes include abso ⁇ tion, distribution, metabolism and excretion.
  • Relevant toxicological processes include both dose related and idiosyncratic adverse reactions to drugs, including, for example, hepatotoxicity, blood dyscrasias and immunological reactions. It is further concerned with the genetic basis of inter-patient variation in response to therapy, including drug therapy.
  • this invention describes the identification of gene sequence variances useful in the field of therapeutics for optimizing efficacy and safety of drug therapy. These variances may be useful either during the drug development process or in guiding the optimal use of already approved compounds. DNA sequence variances in candidate genes (i.e. genes that may plausibly affect the action of a drug) are tested in clinical trials, leading to the establishment of diagnostic tests useful for improving the development of new pharmaceutical products and/or the more effective use of existing pharmaceutical products. Methods for identifying genetic variances and determining their utility in the selection of optimal therapy for specific patients are also described. In general, the invention relates to methods for identifying patient population subsets that respond to drug therapy with either therapeutic benefit or side effects (i.e. symptomatology prompting concern about safety or other unwanted signs or symptoms).
  • CNS diseases While the complexity of CNS physiology creates challenges for pharmacogenetic studies, it is also the case that the pharmacological treatment of CNS diseases provides broad scope for the methods of this invention, because (i) the hereditary component of many CNS diseases is well established, indicating a major role of genetic (as opposed to environmental) factors in disease etiology, (ii) the molecular pharmacology of CNS drugs is generally well undertood, providing a rational basis for selecting genes for pharmacogenetic investigation (iii) the heterogeneous responses of patients to CNS drugs suggests that the factors governing response extend beyond presently understood mechanisms; genetic variation can affect virtually all aspects of pharmacology, and is, for the reasons cited above, likely to account for much of the heterogeneity in drug response.
  • this application we describe methods for improving the treatment of neurological and psychiatric diseases, movement disorders, neurodegenerative diseases, disorders of sensation, and cerebrovascular diseases Specifically, we address the treatment of migraine, pain, epilepsy, schizophrenia, stroke, depression, anxiety, spasticity, Parkinson's disease, dementia, demye nating disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and Huntington's disease.
  • this invention desc ⁇ bes the identification of genes and gene sequence va ⁇ ances useful m the field of therapeutics for optimizing efficacy and safety of drug therapy by allowing prediction of pharmacokinetic and/or toxicologic behavior of specific drugs in specific patients.
  • Relevant pharmacokinetic processes include abso ⁇ tion, distribution, metabolism and excretion.
  • Relevant toxicological processes include both dose related and idiosyncratic adverse reactions to drugs, including, for example, hepatotoxicity, blood dyscrasias and immunological reactions
  • the invention also desc ⁇ bes methods for establishing diagnostic tests useful m (I) the development of, (ii) obtaining regulatory approval for and (in) safe and efficacious clinical use of pharmaceutical products.
  • These va ⁇ ances may be useful either du ⁇ ng the drug development process or in guiding the optimal use of already approved compounds.
  • DNA sequence va ⁇ ances in candidate genes (l e. genes that may plausibly affect the action of a drug) are tested in clinical t ⁇ als, leading to the establishment of diagnostic tests useful for improving the development of new pharmaceutical products and/or the more effective use of existing pharmaceutical products.
  • Methods for identifying genetic variances and determining their utility in the selection of optimal therapy for specific patients are also desc ⁇ bed.
  • the invention relates to methods for identifying and dealing effectively with the genetic sources of inte ⁇ atient va ⁇ ation in drug response, including both variable efficacy as determined by pharmacokinetic va ⁇ ability and va ⁇ able toxicity as determined by pharmacokinetic factors or by other genetic factors (e.g. factors responsible for idiosyncratic drug response).
  • This application is directed also to diseases in which abnormal function of the immune system or the inflammatory response is part of the disease process, or m which modulation of immune or inflammatory function is being tested as a therapeutic intervention.
  • diseases in which abnormal function of the immune system or the inflammatory response is part of the disease process, or m which modulation of immune or inflammatory function is being tested as a therapeutic intervention Specifically we address the treatment of arth ⁇ tis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, autoimmune disease, transplantation, pain associated with inflammation, psoriasis, atherosclerosis, asthma, iflammatory bowel disease, and hepatitis.
  • diabetes mellitus and the related metabolic syndrome X diabetes insipidus, obesity, contraception and infertility, osteoporosis, acne, and alopecia.
  • the methods of this invention are also relevant to devising effective genetic approaches to drug development for endocrine diseases of pituitary
  • cardiovascular and renal diseases provide broad scope for the methods of this invention, because (i) the hereditary component of many cardiovascular and renal diseases is well established, indicating a major role of genetic (as opposed to environmental) factors in disease etiology, (ii) the molecular pharmacology of cardiovascular and renal drugs is generally well undertood, providing a rational basis for selecting genes for pharmacogenetic investigation (iii) the heterogeneous responses of patients to cardiovascular and renal drugs suggests that the factors governing response extend beyond presently understood mechanisms; genetic variation can affect virtually all aspects of pharmacology, and are, for the reasons cited above, likely to account for much of the heterogeneity in drug response.
  • cardiovascular and renal diseases we describe methods for improving the treatment of cardiovascular and renal diseases. Specifically, we address the treatment of anemia, angina (including coronary artery atherosclerosis), arrhythmias, hypertension, hypotension, myocardial ischemia, heart failure, thrombosis, renal diseases, restenosis, and peripheral vascular disease (including atherosclerosis).
  • the methods of this invention are also relevant to devising effective genetic approaches to drug development for other cardiovascular and renal diseases. Described in the Examples and Tables are pathways, genes and gene sequence variances useful in the genetic analysis of treatment response for each of these diseases, and exemplary compounds being developed to treat each of these diseases, the use of which may be improved by genetic analysis of the type described herein.
  • the inventors have determined that the identification of gene sequence variances in genes that may be involved in drug action are useful for determining whether genetic variances account for variable drug efficacy and safety and for determining whether a given drug or other therapy may be safe and effective in an individual patient.
  • identifications of genes and sequence variances which can be useful in connection with predicting differences in response to treatment and selection of appropriate treatment of a disease or condition.
  • a target gene and variances are useful, for example, in pharmacogenetic association studies and diagnostic tests to improve the use of certain drugs or other therapies including, but not limited to, the drug classes and specific drugs identified in the 1999 Physicians' Desk Reference (53rd edition), Medical Economics Data, 1998, the 1995 United States Pharmacopeia -XXIII National Formulary XVIII, Inte ⁇ harm Press, 1994, Tables 24-68 or other sources as described below.
  • the terms "disease” or "condition” are commonly recognized in the art and designate the presence of signs and/or symptoms in an individual or patient that are generally recognized as abnormal. Diseases or conditions may be diagnosed and categorized based on pathological changes.
  • Signs may include any objective evidence of a disease such as changes that are evident by physical examination of a patient or the results of diagnostic tests which may include, among others, laboratory tests to determine the presence of DNA sequence variances or variant forms of certain genes in a patient.
  • Symptoms are subjective evidence of disease or a patients condition, i.e. the patients perception of an abnormal condition that differs from normal function, sensation, or appearance, which may include, without limitations, physical disabilities, morbidity, pain, and other changes from the normal condition experienced by an individual.
  • Various diseases or conditions include, but are not limited to; those categorized in standard textbooks of medicine including, without limitation, textbooks of nutrition, allopathic, homeopathic, and osteopathic medicine.
  • the disease or condition is selected from the group consisting of the types of diseases listed in standard texts such as
  • Examples for this invention include, neoplastic disorders such as cancer, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, anxiety, dementia, depression, epilepsy, Huntington's disease, migraine, demyehnating disease, multiple sclerosis, pain, Parkinson's disease, schizophrenia, spasticity, psychoses, and stroke, drug-induced diseases, disorders, or toxicities consisting of blood dyscrasias, cutaneous toxicities, systemic toxicities, central nervous system toxicities, hepatic toxicities, cardiovascular toxicities, pulmonary toxicities, and renal toxicities, arthritis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, autoimmune disease, transplantation, pain associated with inflammation, psoriasis, atherosclerosis, asthma, inflammatory bowel disease, and hepatitis, diabetes mellitus, metabolic syndrome X, diabetes insipidus, obesity, contraception, infertility, hormonal insufficiency related to aging, osteoporosis, acne, alopecia, adrenal dysfunction, thyroid dysfunction, and
  • a person suffering from a condition means that a person is either presently subject to the signs and symptoms, or is more likely to develop such signs and symptoms than a normal person in the population.
  • a person suffering from a condition can include a developing fetus, a person subject to a treatment or environmental condition which enhances the likelihood of developing the signs or symptoms of a condition, or a person who is being given or will be given a treatment which increase the likelihood of the person developing a particular condition.
  • tardive dyskinesia is associated with long-term use of anti- psychotics;dyskinesias, paranoid ideation, psychotic episodes and depression have been associated with use of L-dopa in Parkinson's disease; (and dizziness, diplopia, ataxia, sedation, impaired mentation, weight gain, and other undesired effects have been described for various anticonvulsant therapies.
  • a beneficial change can, for example, include one or more of: restoration of function, reduction of symptoms, limitation or retardation of progression of a disease, disorder, or condition or prevention, limitation or retardation of deterioration of a patient's condition, disease or disorder.
  • Such therapy can involve, for example, nutritional modifications, administration of radiation, administration of a drug, behavioral modifications, and combinations of these, among others.
  • drug refers to a chemical entity or biological product, or combination of chemical entities or biological products, administered to a person to treat or prevent or control a disease or condition.
  • the chemical entity or biological product is preferably, but not necessarily a low molecular weight compound, but may also be a larger compound, for example, an oligomer of nucleic acids, amino acids, or carbohydrates including without limitation proteins, oligonucleotides, ribozymes, DNAzymes, glycoproteins, lipoproteins, and modifications and combinations thereof.
  • a biological product is preferably a monoclonal or polyclonal antibody or fragment thereof such as a variable chain fragment; cells; or an agent or product arising from recombinant technology, such as, without limitation, a recombinant protein, recombinant vaccine, or DNA construct developed for therapeutic, e.g., human therapeutic, use.
  • drug may include, without limitation, compounds that are approved for sale as pharmaceutical products by government regulatory agencies (e.g., U.S.
  • the drug is approved by a government agency for treatment of a specific disease or condition.
  • a "low molecular weight compound” has a molecular weight ⁇ 5,000 Da, more preferably ⁇ 2500 Da, still more preferably ⁇ 1000 Da, and most preferably ⁇ 700 Da.
  • Alzheimer's disease show no change or minimal worsening of their disease, as do about 68%o of controls (including about 5%> of controls who were much worse). About 58%> of Alzheimer's patients receiving Cognex were minimally improved, compared to about 33%> of controls, while about 2% of patients receiving Cognex were much improved compared to about 1% of controls. Thus a tiny fraction of patients had a significant benefit. Response to treatments for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis are likewise minimal.
  • the invention provides a method for selecting a treatment for a patient suffering from a disease or condition by determining whether or not a gene or genes in cells of the patient (in some cases including both normal and disease cells, such as cancer cells) contain at least one sequence variance which is indicative of the effectiveness of the treatment of the disease or condition.
  • the gene or genes (along with exemplary variances) are specified herein, in Tables 1-6, 12-17, and 18-23.
  • the at least one variance includes a plurality of variances which may provide a haplotype or haplotypes.
  • the joint presence of the plurality of variances is indicative of the potential effectiveness or safety of the treatment in a patient having such plurality of va ⁇ ances.
  • the plurality of variances may each be indicative of the potential effectiveness of the treatment, and the effects of the individual variances may be independent or additive, or the plurality of variances may be indicative of the potential effectiveness if at least 2, 3,
  • the plurality of variances may also be combinations of these relationships.
  • the plurality of variances may include variances from one, two, three or more gene loci.
  • the gene product is involved in a function as described in the Background of the Invention or otherwise described herein.
  • the selection of a method of treatment i.e., a therapeutic regimen, may inco ⁇ orate selection of one or more from a plurality of medical therapies.
  • the selection may be the selection of a method or methods which is/are more effective or less effective than certain other therapeutic regimens (with either having varying safety parameters).
  • the selection may be the selection of a method or methods, which is safer than certain other methods of treatment in the patient.
  • the selection may involve either positive selection or negative selection or both, meaning that the selection can involve a choice that a particular method would be an appropriate method to use and/or a choice that a particular method would be an inappropriate method to use.
  • the presence of the at least one variance is indicative that the treatment will be effective or otherwise beneficial (or more likely to be beneficial) in the patient. Stating that the treatment will be effective means that the probability of beneficial therapeutic effect is greater than in a person not having the appropriate presence or absence of particular variances. In other embodiments, the presence of the at least one variance is indicative that the treatment will be ineffective or contra-indicated for the patient.
  • a treatment may be contra-indicated if the treatment results, or is more likely to result, in undesirable side effects, or an excessive level of undesirable side effects.
  • a determination of what constitutes excessive side-effects will vary, for example, depending on the disease or condition being treated, the availability of alternatives, the expected or experienced efficacy of the treatment, and the tolerance of the patient.
  • an effective treatment this means that it is more likely that desired effect will result from the treatment administration in a patient with a particular variance or variances than in a patient who has a different variance or variances.
  • the presence of the at least one variance is indicative that the treatment is both effective and unlikely to result in undesirable effects or outcomes, or vice versa (is likely to have undesirable side effects but unlikely to produce desired therapeutic effects).
  • the term "tolerance” refers to the ability of a patient to accept a treatment, based, e.g., on deleterious effects and/or effects on lifestyle. Frequently, the term principally concerns the patients perceived magnitude of deleterious effects such as nausea, weakness, dizziness, and diarrhea, among others. Such experienced effects can, for example, be due to general or cell- specific toxicity, activity on non-target cells, cross-reactivity on non-target cellular constituents (non-mechanism based), and/or side effects of activity on the target cellular substituents (mechanism based), or the cause of toxicity may not be understood. In any of these circumstances one may identify an association between the undesirable effects and variances in specific genes.
  • the variance or variant form or forms of a gene is/are associated with a specific response to a drug.
  • the frequency of a specific variance or variant form of the gene may correspond to the frequency of an efficacious response to administration of a drug.
  • the frequency of a specific variance or variant form of the gene may correspond to the frequency of an adverse event resulting from administration of a drug.
  • the frequency of a specific variance or variant form of a gene may not correspond closely with the frequency of a beneficial or adverse response, yet the variance may still be useful for identifying a patient subset with high response or toxicity incidence because the variance may account for only a fraction of the patients with high response or toxicity.
  • the preferred course of action is identification of a second or third or additional variances that permit identification of the patient groups not usefully identified by the first variance.
  • the drug will be effective in more than 20%> of individuals with one or more specific variances or variant forms of the gene, more preferably in 40% and most preferably in >60%o.
  • the drug will be toxic or create clinically unacceptable side effects in more than 10%> of individuals with one or more variances or variant forms of the gene, more preferably in >30%, more preferably in >50%, and most preferably in
  • the method of selecting a treatment includes eliminating or excluding a treatment, where the presence or absence of the at least one variance is indicative that the treatment will be ineffective or contra-indicated, e.g., would result in excessive weight gain.
  • the selection of a method of treatment can include identifying both a first and second treatment, where the first treatment is effective to treat the disease or condition, and the second treatment reduces a deleterious effect or enhance efficacy of the first treatment.
  • treating a treatment refers to removing a possible treatment from consideration, e.g., for use with a particular patient based on the presence or absence of a particular variance(s) in one or more genes in cells of that patient, or to stopping the administration of a treatment.
  • the treatment will involve the administration of a compound preferentially active or safe in patients with a form or forms of a gene, where the gene is one identified herein.
  • the administration may involve a combination of compounds.
  • the method involves identifying such an active compound or combination of compounds, where the compound is less active or is less safe or both when administered to a patient having a different form of the gene.
  • the method of selecting a treatment involves selecting a method of administration of a compound, combination of compounds, or pharmaceutical composition, for example, selecting a suitable dosage level and/or frequency of administration, and/or mode of administration of a compound.
  • the method of administration can be selected to provide better, preferably maximum therapeutic benefit.
  • “maximum” refers to an approximate local maximum based on the parameters being considered, not an absolute maximum.
  • a "suitable dosage level” refers to a dosage level which provides a therapeutically reasonable balance between pharmacological effectiveness and deleterious effects. Often this dosage level is related to the peak or average serum levels resulting from administration of a drug at the particular dosage level.
  • a “frequency of administration” refers to how often in a specified time period a treatment is administered, e.g., once, twice, or three times per day, every other day, once per week, etc.
  • the frequency of administration is generally selected to achieve a pharmacologically effective average or peak serum level without excessive deleterious effects (and preferably while still being able to have reasonable patient compliance for self-administered drugs).
  • a particular gene or genes can be relevant to the treatment of more than one disease or condition, for example, the gene or genes can have a role in the initiation, development, course, treatment, treatment outcomes, or health-related quality of life outcomes of a number of different diseases, disorders, or conditions.
  • the disease or condition or treatment of the disease or condition is any which involves a gene from the gene list described herein as Tables 1-6, 12-17, and 18-23. Determining the presence of a particular variance or plurality of variances in a particular gene in a patient can be performed in a variety of ways. In preferred embodiments, the detection of the presence or absence of at least one variance involves amplifying a segment of nucleic acid including at least one of the at least one variances.
  • a segment of nucleic acid to be amplified is 500 nucleotides or less in length, more preferably 100 nucleotides or less, and most preferably 45 nucleotides or less.
  • the amplified segment or segments includes a plurality of variances, or a plurality of segments of a gene or of a plurality of genes.
  • the segment of nucleic acid is at least 500 nucleotides in length, or at least 2 kb in length, or at least 5 kb in length.
  • determining the presence of a set of variances in a specific gene related to treatment of disease, disorders, or dysfunctions or other related genes, or genes listed in Tables 1-6, 12-17, and 18-23 includes a haplotyping test that requires allele specific amplification of a large DNA segment of no greater than 25,000 nucleotides, preferably no greater than 10,000 nucleotides and most preferably no greater than 5.000 nucleotides.
  • one allele may be enriched by methods other than amplification prior to determining genotypes at specific variant positions on the enriched allele as a way of determining haplotypes.
  • the determination of the presence or absence of a haplotype involves determining the sequence of the variant sites by methods such as chain terminating DNA sequencing or minisequencing, or by oligonucleotide hybridization or by mass spectrometry.
  • the method can involve detection of the mass of a fragment or fragments and can further involve inferring the genotype (e.g., the specific variance at a site) from the masses determined.
  • genotype in the context of this invention refers to the alleles present in DNA from a subject or patient, where an allele can be defined by the particular nucleotide(s) present in a nucleic acid sequence at a particular site(s). Often a genotype is the nucleotide(s) present at a single polymo ⁇ hic site known to vary in the human population.
  • the detection of the presence or absence of the at least one variance involves contacting a nucleic acid sequence corresponding to one of the genes identified above or a product of such a gene with a probe.
  • the probe is able to distinguish a particular form of the gene or gene product or the presence or a particular variance or variances, e.g., by differential binding or hybridization.
  • exemplary probes include nucleic acid hybridization probes, peptide nucleic acid probes, nucleotide-containing probes which also contain at least one nucleotide analog, and antibodies, e.g., monoclonal antibodies, and other probes as discussed herein. Those skilled in the art are familiar with the preparation of probes with particular specificities.
  • determining the presence or absence of the at least one variance involves sequencing at least one nucleic acid sample.
  • the sequencing involves sequencing of a portion or portions of a gene and/or portions of a plurality of genes which includes at least one variance site, and may include a plurality of such sites.
  • the portion is 500 nucleotides or less in length, more preferably 100 nucleotides or less, and most preferably 45 nucleotides or less in length.
  • Such sequencing can be carried out by various methods recognized by those skilled in the art, including use of dideoxy termination methods (e.g., using dye-labeled dideoxy nucleotides) and the use of mass spectrometric methods.
  • mass spectrometric methods may be used to determine the nucleotide present at a variance site.
  • the plurality of variances can constitute a haplotype or collection of haplotypes.
  • the methods for determining genotypes or haplotypes are designed to be sensitive to all the common genotypes or haplotypes present in the population being studied (for example, a clinical trial population).
  • variant form of a gene refers to one specific form of a gene in a population, the specific form differing from other forms of the same gene in the sequence of at least one, and frequently more than one, variant sites within the sequence of the gene.
  • sequences at these variant sites that differ between different alleles of the gene are termed "gene sequence variances” or “variances” or “variants”.
  • alternative form refers to an allele that can be distinguished from other alleles by having distinct variances at least one, and frequently more than one, variant sites within the gene sequence.
  • variances are selected from the group consisting of the variances listed in the variance tables herein or in a patent or patent application referenced and inco ⁇ orated by reference in this disclosure.
  • reference to the presence of a variance or variances means particular variances, i.e., particular nucleotides at particular polymo ⁇ hic sites, rather than just the presence of any variance in the gene.
  • Variances occur in the human genome at approximately one in every 500 - 1 ,000 bases within the human genome when two alleles are compared. When multiple alleles from unrelated individuals are compared the density of variant sites increases as different individuals, when compared to a reference sequence, will often have sequence variances at different sites. At most variant sites there are only two alternative nucleotides involving the substitution of one base for another or the insertion/deletion of one or more nucleotides. Within a gene there may be several variant sites. Variant forms of the gene or alternative alleles can be distinguished by the presence of alternative variances at a single variant site, or a combination of several different variances at different sites (haplotypes).
  • the "identification" of genetic variances or variant forms of a gene involves the discovery of variances that are present in a population. The identification of variances is required for development of a diagnostic test to determine whether a patient has a variant form of a gene that is known to be associated with a disease, condition, or predisposition or with the efficacy or safety of the drug. Identification of previously undiscovered genetic variances is distinct from the process of "determining" the status of known variances by a diagnostic test (often referred to as genotyping).
  • the present invention provides exemplary variances in genes listed in the gene tables, as well as methods for discovering additional variances in those genes and a comprehensive written description of such additional possible variances. Also described are methods for DNA diagnostic tests to determine the DNA sequence at a particular variant site or sites.
  • the process of "identifying" or discovering new variances involves comparing the sequence of at least two alleles of a gene, more preferably at least 10 alleles and most preferably at least 50 alleles (keeping in mind that each somatic cell has two alleles).
  • the analysis of large numbers of individuals to discover variances in the gene sequence between individuals in a population will result in detection of a greater fraction of all the variances in the population.
  • the process of identifying reveals whether there is a variance within the gene; more preferably identifying reveals the location of the variance within the gene; more preferably identifying provides knowledge of the sequence of the nucleic acid sequence of the variance, and most preferably identifying provides knowledge of the combination of different variances that comprise specific variant forms of the gene (referred to as alleles).
  • alleles the combination of different variances that comprise specific variant forms of the gene.
  • the process of genotyping involves using diagnostic tests for specific variances that have already been identified. It will be apparent that such diagnostic tests can only be performed after variances and variant forms of the gene have been identified. Identification of new variances can be accomplished by a variety of methods, alone or in combination, including, for example, DNA sequencing, SSCP, heteroduplex analysis, denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE), heteroduplex cleavage (either enzymatic as with T4 Endonuclease 7, or chemical as with osmium tetroxide and hydroxylamine), computational methods (described herein), and other methods described herein as well as others known to those skilled in the art.
  • DGGE denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis
  • analyzing a sequence refers to determining at least some sequence information about the sequence, e.g., determining the nucleotides present at a particular site or sites in the sequence, particularly sites that are known to vary in a population, or determining the base sequence of all or of a portion of the particular sequence.
  • haplotype refers to a cis arrangement of two or more polymo ⁇ hic nucleotides, i.e., variances, on a particular chromosome, e.g., in a particular gene.
  • the haplotype preserves information about the phase of the polymo ⁇ hic nucleotides - that is, which set of va ⁇ ances were inherited from one parent, and which from the other.
  • a genotyping test does not provide information about phase.
  • an individual heterozygous at nucleotide 25 of a gene could have haplotypes 25 A - 100G and 25C - 100T, or alternatively 25 A - 100T and 25C - 100G. Only a haplotyping test can discriminate these two cases definitively.
  • variances may also refer to a set of variances, haplotypes or a mixture of the two, unless otherwise indicated.
  • variance, variant or polymo ⁇ hism also encompasses a haplotype unless otherewise indicated. This usage is intended to minimize the need for cumbersome phrases such as: “...measure correlation between drug response and a variance, variances, haplotype, haplotypes or a combination of variances and haplotypes.", throughout the application.
  • genotype means a procedure for determining the status of one or more variances in a gene, including a set of variances comprising a haplotype.
  • phrases such as "...genotype a patient" refer to determining the status of one or more variances, including a set of variances for which phase is known (i.e. a haplotype).
  • the frequency of the variance or variant form of the gene in a population is known.
  • Measures of frequency known in the art include "allele frequency", namely the fraction of genes in a population that have one specific variance or set of variances. The allele frequencies for any gene should sum to 1.
  • Another measure of frequency known in the art is the "heterozygote frequency” namely, the fraction of individuals in a population who carry two alleles, or two forms of a particular variance or variant form of a gene, one inherited from each parent.
  • the number of individuals who are homozygous for a particular form of a gene may be a useful measure.
  • the relationship between allele frequency, heterozygote frequency, and homozygote frequency is described for many genes by the Hardy- Weinberg equation, which provides the relationship between allele frequency, heterozygote frequency and homozygote frequency in a freely breeding population at equilibrium. Most human variances are substantially in Hardy- Weinberg equilibrium.
  • the allele frequency, heterozygote frequency, and homozygote frequencies are determined experimentally.
  • a variance has an allele frequency of at least 0.01, more preferably at least 0.05, still more preferably at least 0.10.
  • the allele may have a frequency as low as 0.001 if the associated phenotype is, for example, a rare form of toxic reaction to a treatment or drug.
  • population refers to a defined group of individuals or a group of individuals with a particular disease or condition or individuals that may be treated with a specific drug identified by, but not limited to geographic, ethnic, race, gender, and/or cultural indices. In most cases a population will preferably encompass at least ten thousand, one hundred thousand, one million, ten million, or more individuals, with the larger numbers being more preferable. In preferred embodiments of this invention, the population refers to individuals with a specific disease or condition that may be treated with a specific drug. In embodiments of this invention, the allele frequency, heterozygote frequency, or homozygote frequency of a specific variance or variant form of a gene is known. In preferred embodiments of this invention, the frequency of one or more variances that may predict response to a treatment is determined in one or more populations using a diagnostic test.
  • probe refers to a molecule that detectably distinguishes between target molecules differing in structure. Detection can be accomplished in a variety of different ways depending on the type of probe used and the type of target molecule. Thus, for example, detection may be based on discrimination of activity levels of the target molecule, but preferably is based on detection of specific binding. Examples of such specific binding include antibody binding and nucleic acid probe hybridization. Thus, for example, probes can include enzyme substrates, antibodies and antibody fragments, and nucleic acid hybridization probes.
  • the detection of the presence or absence of the at least one variance involves contacting a nucleic acid sequence which includes a variance site with a probe, preferably a nucleic acid probe, where the probe preferentially hybridizes with a form of the nucleic acid sequence containing a complementary base at the variance site as compared to hybridization to a form of the nucleic acid sequence having a non-complementary base at the variance site, where the hybridization is carried out under selective hybridization conditions.
  • a nucleic acid hybridization probe may span two or more variance sites.
  • a nucleic acid probe can include one or more nucleic acid analogs, labels or other substituents or moieties so long as the base- pairing function is retained.
  • administration of a particular treatment e.g., administration of a therapeutic compound or combination of compounds
  • the disease or condition is one for which administration of a treatment is expected to provide a therapeutic benefit
  • the compound is a compound identified herein, e g , in a drug table (Tables 24-68)
  • the terms “effective” and “effectiveness” includes both pharmacological effectiveness and physiological safety
  • Pharmacological effectiveness refers to the ability of the treatment to result m a desired biological effect in the patient.
  • Physiological safety refers to the level of toxicity, or other adverse physiological effects at the cellular, organ and/or organism level (often referred to as side-effects) resulting from administration of the treatment
  • side-effects the level of toxicity, or other adverse physiological effects at the cellular, organ and/or organism level (often referred to as side-effects) resulting from administration of the treatment
  • the term “ineffective” indicates that a treatment does not provide sufficient pharmacological effect to be therapeutically useful, even in the absence of delete ⁇ ous effects, at least m the unstratified population.
  • Less effective means that the treatment results in a therapeutically significant lower level of pharmacological effectiveness and/or a therapeutically greater level of adverse physiological effects, e g , greater liver toxicity
  • a drug which is "effective against" a disease or condition indicates that administration in a clinically approp ⁇ ate manner results in a beneficial effect for at least a statistically significant fraction of patients, such as a improvement of symptoms, a cure, a reduction in disease load, reduction in tumor mass or cell numbers, extension of life, improvement in quality of life, or other effect generally recognized as positive by medical doctors familiar with treating the particular type of disease or condition Effectiveness is measured in a particular population. In conventional drug development the population is generally every subject who meets the enrollment c ⁇ te ⁇ a (I e.
  • segmentation of a study population by genetic c ⁇ te ⁇ a can provide the basis for identifying a subpopulation m which a drug is effective against the disease or condition being treated.
  • delete ⁇ ous effects refers to physical effects in a patient caused by administration of a treatment which are regarded as medically undesirable
  • delete ⁇ ous effects can include a wide spectrum of toxic effects inju ⁇ ous to health such as death of normally functioning cells when only death of diseased cells is desired, nausea, fever, inability to retain food, dehydration, damage to c ⁇ tical organs such as arrythmias, renal tubular necrosis, fatty liver, or pulmonary fibrosis leading to coronary, renal, hepatic, or pulmonary insufficiency among many others.
  • the term "contra-indicated" means that a treatment results in deleterious effects such that a prudent medical doctor treating such a patient would regard the treatment as unsuitable for administration.
  • Major factors in such a determination can include, for example, availability and relative advantages of alternative treatments, consequences of non- treatment, and permanency of deleterious effects of the treatment.
  • the variance information is used to select both a first method of treatment and a second method of treatment.
  • the first treatment is a primary treatment which provides a physiological effect directed against the disease or condition or its symptoms.
  • the second method is directed to reducing or eliminating one or more deleterious effects or enhancing efficacy of the first treatment, e.g., to reduce a general toxicity or to reduce a side effect of the primary treatment.
  • the second method can be used to allow use of a greater dose or duration of the first treatment, or to allow use of the first treatment in patients for whom the first treatment would not be tolerated or would be contra-indicated in the absence of a second method to reduce deleterious effects or to potentiate the effectiveness of the first treatment.
  • the invention concerns a method for providing a correlation between a patient genotype and effectiveness of a treatment, by determining the presence or absence of a particular known variance or variances in cells of a patient for a gene from Tables 1-6, 12-17, and 18-23, or other gene related to neurological disease or other disease identified herein, and providing a result indicating the expected effectiveness of a treatment for a disease or condition.
  • the result may be formulated by comparing the genotype of the patient with a list of variances indicative of the effectiveness of a treatment, e.g., administration of a drug described herein. The determination may be by methods as described herein or other methods known to those skilled in the art.
  • the invention provides a method for selecting a method of treatment for a patient suffering from a disease or condition as identified herein by comparing at least one variance in at least one gene in the patient, with a list of variances in the gene from Tables 1 -6, 12-17, and 18-23, or other gene related to a disease or condition listed herein, which are indicative of the effectiveness of at least one method of treatment.
  • the comparison involves a plurality of variances or a haplotype indicative of the effectiveness of at least one method of treatment.
  • the list of variances includes a plurality of variances.
  • the at least one method of treatment involves the administration of a compound effective in at least some patients with a disease or condition; the presence or absence of the at least one variance is indicative that the treatment will be effective in the patient; and/or the presence or absence of the at least one variance is indicative that the treatment will be ineffective or contra-indicated in the patient; and/or the treatment is a first treatment and the presence or absence of the at least one variance is indicative that a second treatment will be beneficial to reduce a deleterious effect of or potentiate the effectiveness of the first treatment; and/or the at least one treatment is a plurality of methods of treatment.
  • the selecting involves determining whether any of the methods of treatment will be more effective than at least one other of the plurality of methods of treatment.
  • Yet other embodiments are provided as described for the preceding aspect in connection with methods of treatment using administration of a compound; treatment of various diseases, and variances in particular genes.
  • the term "list” refers to one or more, preferably at least 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, or 10 variances that have been identified for a gene of potential importance in accounting for inter- individual variation in treatment response.
  • a plurality of variances for the gene preferably a plurality of variances for the particular gene.
  • the list is recorded in written or electronic form.
  • identified variances of identified genes are recorded for some of the genes in Tables 12-17 and 18-23; additional variances for genes in Tables 1-6 can be readily identified by one skilled in the art using any of a variety of methods.
  • the list may also contain haplotypes, either alone or with other variances.
  • the invention also provides a method for selecting a method of administration of a compound to a patient suffering from a disease or condition, by determining the presence or absence of at least one variance in cells of the patient in at least one identified gene from Tables 1-6, 12-17, and 18-23, where such presence or absence is indicative of an appropriate method of administration of the compound.
  • the selection of a method of treatment involves selecting a dosage level or frequency of administration or route of administration of the compound or combinations of those parameters.
  • two or more compounds are to be administered, and the selecting involves selecting a method of administration for one, two, or more than two of the compounds, jointly, concurrently, or separately.
  • selecting involves selecting a method of administration for one, two, or more than two of the compounds, jointly, concurrently, or separately.
  • plurality of compounds may be used in combination therapy, and thus may be formulated in a single drug, or may be separate drugs administered concurrently, serially, or separately.
  • Other embodiments are as indicated above for selection of second treatment methods, methods of identifying variances, and methods of treatment as described for aspects above.
  • the invention provides a method for selecting a patient for administration of a method of treatment for a disease or condition, or of selecting a patient for a method of administration of a treatment, by comparing the presence or absence of at least one variance in a gene as identified above in cells of a patient, with a list of variances in the gene, where the presence or absence of the at least one variance is indicative that the treatment or method of administration will be effective in the patient. If the at least one variance is present in the patient's cells, then the patient is selected for administration of the treatment.
  • the disease or the method of treatment is as described in aspects above, specifically including, for example, those described for selecting a method of treatment.
  • the invention provides a method for identifying a subset of patients with enhanced or diminished response or tolerance to a treatment method or a method of administration of a treatment where the treatment is for a disease or condition in the patient.
  • the method involves correlating one or more variances in one or more genes as identified in aspects above in a plurality of patients with response to a treatment or a method of administration of a treatment.
  • the correlation may be performed by determining the one or more variances in the one or more genes in the plurality of patients and correlating the presence or absence of each of the variances (alone or in various combinations) with the patient's response to treatment.
  • the variances may be previously known to exist or may also be determined in the present method or combinations of prior information and newly determined information may be used.
  • a positive correlation between the presence of one or more variances and an enhanced response to treatment is indicative that the treatment is particularly effective in the group of patients having those variances.
  • a positive correlation of the presence of the one or more variances with a diminished response to the treatment is indicative that the treatment will be less effective in the group of patients having those variances.
  • Such information is useful, for example, for selecting or de-selecting patients for a particular treatment or method of administration of a treatment, or for demonstrating that a group of patients exists for which the treatment or method of treatment would be particularly beneficial or contra-indicated.
  • the variances are in at least one of the identified genes listed on Tables 1-6, 12-17, and 18-23, or are particular variances described herein.
  • preferred embodiments include drugs, treatments, variance identification or determination, determination of effectiveness, and/or diseases as described for aspects above or otherwise described herein.
  • the correlation of patient responses to therapy according to patient genotype is carried out in a clinical trial, e.g., as described herein according to any of the variations described. Detailed description of methods for associating variances with clinical outcomes using clinical trials are provided below. Further, in preferred embodiments the correlation of pharmacological effect (positive or negative) to treatment response according to genotype or haplotype in such a clinical trial is part of a regulatory submission to a government agency leading to approval of the drug. Most preferably the compound or compounds would not be approvable in the absence of the genetic information allowing identification of an optimal responder population.
  • the selection may be positive selection or negative selection.
  • the methods can include eliminating or excluding a treatment for a patient, eliminating or excluding a method or mode of administration of a treatment to a patient, or elimination or exclusion of a patient for a treatment or method of treatment.
  • the methods can involve such identification or comparison for a plurality of genes.
  • the genes are functionally related to the same disease or condition, or to the aspect of disease pathophysiology that is being subjected to pharmacological manipulation by the treatment (e.g., a drug), or to the activation or inactivation or elimination of the drug, and more preferably the genes are involved in the same biochemical process or pathway.
  • the invention provides a method for identifying the forms of a gene in an individual, where the gene is one specified as for aspects above, by determining the presence or absence of at least one variance in the gene.
  • the at least one variance includes at least one variance selected from the group of variances identified in variance tables herein.
  • the presence or absence of the at least one variance is indicative of the effectiveness of a therapeutic treatment in a patient suffering from a disease or condition and having cells containing the at least one variance.
  • the presence or absence of the variances can be determined in any of a variety of ways as recognized by those skilled in the art.
  • the nucleotide sequence of at least one nucleic acid sequence which includes at least one variance site can be determined, such as by chain termination methods, hybridization methods or by mass spectrometric methods.
  • the determining involves contacting a nucleic acid sequence or a gene product of one of one of the genes with a probe that specifically identifies the presence or absence of a form of the gene.
  • a probe e.g., a nucleic acid probe
  • a probe which specifically binds, e.g., hybridizes, to a nucleic acid sequence corresponding to a portion of the gene and which includes at least one variance site under selective binding conditions.
  • determining the presence or absence of at least two variances and their relationship on the two gene copies present in a patient can constitute determining a haplotype or haplotypes.
  • the invention provides a pharmaceutical composition which includes a compound which has a differential effect in patients having at least one copy, or alternatively, two copies of a form of a gene as identified for aspects above and a pharmaceutically acceptable earner, excipient, or diluent.
  • the composition is adapted to be preferentially effective to treat a patient with cells containing the one, two, or more copies of the form of the gene.
  • the material is subject to a regulatory limitation or restriction on approved uses or indications, e.g., by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), limiting approved use of the composition to patients having at least one copy of the particular form of the gene which contains at least one variance.
  • the composition is subject to a regulatory limitation or restriction on approved uses indicating that the composition is not approved for use or should not be used in patients having at least one copy of a form of the gene including at least one variance.
  • the composition is packaged, and the packaging includes a label or insert indicating or suggesting beneficial therapeutic approved use of the composition in patients having one or two copies of a form of the gene including at least one variance.
  • the label or insert limits approved use of the composition to patients having zero or one or two copies of a form of the gene including at least one variance.
  • the latter embodiment would be likely where the presence of the at least one variance in one or two copies in cells of a patient means that the composition would be ineffective or deleterious to the patient.
  • the composition is indicated for use in treatment of a disease or condition which is one of those identified for aspects above.
  • the at least one variance includes at least one variance from those identified herein.
  • packaged means that the drug, compound, or composition is prepared in a manner suitable for distribution or shipping with a box, vial, pouch, bubble pack, or other protective container, which may also be used in combination.
  • the packaging may have printing on it and/or printed material may be included in the packaging.
  • the drug is selected from the drug classes or specific exemplary drugs identified in an example, in a table herein, and is subject to a regulatory limitation or suggestion or warning as described above that limits or suggests limiting approved use to patients having specific variances or variant forms of a gene identified in Examples or in the gene list provided below in order to achieve maximal benefit and avoid toxicity or other deleterious effect.
  • a pharmaceutical composition can be adapted to be preferentially effective in a variety of ways.
  • an active compound is selected which was not previously known to be differentially active, or which was not previously recognized as a potential therapeutic compound.
  • the concentration of an active compound which has differential activity can be adjusted such that the composition is appropriate for administration to a patient with the specified variances. For example, the presence of a specified variance may allow or require the administration of a much larger dose, which would not be practical with a previously utilized composition. Conversely, a patient may require a much lower dose, such that administration of such a dose with a prior composition would be impractical or inaccurate.
  • the composition may be prepared in a higher or lower unit dose form, or prepared in a higher or lower concentration of the active compound or compounds.
  • the composition can include additional compounds needed to enable administration of a particular active compound in a patient with the specified variances, which was not in previous compositions, e.g., because the majority of patients did not require or benefit from the added component.
  • the term “differential” or “differentially” generally refers to a statistically significant different level in the specified property or effect. Preferably, the difference is also functionally significant.
  • “differential binding or hybridization” is sufficient difference in binding or hybridization to allow discrimination using an appropriate detection technique.
  • “differential effect” or “differentially active” in connection with a therapeutic treatment or drug refers to a difference in the level of the effect or activity which is distinguishable using relevant parameters and techniques for measuring the effect or activity being considered.
  • the difference in effect or activity is also sufficient to be clinically significant, such that a corresponding difference in the course of treatment or treatment outcome would be expected, at least on a statistical basis.
  • probes which specifically recognize a nucleic acid sequence corresponding to a variance or variances in a gene as identified in aspects above or a product expressed from the gene, and are able to distinguish a variant form of the sequence or gene or gene product from one or more other variant forms of that sequence, gene, or gene product under selective conditions.
  • An exemplary type of probe is a nucleic acid hybridization probe, which will selectively bind under selective binding conditions to a nucleic acid sequence or a gene product corresponding to one of the genes identified for aspects above.
  • probe is a peptide or protein, e.g., an antibody or antibody fragment which specifically or preferentially binds to a polypeptide expressed from a particular form of a gene as characterized by the presence or absence of at least one variance.
  • a "probe” is a molecule, commonly a nucleic acid, though also potentially a protein, carbohydrate, polymer, or small molecule, that is capable of binding to one variance or variant form of the gene to a greater extent than to a form of the gene having a different base at one or more variance sites, such that the presence of the variance or variant form of the gene can be determined.
  • the probe distinguishes at least one variance identified in Examples, tables or lists below or is a variance otherwise identified in a gene identified herein.
  • the probe is a nucleic acid probe at least 15, preferably at least 17 nucleotides in length, more preferably at least 20 or 22 or 25, preferably 500 or fewer nucleotides in length, more preferably 200 or 100 or fewer, still more preferably 50 or fewer, and most preferably 30 or fewer.
  • the probe has a length in a range between from any one of the above lengths to any other of the above lengths (including endpoints). In the case of certain types of probes, e.g., peptide nucleic acid probes, the probe may be shorter, e.g., 6,7, 8, 10, or 12 nucleotides in length.
  • the probe specifically hybridizes under selective hybridization conditions to a nucleic acid sequence corresponding to a portion of one of the genes identified in connection with above aspects.
  • the nucleic acid sequence includes at least one variance site.
  • the probe has a detectable label, preferably a fluorescent label. A variety of other detectable labels are known to those skilled in the art.
  • Such a nucleic acid probe can also include one or more nucleic acid analogs.
  • the probe is an antibody or antibody fragment which specifically binds to a gene product expressed from a form of one of the above genes, where the form of the gene has at least one specific variance with a particular base at the variance site, and preferably a plurality of such variances.
  • the term “specifically hybridizes” indicates that the probe hybridizes to a sufficiently greater degree to the target sequence than to a sequence having a mismatched base at least one variance site to allow distinguishing such hybridization.
  • the term “specifically hybridizes” thus means that the probe hybridizes to the target sequence, and not to non-target sequences, at a level which allows ready identification of probe/target sequence hybridization under selective hybridization conditions.
  • selective hybridization conditions refer to conditions which allow such differential binding.
  • the terms “specifically binds” and “selective binding conditions” refer to such differential binding of any type of probe, e.g., antibody probes, and to the conditions which allow such differential binding.
  • hybridization reactions to determine the status of variant sites in patient samples are carried out with two different probes, one specific for each of the (usually two) possible variant nucleotides.
  • the complementary information derived from the two separate hybridization reactions is useful in corroborating the results.
  • the invention provides an isolated, purified or enriched nucleic acid sequence of 15 to 500 nucleotides in length, preferably 15 to 100 nucleotides in length, more preferably 15 to 50 nucleotides in length, and most preferably 15 to 30 nucleotides in length, which has a sequence which corresponds to a portion of one of the genes identified for aspects above.
  • the lower limit for the preceding ranges is 17, 20, 22, or 25 nucleotides in length.
  • the nucleic acid sequence is 30 to 300 nucleotides in length, or 45 to 200 nucleotides in length, or 45 to 100 nucleotides in length.
  • the nucleic acid sequence includes at least one variance site.
  • sequences can, for example, be amplification products of a sequence which spans or includes a variance site in a gene identified herein.
  • a sequence can be a primer that is able to bind to or extend through a variance site in such a gene.
  • a nucleic acid hybridization probe comprised of such a sequence.
  • the nucleotide sequence can contain a sequence or site corresponding to a variance site or sites, for example, a variance site identified herein.
  • the presence or absence of a particular variant form in the heterozygous or homozygous state is indicative of the effectiveness of a method of treatment in a patient.
  • nucleic acid sequences which "correspond" to a gene refers to a nucleotide sequence relationship, such that the nucleotide sequence has a nucleotide sequence which is the same as the reference gene or an indicated portion thereof, or has a nucleotide sequence which is exactly complementary in normal Watson-Crick base pairing, or is an RNA equivalent of such a sequence, e.g., an mRNA, or is a cDNA derived from an mRNA of the gene.
  • the invention provides a method for determining a genotype of an individual in relation to one or more variances in one or more of the genes identified in above aspects by using mass spectrometric determination of a nucleic acid sequence which is a portion of a gene identified for other aspects of this invention or a complementary sequence.
  • mass spectrometric methods are known to those skilled in the art.
  • the method involves determining the presence or absence of a variance in a gene; determining the nucleotide sequence of the nucleic acid sequence; the nucleotide sequence is 100 nucleotides or less in length, preferably 50 or less, more preferably 30 or less, and still more preferably 20 nucleotides or less.
  • such a nucleotide sequence includes at least one variance site, preferably a variance site which is informative with respect to the expected response of a patient to a treatment as described for above aspects.
  • the invention provides a method for determining whether a compound has a differential effect due to the presence or absence of at least one variance in a gene or a variant form of a gene, where the gene is a gene identified for aspects above.
  • the method involves identifying a first patient or set of patients suffering from a disease or condition whose response to a treatment differs from the response (to the same treatment) of a second patient or set of patients suffering from the same disease or condition, and then determining whether the occurrence or frequency of occurrence of at least one variance in at least one gene differs between the first patient or set of patients and the second patient or set of patients.
  • a correlation or other appropriate statistical test between the presence or absence of the variance or variances and the response of the patient or patients to the treatment indicates that the variance provides information about variable patient response.
  • the method will involve identifying at least one variance in at least one gene.
  • An alternative approach is to identify a first patient or set of patients suffering from a disease or condition and having a particular genotype, haplotype or combination of genotypes or haplotypes, and a second patient or set of patients suffering from the same disease or condition that have a genotype or haplotype or sets of genotypes or haplotypes that differ in a specific way from those of the first set of patients. Subsequently the extent and magnitude of clinical response can be compared between the first patient or set of patients and the second patient or set of patients. A co ⁇ elation between the presence or absence of a variance or variances or haplotypes and the response of the patient or patients to the treatment indicates that the variance provides information about variable patient response and is useful for the present invention.
  • the method can utilize a variety of different informative comparisons to identify correlations. For example a plurality of pairwise comparisons of treatment response and the presence or absence of at least one variance can be performed for a plurality of patients. Likewise, the method can involve comparing the response of at least one patient homozygous for at least one variance with at least one patient homozygous for the alternative form of that variance or variances. The method can also involve comparing the response of at least one patient heterozygous for at least one variance with the response of at least one patient homozygous for the at least one variance.
  • the heterozygous patient response is compared to both alternative homozygous forms, or the response of heterozygous patients is grouped with the response of one class of homozygous patients and said group is compared to the response of the alternative homozygous group.
  • Such methods can utilize either retrospective or prospective information concerning treatment response variability.
  • patient response to the method of treatment is variable.
  • the disease or condition is as for other aspects of this invention; for example, the treatment involves administration of a compound or pharmaceutical composition.
  • the method involves a clinical trial, e.g., as described herein.
  • a clinical trial e.g., as described herein.
  • Such a trial can be arranged, for example, in any of the ways described herein, e.g., in the Detailed Description.
  • the present invention also provides methods of treatment of a disease or condition as identified herein.
  • Such methods combine identification of the presence or absence of particular variances, preferably in a gene or genes from Tables 1-6, 12-17, and 18-23, with the administration of a compound; identification of the presence of particular variances with selection of a method of treatment and administration of the treatment, and identification of the presence or absence of particular vanances with elimination of a method of treatment based on the vanance information indicating that the treatment is likely to be ineffective or contra- mdicated, and thus selecting and administe ⁇ ng an alternative treatment effective against the disease or condition
  • preferred embodiments ot these methods inco ⁇ orate preferred embodiments of such methods as desc ⁇ bed for such sub- aspects
  • a “gene” is a sequence of DNA present in a cell that directs the expression of a “biologically active” molecule or “gene pioduct”, most commonly by transcnption to produce RNA and translation to produce protein.
  • RNA product' is most commonly a RNA molecule or protein or a RNA or protem that is subsequently modified by reacting with, or combining with, other constituents of the cell Such modifications may include, without limitation, modification of proteins to form glycoproteins, hpoproteins, and phosphoprotems, or other modifications known in the art RNA may be modified without limitation by polyadenylation, splicing, capping or export from the nucleus or by covalent or noncovalent interactions with proteins,
  • the term “gene product” refers to any product directly resulting from transc ⁇ ption of a gene In particular this includes partial, precursor, and mature transc ⁇ ption products (l e , pre-mRNA and mRNA), and translation products with or without further processing including, without limitation, hpidation, phosphorylation, glycosylation, or combinations of such processing
  • gene involved in the ongm or pathogenesis of a disease or condition refers to a gene that harbors mutations or polymo ⁇ hisms that cont ⁇ bute to the cause of disease, or vanances that affect the progression of the disease or expression of specific charactenstics of the disease
  • the term also applies to genes involved in the synthesis, accumulation, or elimination of products that are involved in the o ⁇ gin or pathogenesis of a disease or condition including, without limitation, proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, hormones, or small molecules
  • gene involved in the action of a drug refers to any gene whose gene product affects the efficacy or safety of the drug or affects the disease process being treated by the drug, and includes, without limitation, genes that encode gene products that are targets for drug action, gene products that are involved in the metabolism, activation or degradation of the drug, gene products that are involved in the bioavailability or elimination of the drug to the target, gene products that affect biological pathways that, in turn, affect the action of the drug such as the
  • the invention also provides a method for producing a pharmaceutical composition by identifying a compound which has differential activity or effectiveness against a disease or condition m patients having at least one vanance in a gene, preferably in a gene from Tables 1-6, compounding the pharmaceutical composition by combining the compound with a pharmaceutically acceptable earner, excipient, or diluent such that the composition is preferentially effective m patients who have at least one copy of the vanance or va ⁇ ances In some cases, the patient has two copies of the vanance or vanances.
  • the disease or condition, gene or genes, vanances, methods of administration, or method of determining the presence or absence of vanances is as desc ⁇ bed for other aspects of this invention.
  • the active component of the pharmaceutical composition is a compound listed m the compound tables below
  • the invention provides a method for producing a pharmaceutical agent by identifying a compound which has differential activity against a disease or condition in patients having at least one copy of a form of a gene, preferably a gene from Tables 1 through 6, having at least one vanance and synthesizing the compound m an amount sufficient to provide a pharmaceutical effect m a patient suffenng from the disease or condition
  • the compound can be identified by conventional screening methods and its activity confirmed
  • compound hbra ⁇ es can be screened to identify compounds which differentially bind to products of vanant forms of a particular gene product, or which differentially affect expression of vanant forms of the particular gene, or which differentially affect the activity of a product expressed from such gene.
  • the design of a compound can exploit knowledge of the va ⁇ ances provided herein to avoid significant allele specific effects, in order to reduce the likelihood of significant pharmacogenetic effects dunng the clinical development process Preferred embodiments are as for the
  • the invention provides a method of treating a disease or condition in a patient by selecting a patient whose cells have an allele of an identified gene, preferably a gene selected from the genes listed in Tables 1 through 6
  • the allele contains at least one vanance con-elated with more effective response to a treatment of said disease or condition
  • the method also includes alternateng the level of activity in cells of the patient of a product of the allele, where the alternativeng provides a therapeutic effect
  • the allele contains a vanance as shown in Tables 1 -6, 12-17, and 18-23, or other vanance table herein, or Table 1 or 3 of Stanton et al, U S Application No 09/300,747
  • the alternateng involves admimste ⁇ ng to the patient a compound preferentially active on at least one but less than all alleles of the gene.
  • Preferred embodiments include those as descnbed above for other aspects of treating a disease or condition
  • all the methods of treating descnbed herein include administration of the treatment to a patient
  • the invention provides a method for determining a treatment effective to treat a disease or condition by alternateng the level of activity of a product of an allele of a gene selected from the genes listed in Tables 1-6, and determining whether that alteration provides a differential effect (with respect to reducing or alleviating a disease or condition, or with respect to vanation m toxicity or tolerance to a treatment) in patients with at least one copy of at least one allele of the gene as compared to patients with at least one copy of one alternative allele., The presence of such a differential effect indicates that altering the level or activity of the gene provides at least part of an effective treatment for the disease or condition.
  • the method for determining a treatment is carried out in a clinical trial, e.g., as described above and/or in the Detailed Description below.
  • the invention provides a method for determining a treatment effective to treat a disease or condition by altering the level of activity of a product of an allele of a gene selected from the genes listed in Tables 1-6, and determining whether that alteration provides a differential effect (with respect to reducing or alleviating a disease or condition, or with respect to variation in toxicity or tolerance to a treatment) in patients with at least one copy of at least one allele of the gene as compared to patients with at least one copy of one alternative allele.
  • the method for determining a method of treatment is carried out in a clinical trial, e.g., as described above and/or in the Detailed Description below.
  • the invention provides a method for performing a clinical trial or study, which includes selecting or stratifying subjects in the trial or study using a variance or variances or haplotypes from one or more genes specified in Tables 1-6, 12-17, and 18-23.
  • the differential efficacy, tolerance, or safety of a treatment in a subset of patients who have a particular variance, variances, or haplotype in a gene or genes from Tables 1-6, 12-17, and 18-23 is determined by conducting a clinical trial and using a statistical test to assess whether a relationship exists between efficacy, tolerance, or safety and the presence or absence of any of the variances or haplotype in one or more of the genes.
  • Rresults of the clinical trial or study are indicative of whether a higher or lower efficacy, tolerance, or safety of the treatment in a subset of patients is associated with any of the variance or variances or haplotype in one or more of the genes.
  • the clinical trial or study is a Phase I, II, III, or IV trial or study.
  • Prefened embodiments include the stratifications and/or statistical analyses as described below in the Detailed Description.
  • normal subjects or patients are prospectively stratified by genotype in different genotype-defined groups, including the use of genotype as a enrollment criterion, using a variance, variances or haplotypes from Tables 1-6, 12-17, and 18-23, and subsequently a biological or clinical response vanable is compared between the different genotype-defined groups
  • normal subjects or patients in a clinical tnal or study are stratified by a biological or clinical response vanable in different biologically or c nically- defined groups, and subsequently the frequency of a vanance, va ⁇ ances or haplotypes from Tables 1-6, 12-17, and 18-23 is measured m the different biologically or clinically defined groups
  • the normal subjects or patients m a clinical tnal or study are stratified by at least one demographic charactenstic selected from the goups consisting of sex, age, racial o ⁇ gm, ethnic o ⁇ gin, or geographic ongin
  • the method will involve assigning patients to a group to receive the method of treatment or to a control group.
  • the invention provides expe ⁇ mental methods for finding additional va ⁇ ances in a gene provided m Tables 1 -6, 12-17, 18-23
  • a number of expe ⁇ mental methods can also beneficially be used to identify vanances
  • the invention provides methods for producing cDNA (Example 1) and detecting additional vanances in the genes provided m Tables 1 -6, 12-17, 18-23.
  • the present mvention provides a method for treating a patient at nsk for a disease, disorder, dysfunction or condition (for example to prevent or delay the onset of frank disease) or a patient already diagnosed with a said disease or a disease associated with said disease
  • the methods include identifying such a patient and determining the patient's genotype or haplotype for an identified gene or genes
  • the patient identification can, for example, be based on clinical evaluation using conventional clinical met ⁇ cs and/or on evaluation of a genetic vanance or va ⁇ ances in one or more genes, preferably a gene or genes from Tables 1-6
  • the invention provides a method for using the patient's genotype status to determine a treatment protocol that includes a prediction of the efficacy and/or safety of a therapy
  • the invention provides a method for treating a patient at nsk for a drug-mduced disease, disorder or dysfunction by a) identifying a patient with such a nsk, b) determining the genotypic allele status of the patient, and c) converting the data obtained in step b) into a treatment protocol that includes a compa ⁇ son of the genotypic allele status determination with the allele frequency of a control population.
  • the method provides a treatment protocol that predicts a patient being heterozygous or homozygous for an identified allele to exhibit signs and or symptoms of drug-induced disease, disorder, or dysfunction and a patient who is wild-type homozygous for the said allele, as responding favorably to these therapies
  • the invention provides a method for identifying a patient for participation in a clinical tnal of a therapy for the treatment of a disease or an associated pathological or psychiatnc condition
  • the method for identification of a subjectg of the particiaption in a clmcial tnal of a therapy for a disease descnbed in this invention involves determining the genotype or haplotype of a patient awith (or at nsk for) a disease as identified herein
  • the genotype is for a vanance in a gene from Tables 1-6
  • Patients with eligible genotypes are then assigned to a treatment or placebo group, preferably by a blinded randomization procedure
  • the selected patients have at least no copies, one copy or two copies of a wild typespecificallele of identified a gene or genes identified in Tables 1-6
  • patients selected for the clinical tnal may have zero, one or two copies of an allele belonging to a set of alleles, where the set of alleles compnse a group of related alleles
  • One procedure for ngorously defining a set of alleles is by applying phylogenetic methods to the analysis of haplotypes.
  • the treatment protocol involves a companson of placebo vs. treatment response rates in two or more genotype-defined groups For example a group with no copies of an allele may be compared to a group with two copies, or a group with no copies may be compared to a group consisting of those with one or two copies.
  • different genetic models dominant, co-dominant, recessive
  • statistical methods that do not posit a specific genetic model, such as contingency tables, can be used to measure the effects of an allele on treatment response.
  • patients in a clinical tnal can be grouped (at the end of the tnal) according to treatment response, and statistical methods can be used to compare allele (or genotype or haplotype) frequencies in two groups. For example responders can be compared to nonresponders, or patients suffenng adverse events can be compared to those not expenencmg such effects Alternatively response data can be treated as a continuous vanable and the ability of genotype to predict response can be measured. In a preferred embodiments patients who exhibit extreme phenotypes are compared with all other patients or with a group of patients who exhibit a divergent extreme phenotype.
  • the 10%> of patients with the most favorable responses could be compared to the 10% with the least favorable, or the patients one standard deviation above the mean score could be compared to the remainder, or to those one standard deviation below the mean score.
  • One useful way to select the threshold for defining a response is to examine the distribution of responses in a placebo group. If the upper end of the range of placebo responses is used as a lower threshold for an
  • the outlier response group should be almost free of placebo responders. This is a useful threshold because the inclusion of placebo responders in a 'true' reponse group decreases the ability of statistical methods to detect a genetic difference between responders and nonresponders. disease.
  • the invention provides a method for developing a disease management protocol that entails diagnosing a patient with a disease or a disease susceptibility, determining the genotype of the patient at a gene or genes correlated with treatment response and then selecting an optimal treatment based on the disease and the genotype (or genotypes or haplotypes).
  • the disease management protocol may be useful in an education program for physicians, other caregivers or pharmacists; may constitute part of a drug label; or may be useful in a marketing campaign.
  • the invention provides a method for treating a patient at nsk for or diagnosed with drug-induced disease or pathological condition or dysfunction using the methods of the above aspect and conducting a step c) which involves determining the gene allele load status of the patient.
  • This method further involves converting the data obtained in steps b) and c) into a treatment protocol that includes a comparison of the allele status determinations of these steps with the allele frequency of a control population. This affords a statistical calculation of the patient's risk for having drug-induced disease, disorder or dysfunction.
  • the method is useful for identifying drug-induced disease, disorder or dysfunction.
  • the methods provide a treatment protocol that predicts a patient to be at high risk for drug-induced disease, disorder or dysfunction responding by exhibiting signs and symptoms of drug- induced toxicity, disorders, dysfunction if the patient is determined as having a genotype or allelic difference in the identified gene or genes.
  • Such patients are preferably given alternative therapies.
  • the invention also provides a method for improving the safety of candidate therapies for the identification of a drug-induced disease, disorder, or dysfunction.
  • the method includes the step of comparing the relative safety of the candidate therapeutic intervention in patients having different alleles in one or more than one of the genes listed in Tables 1 -6, 12-17, and 18-23.
  • administration of the drug is preferentially provided to those patients with an allele type associated with increased efficacy.
  • the alleles of identified gene or genes used are wild-type and those associated with altered biological activity.
  • any of the listed diseases, disorders, or conditions and treatments thereof, or indeed any disease or disorder can utilize pharmacogenetic information and determinations of genes and gene pathways involved in the abso ⁇ tion, distribution, metabolism, or excretion of said treatment
  • the presence or the absence of at least vanance or haplotype in such a gene or genes can be indicative of the effectiveness of a treatment for a given disease, disorder, or condition, where the gene or gene pathway is involved in the abso ⁇ tion, distnbution, metabolism, or excretion of said treatment, e g , a drug treatment
  • therapy associated with drug-induced disease any therapy resulting in pathophysiologic dysfunction or signs and symptoms of failure or dysfunction, or those associated with the pathophysiological manifestations of a disorder.
  • a suitable therapy can be a pharmacological agent, drug, or therapy that alters a pathways identified to affect the molecular structure or function of the parent candidate therapeutic intervention thereby affecting drug- induced disease or disorder progression of any of the desc ⁇ bed organ system dysfunctions
  • drug-induced disease or “drug-induced syndrome” is meant any physiologic condition that may be conelated with medical therapy by a drug, agent, or candidate therapeutic intervention
  • drug-induced dysfunction is meant a physiologic disorder or syndrome that may be correlated with medical therapy by a drug, agent, or candidate therapeutic intervention m which symptomology is similar to drug-mduced disease Specifically included are a) hemostasis dysfunction, b) cutaneous disorders; c) cardiovascular dysfunction, d) renal dysfunction; e) pulmonary dysfunction, f) hepatic dysfunction, g) systemic reactions; and h) central nervous system dysfunction
  • drug associated disorder is meant a physiologic dysfunction that may be correlated with medical therapy by a drug, agent, or candidate therapeutic intervention.
  • the drug associated disorder may include disease, disorder, or dysfunction.
  • therapy associated with inflammatory or immunological disease is meant any therapy resulting in dysfunction or signs and symptoms of a inflammatory or immunologic condition or dysfunction, or those associated with the pathophysiological manifestations of a clinically diagnosed inflammatory or immunologic disorder or syndrome
  • a suitable therapy can be a pharmacological agent or drug that may enhance or inhibit metabolic pathways identified to affect the molecular structure or function of the parent candidate therapeutic intervention thereby affecting inflammatory or immunological disease progression of any of these inflammatory or immunological dysfunctions.
  • inflammatory or immunological dysfunction is meant a disease or syndrome in which symptomology is similar to a inflammatory or immunological disease. Specifically included are:arthritis, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, autoimmune disease, inflammatory bowel disease, immunosuppression related to transplantation, pain associated with inflammation, psoriasis, atherosclerosis, and hepatitis.
  • pathway or “gene pathway” is meant the group of biologically relevant genes involved in a pharmacodynamic or pharmacokinetic mechanism of drug, agent, or candidate therapeutic intervention. These mechanisms may further include any physiologic effect the drug or candidate therapeutic intervention renders.
  • disease mangement protocol or “treatment protocol” is meant a means for devising a therapeutic plan for a patient using laboratory, clinical and genetic data, including the patient's diagnosis and genotype.
  • the protocol clarifies therapeutic options and provides information about probable prognoses with different treatments.
  • the treatment protocol may theprovide an estimate of the likelihood that a patient will respond positively or negatively to a therapeutic intervention.
  • the treatment protocol may also provide guidance regarding optimal drug dose and administration, and likely timing of recovery or rehabilitation.
  • a “disease mangement protocol” or “treatment protocol” may also be formulated for asymptomatic and healthy subjects in order to forecast future disease risks based on laboratory, clinical and genetic variables. In this setting the protocol specifies optimal preventive or prophylactic interventions, including use of compounds, changes in diet or behavior, or other measures.
  • the treatment protocol may include the use of a computer program.
  • the invention provides a kit containing at least one probe or at least one primer (or other amplification oligonucleotide) or both (e.g., as described above) corresponding to a gene or genes listed in Tables 1-6, 12- 17, and 18-23 or other gene related to a disease or condition listed in Tables 7-11 or described within the invention.
  • the kit is preferably adapted and configured to be suitable for identification of the presence or absence of a particular variance or variances, which can include or consist of a nucleic acid sequence conesponding to a portion of a gene.
  • a plurality of variances may comprise a haplotype of haplotypes.
  • the kit may also contain a plurality of either or both of such probes and or primers, e.g., 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, or more of such probes and/or primers.
  • the plurality of probes and/or primers are adapted to provide detection of a plurality of different sequence variances in a gene or plurality of genes, e.g., in 2, 3, 4, 5, or more genes or to amplify and/or sequence a nucleic acid sequence including at least one variance site in a gene or genes.
  • one or more of the variance or variances to be detected are corcelated with variability in a treatment response or tolerance, and are preferably indicative of an effective response to a treatment.
  • the kit contains components (e.g., probes and/or primers) adapted or useful for detection of a plurality of variances (which may be in one or more genes) indicative of the effectiveness of at least one treatment, preferably of a plurality of different treatments for a particular disease or condition. It may also be desirable to provide a kit containing components adapted or useful to allow detection of a plurality of variances indicative of the effectiveness of a treatment or treatment against a plurality of diseases. The kit may also optionally contain other components, preferably other components adapted for identifying the presence of a particular variance or variances.
  • Such additional components can, for example, independently include a buffer or buffers, e.g., amplification buffers and hybridization buffers, which may be in liquid or dry form, a DNA polymerase, e.g., a polymerase suitable for carrying out PCR (e.g., a thermostable
  • a probe includes a detectable label, e.g., a fluorescent label, enzyme label, light scattering label, or other label.
  • the kit includes a nucleic acid or polypeptide anay on a solid phase substrate.
  • the anay may, for example, include a plurality of different antibodies, and/or a plurality of different nucleic acid sequences. Sites in the array can allow capture and/or detection of nucleic acid sequences or gene products conesponding to different variances in one or more different genes.
  • the arcay is arranged to provide variance detection for a plurality of variances in one or more genes which corcelate with the effectiveness of one or more treatments of one or more diseases, which is preferably a variance as described herein.
  • the kit may also optionally contain instructions for use, which can include a listing of the variances conelating with a particular treatment or treatments for a disease or diseases and/or a statement or listing of the diseases for which a particular variance .or variances conelates with a treatment efficacy and/or safety.
  • the kit components are selected to allow detection of a variance described herein, and/or detection of a variance indicative of a treatment, e.g., administration of a drug, pointed out herein.
  • kits of this invention also includes the use of such a kit to determine the genotype(s) of one or more individuals with respect to one or more variance sites in one or more genes identified herein. Such use can include providing a result or report indicating the presence and or absence of one or more variant forms or a gene or genes which are indicative of the effectiveness of a treatment or treatments.
  • the invention provides a method for determining whether there is a genetic component to intersubject variation in a sunogate treatment response.
  • the method involves administering the treatment to a group of related (preferably normal) subjects and a group of unrelated (preferably normal) subjects, measuring a surrogate pharmacodynamic or pharmacokinetic drug response variable in the subjects, performing a statistical test measuring the variation in response in the group of related subjects and, separately in the group of unrelated subjects, comparing the magnitude or pattern of variation in response or both between the groups to determine if the responses of the groups are different, using a predetermined statistical measure of difference.
  • a difference in response between the groups is indicative that there is a genetic component to intersubject variation in the surrogate treatment response.
  • the size of the related and unrelated groups is set in order to achieve a predetermined degree of statistical power.
  • the invention provides a method for evaluating the combined contribution of two or more variances to a sunogate drug response phenotype in subjects (preferably normal subjects) by a. genotyping a set of unrelated subjects participating in a Phase I trial of a compound. The genotyping is for two or more variances (which can be a haplotype), thereby identifying subjects with specific genotypes, where the two or more specific genotypes define two or more genotype-defined groups. A drug is administered to subjects with two or more of the specific genotypes, and a sunogate pharmacodynamic or pharmacokinetic drug response variable is measured in the subjects.
  • a statistical test or tests is performed to measure response in the groups separately, where the statistical tests provide a measurement of variation in response with each group.
  • the magnitude or pattern of variation in response or both is compared between the groups to determine if the groups are different using a predetermined statistical measure of difference.
  • the specific genotypes are homozygous genotypes for two variances.
  • the comparison is between groups of subjects differing in three or more variances, e.g., 3, 4, 5, 6, or even more variances.
  • the invention provides a method for providing contract research services to clients (preferably in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries), by enrolling subjects (e.g., normal and/or patient subjects) in a clinical drug trial or study unit (preferably a Phase I drug trial or study unit) for the pu ⁇ ose of genotyping the subjects in order to assess the contribution of genetic variation to variation in drug response, genotyping the subjects to determine the status of one or more variances in the subjects, administering a compound to the subjects and measuring a sunogate drug response variable, comparing responses between two or more genotype-defined groups of subjects to determine whether there is a genetic component to the inte ⁇ erson variability in response to said compound; and reporting the results of the Phase I drug trial to a contracting entity.
  • intermediate results e.g., response data and/or statistical analysis of response or variation in reponse.
  • At least some of the subjects have disclosed that they are related to each other and the genetic analysis includes comparison of groups of related individuals.
  • the genetic analysis includes comparison of groups of related individuals.
  • the invention provides a method for recruiting a clinical trial population for studies of the influence of genetic variation on drug response, by soliciting subjects to participate in the clinical trial, obtaining consent of each of a set of subjects for participation in the clinical trial, obtaining additional related subjects for participation in the clinical trial by compensating one or more of the related subjects for participation of their related subjects at a level based on the number of related subjects participating or based on participation of at least a minimum specified number of related subjects, e.g., at minimum levels as specified in the preceding aspect.
  • the gene can be a gene as identified herein (e.g., in the Detailed Description, including examples, or Tables 1-6, 12-17, or 18-23, or is in a pathway as identified herein, e.g., in a Table.
  • pathway or “gene pathway” is meant the goup of biologically relevant genes involved in a pharmacodynamic or pharmacokinetic mechanism of drug, agent, or candidate therapeutic intervention. These mechanisms may further include any physiologic effect the drug or candidate therapeutic intervention renders. Included in this are "biochemical pathways” which is used in its usual sense to refer to a series of related biochemical processes (and the conesponding genes and gene products) involved in carrying out a reaction or series of reactions. Generally in a cell, a pathway performs a significant process in the cell.
  • pharmacological activity used herein is meant a biochemical or physiological effect of drugs, compounds, agents, or candidate therapeutic interventions upon administration and the mechanism of action of that effect.
  • pharmacological activity is then determined by interactions of drugs, compounds, agents, or candidate therapeutic interventions, or their mechanism of action, on their target proteins or macromolecular components.
  • mimetic or “activators” is meant a drug, agent, or compound that activate physiologic components and mimic the effects of endogenous regulatory compounds.
  • antagonists drugs, agents, or compounds that bind to physiologic components and do not mimic endogenous regulatory compounds, or interfere with the action of endogenous regulatory compounds at physiologic components. These inhibitory compounds do not have intrinsic regulatory activity, but prevent the action of agonists.
  • partial agonist or “partial antagonist” is meant an agonist or antagonist, respectively, with limited or partial activity.
  • negative agonist or “inverse antagonists” is meant that a drug, compound, or agent that can interact with a physiologic target protein or macromolecular component and stabilizes the protein or component such that agonist-dependent conformational changes of the component do not occur and agonist mediated mechanism of physiological action is prevented.
  • modulators or “factors” is meant a drug, agent, or compound that interacts with a target protein or macromolecular component and modifies the physiological effect of an agonist.
  • chemical class refers to a group of compounds that share a common chemical scaffold but which differ in respect to the substituent groups linked to the scaffold.
  • chemical classes of drugs include, for example, phenothiazines, piperidines, benzodiazepines and aminoglycosides.
  • phenothiazine class include, for example, compounds such as chlo ⁇ romazine hydrochoride, mesoridazine besylate, thioridazine hydrochloride, acetophenazine maleate trifluoperazine hydrochloride and others, all of which share a phenothiazine backbone.
  • Piperidine class include, for example, compounds such as meperidine, diphenoxylate and loperamide, as well as phenylpiperidines such as fentanyl, sufentanil and alfentanil, all of which share the piperidine backbone.
  • Chemical classes and their members are recognized by those skilled in the art of medicinal chemistry.
  • the term "sunogate marker” refers to a biological or clinical parameter that is measured in place of the biologically definitive or clinically most meaningful parameter. In comparison to definitive markers, sunogate markers are generally either more convenient, less expensive, provide earlier information or provide pharmacological or physiological information not directly obtainable with definitive markers.
  • sunogate biological parameters (i) testing erythrocye membrane acetylcholinesterase levels in subjects treated with an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor intended for use in Alzheimer's disease patients (where inhibition of brain acetylcholinesterase would be the definitive biological parameter); (ii) measuring levels of CD4 positive lymphocytes as a sunogate marker for response to a treatment for aquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS).
  • AIDS aquired immune deficiency syndrome
  • sunogate clinical parameters (i) performing a psychometric test on normal subjects treated for a short period of time with a candidate Alzheimer's compound in order to determine if there is a measurable effect on cognitive function.
  • the definitive clinical test would entail measurring cognitive function in a clinical trial in Alzheimer's disease patients, (ii) Measuring blood pressure as a sunogate marker for myocardial infarction.
  • the measurement of a sunogate marker or parameter may be an endpoint in a clinical study or clinical trial, hence "sunogate endpoint".
  • the term "related" when used with respect to human subjects indicates that the subjects are known to share a common line of descent; that is, the subjects have a known ancestor in common.
  • prefened related subjects include sibs (brothers and sisters), parents, grandparents, children, grandchildren, aunts, uncles, cousins, second cousins and third cousins.
  • Subjects less closely related than third cousins are not sufficiently related to be useful as "related" subjects for the methods of this invention, even if they share a known ancestor, unless some related individuals that lie between the distantly related subjects are also included.
  • each subject shares a known ancestor within three generations or less with at least one other subject in the group, and preferably with all other subjects in the group or has at least that degree of consanguinity due to multiple known common ancestors. More preferably, subjects share a common ancestor within two generations or less, or otherwise have equivalent level of consanguinity.
  • unrelated when used in respect to human subjects, refers to subjects who do not share a known ancestor within 3 generations or less, or otherwise have known relatedness at that degree.
  • the term "pedigree” refers to a group of related individuals, usually comprising at least two generations, such as parents and their children, but often comprising three generations (that is, including grandparents or grandchildren as well). The relation between all the subjects in the pedigree is known and can be represented in a genealogical chart.
  • hybridization when used with respect to DNA fragments or polynucleotides encompasses methods including both natural polynucleotides, non-natural polynucleotides or a combination of both.
  • Natural polynucleotides are those that are polymers of the four natural deoxynucleotides (deoxyadenosine triphosphate [dA], deoxycytosine triphosphate [dC], deoxyguanine triphosphate [dG] or deoxythymidine triphosphate [dT], usually designated simply thymidine triphosphate [T]) or polymers of the four natural ribonucleotides (adenosine triphosphate [A], cytosine triphosphate [C], guanine triphosphate [G] or uridine triphosphate [U]).
  • Non-natural polynucleotides are made up in part or entirely of nucleotides that are not natural nucleotides; that is, they have one or more modifications. Also included among non-natural polynucleotides are molecules related to nucleic acids, such as peptide nucleic acid [PNA]). Non-natural polynucleotides may be polymers of non-natural nucleotides, polymers of natural and non-natural nucleotides (in which there is at least one non-natural nucleotide), or otherwise modified polynucleotides. Non-natural polynucleotides may be useful because their hybridization properties differ from those of natural polynucleotides. As used herein the term "complementary", when used in respect to DNA fragments, refers to the base pairing rules established by Watson and Crick: A pairs with T or
  • complementary DNA fragments have sequences that, when aligned in antiparallel o ⁇ entation, conform to the Watson-Crick base pairing rules at all positions or at all positions except one.
  • complementary DNA fragments may be natural polynucleotides, non-natural polynucleotides, or a mixture of natural and non-natural polynucleotides.
  • amplify when used with respect to DNA refers to a family of methods for increasing the number of copies of a starting DNA fragment. Amplification of DNA is often performed to simplify subsequent determination of
  • Amplification methods include the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), the ligase chain reaction (LCR) and methods using Q beta repiicase, as well as transcription-based amplification systems such as the isothermal amplification procedure known as self-sustained sequence replication (3SR, developed by T.R. Gingeras and colleagues), strand displacement amplification (SDA, developed by G.T. Walker and colleagues) and the rolling circle amplification method (developed by P. Lizardi and D. Ward).
  • PCR polymerase chain reaction
  • LCR ligase chain reaction
  • Q beta repiicase Q beta repiicase
  • transcription-based amplification systems such as the isothermal amplification procedure known as self-sustained sequence replication (3SR, developed by T.R. Gingeras and colleagues), strand displacement amplification (SDA, developed by G.T. Walker and colleagues) and the rolling circle amplification method (developed by P. Lizardi and D. Ward).
  • contract research services for a client refers to a business anangement wherein a client entity pays for services consisting in part or in whole of work performed using the methods described herein.
  • the client entity may include a commercial or non-profit organization whose primary business is in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, diagnostics, medical device or contract research organization (CRO) sector, or any combination of those sectors.
  • Services provided to such a client may include any of the methods described herein, particularly including clinical trial services, and especially the services described in the Detailed
  • the sunogate marker is generally selected to provide information on a biological or clinical response, as defined above.
  • comparing the magnitude or pattern of variation in response between two or more groups refers to the use of a statistical procedure or procedures to measure the difference between two different distributions. For example, consider two genotype-defined groups, AA and aa, each homozygous for a different variance or haplotype in a gene believed likely to affect response to a drug.
  • the subjects in each group are subjected to treatment with the drug and a treatment response is measured in each subject (for example a sunogate treatment response).
  • a treatment response is measured in each subject (for example a sunogate treatment response).
  • the form of the distributions is not known, one can use nonparametric statistical tests to test whether the distributions are different, and whether the difference is significant at a specified level (for example, the p ⁇ 0.05 level, meaning that, by chance, the distributions would differ to the degree measured less than one in 20 similar experiments).
  • a specified level for example, the p ⁇ 0.05 level, meaning that, by chance, the distributions would differ to the degree measured less than one in 20 similar experiments.
  • the types of comparisons described are similar to the analysis of heritability in quantitative genetics, and would draw on standard methods from quantitative genetics to measure heritability by comparing data from related subjects.
  • Another type of comparison that can be usefully made is between related and unrelated groups of subjects. That is, the comparison of two or more distributions is of particular interest when one distribution is drawn from a population of related subjects and the other distribution is drawn from a group of unrelated subjects, both subjected to the same treatment. (The related subjects may consist of small groups of related subjects, each compared only to their relatives.)
  • a comparison of the distribution of a drug response variable (e.g. a sunogate marker) between two such groups may provide information on whether the drug response variable is under genetic control. For example, a nanow distribution in the group(s) of related subjects (compared to the unrelated subjects) would tend to indicate that the measured variable is under genetic control (i.e.
  • the related subjects on account of their genetic homogeneity, are more similar than the unrelated individuals).
  • the degree to which the distribution was narrower in the related individuals (compared to the unrelated individuals) would be proportionate to the degree of genetic control.
  • the nanowness of the distribution could be quantified by, for example, computing variance or standard deviation.
  • the shape of the distribution may not be known and nonparametric tests may be preferable.
  • Nonparametric tests include methods for comparing medians such as the sign test, the slippage test, or the rank conelation coefficient (the nonparametric equivalent of the ordinary correlation coefficient). Pearson's Chi square test for comparing an observed set of frequencies with an expected set of frequencies can also be useful.
  • the inventors have also determined that the loss of chromosomes or
  • LOH loss of heterozygosity
  • the cancer cells will be functionally different from the normal cells on account of having only one of the two copies. For example, consider a patient heterozygous for high and low activity forms of a gene that metabolizes a cancer drug. If LOH involving the chromosome containing the gene has left cancer cells with only one copy of the gene then the metabolism of the drug will be different in
  • cancer cells may experience higher levels of drug (due to slower metabolism) than normal cells.
  • Provided in this invention are specific chromosomal sites characterized by LOH, and the frequency of LOH in different types of neoplasia at said sites. These LOH sites, in conjuction with the variances
  • subjecting a cell to harsh physical agents, such as radiation can cause certain genes to be essential that are not essential under normal conditions.
  • Such genes are essential under certain conditions associated with the therapy of cancer.
  • the demonstration that such genes are present in the population in more than one allelic form and are subjected to loss of heterozygosity in cancer or noncancer proliferative disorders makes such genes targets for allele specific drugs for the treatment of such disorders.
  • essential includes both strictly essential and beneficial to cell growth or survival.
  • a gene is said to be "conditionally essential” if it is essential for cell survival or proliferation in a specific environmental condition differing from usual in vivo conditions or usual culture conditions for the type of cell, where the specific environmental condition is caused by the presence or absence of specific environmental constituents, pharmaceutical agents, including small molecules or biologicals, or physical factors such as radiation, or if the gene enhances the growth or survival of the cell under such conditions by at least 2-fold, preferably by at least 4-fold, and more preferably by at least 6-fold, 10-fold or even more.
  • Cancer cells, as well as cells from a number of different non-malignant proliferative disorders, from an individual almost invariably undergo a loss of genetic material (DNA) when compared to normal cells.
  • DNA genetic material
  • this deletion of genetic material includes the loss of one of the two alleles of genes for which the normal somatic cells of the same individual are heterozygous, meaning that there are differences in the sequence of the gene on each of the parental chromosomes.
  • the loss of one allele in the cancer cells is referred to as "loss of heterozygosity" (LOH). Recognizing that almost all, if not all, varieties of cancer undergo LOH, and that regions of DNA loss are often quite extensive, the genetic content of deleted regions in cancer cells was evaluated and it was found that a variety of different conditionally essential genes are frequently deleted, reducing the cancer cell to only one copy.
  • the term “deleted” refers to the loss of one of two copies of a chromosome or sub-chromosomal segment. Further investigation demonstrated that the loss of genetic material from cancer cells sometimes results in the selective loss of one of two alleles of a partiuclar gene at a particular locus or loci on a particular chromosome.
  • proliferative disorder refers to various cancers and disorders characterized by abnormal growth of somatic cells leading to an abnormal mass of tissue which exhibits abnormal proliferation, and consequently, the growth of which exceeds and is uncoordinated with that of the normal tissues.
  • the abnormal mass of cells is refened to as a "tumor", where the term tumor can include both localized cell masses and dispersed cells.
  • cancer refers to a neoplastic growth and is synonymous with the terms “malignancy", or "malignant tumor”.
  • the treatment of cancers and the identification of anticancer agents is the concern of particularly prefened embodiments of the aspects of the present invention.
  • abnormal proliferative diseases include "nonmalignant tumors", and "dysplastic” conditions including, but not limited to, leiomyomas, endometriosis, benign prostate hypertrophy, atherosclerotic plagues, and dysplastic epithelium of lung, breast, cervix, or other tissues.
  • Drugs used in treating cancer and other non-cancer proliferative disorders commonly aim to inhibit the proliferation of cells and are commonly refened to as antiproliferative agents.
  • Loss of heterozygosity refers to the loss of one of the alleles of a gene from a cell or cell lineage previously having two alleles of that gene. Normal cells contain two copies of each gene, one inherited from each parent.
  • heterozygous indicates that a cell contains two different allelic forms of a particular gene and thus indicates that the allelic forms differ at at least one sequence variance site.
  • LOH occurs in all cancers and is a common characteristic of non-malignant, proliferative disorders. In general, many different genes will be affected by loss of heterozygosity in a cell which undergoes loss of heterozygosity. In many cancers 10-40%> of all of the genes in the human genome (there are estimated to be 60.000-100,000 different genes in the genome) will exhibit LOH.
  • these terms refer preferably to loss of heterozygosity of a gene that has a particular sequence variance in normal somatic cells of an individual such that there is loss of heterozygosity with respect to that particular sequence variance. Also preferably, these terms refer to loss of heterozygosity of a particular sequence variance that is recognized by an inhibitor that will inhibit one allele of the gene present in normal cells of the individual, but not an alternative allele.
  • the present invention provides a number of advantages.
  • the methods described herein allow for use of a determination of a patient's genotype for the timely administration of the most suitable therapy for that particular patient.
  • the methods of this invention provide a basis for successfully developing and obtaining regulatory approval for a compound even though efficacy or safety of the compound in an unstratified population is not adequate to justify approval. From the point of view of a pharmaceutical or biotechnology company, the information obtained in pharmacogenetic studies of the type described herein could be the basis of a marketing campaign for a drug.
  • a marketing campaign that emphasized the superior efficacy or safety of a compound in a genotype or haplotype restricted patient population, compared to a similar or competing compound used in an undifferentiated population of all patients with the disease.
  • a marketing campaign could promote the use of a compound in a genetically defined subpopulation, even though the compound was not intrinsically superior to competing compounds when used in the undifferentiated population with the target disease.
  • a compound with an inferior profile of action in the undifferentiated disease population could become superior when coupled with the appropriate pharmacogenetic test.
  • Tables 1-6 Gene Tables, lists genes that may be involved in pharmacological response to cancer or other neoplastic disorders, neurological and psychiatric, adso ⁇ tion, distribution, metaboilism, or excretion of, inflammation and immune, endocrine and metabolism, and cardiovascular and renal therapeutics, respectively, or that may define disease subsets with different prognosis and consequent implications for treatment. These tables have seven columns. Column 1, headed “Class” provides broad groupings of genes relevant to the pharmacology of indication-specific drugs. Column 2, headed “Pathway”, provides a more detailed categorization of the different classes of genes by indicating the overall pu ⁇ ose of large groups of genes.
  • OMIM world wide web site The url is: http://www3.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Omim/searchomim.html.
  • An OMIM record exists for most characterized human genes. The record often has useful information on the chromosome location, function, alleles, and human diseases or disorders associated with each gene.
  • GID GenBank identification number
  • GID GenBank identification number
  • Many genes have multiple Genbank accession numbers, representing different versions of a sequence obtained by different research groups, or conected or updated versions of a sequence.
  • GenBank records related to the named record can be obtained easily. All other GenBank records listing sequences that are alternate versions of the sequences named in the table are equally suitable for the inventions described in this application. (One straightforward way to obtain additional GenBank records for a gene is on the internet.
  • GenBank record number in column 6 can be entered at the url: http://www3.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Entrez/nucleotide.htmI.
  • Tables 7-11 are matrix tables showing the intersection of genes and therapeutic indications - that is, which categories of genes are most likely to account for inte ⁇ atient variation in reponse to treatments for which diseases.
  • the first two columns provide a framework for organizing the genes listed in Tables 1-6.
  • Table 1 is similar to the 'Class' column in Tables 1-6, while column 2 is a combination of the 'Pathway' and 'Function' columns in Tables 1-6. It is intended that the summary terms listed in columns 1 and 2 be read as referring to all the genes in the conesponding sections of Tables 1-6.
  • the remaining columns in Tables 7-1 1 list the specific indications for a given disease category, for example in Table 7 there are thirteen neurological and psychiatric indications. The information in the Tables lies in the shaded boxes at the intersection of various 'Pathways" (the rows) and treatment indications.
  • An intersection box is shaded when a a row conesponding to a particular pathway (and by extension all the genes listed in that pathway in Tables 1 -6) intersects a column for a specific neurological or psychiatric disease such that the pathway and genes are of possible use in explaining inte ⁇ atient differences in response to treatments for the neurological or psychiatric indication.
  • the Tables enables one skilled in the art to identify therapeutically relevant genes in patients with one of the listed indications for the pu ⁇ oses of stratification of these patients based upon genotype and subsequent conelatation of genotype with drug response.
  • the shaded intersections indicate prefened sets of genes for understanding the basis of inte ⁇ atient variation in response to therapy of the indicated disease indication, and in that respect are exemplary.
  • Tables 12-17 lists the exemplary DNA sequence variances in genes for therelevant to the methods described in the present invention. These variances were discovered by the inventors in studies of selected genes listed in Tables 1 -6, and are provided here as useful for the methods of the present invention. The variances in Tables 12-17 were discovered by one or more of the methods described below in the
  • the tables have eight columns.
  • the column headings are spread over two rows, with five headings in the first row and three in the second row.
  • the gene sequence variance listings in the tables have a similar organization to the column headings, with a set of nomenclature data in the first row for each gene entry, and variance data in the second and additional following rows for however many sequence variances are available for a specific gene.
  • Column 1 the "Name” column, contains the Human Genome Organization (HUGO) identifier for the gene.
  • Column 2 the "GID” column provides the GenBank accession number of a genomic, cDNA, or partial sequence of a particular gene.
  • Column 3 the "OMIMJ-D” column contains the record number conesponding to the Online
  • Mendelian Inheritance in Man database for the gene provided in columns 1 and 2. This record number can be entered at the world wide web site http://www3.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Omim/searchomim.html to search the OMIM record on the gene.
  • Column 4 the VGX_Symbol column, provides an internal identifier for the gene.
  • Column 5 the "Description” column provides a descriptive name for the gene, when available.
  • Columns 6, 7 and 8 are on the second row of columns.
  • Column 6, the "Variance_Start” column provides the nucleotide location of a variance with respect to the first listed nucleotide in the GenBank accession number provided in column 2. That is, the first nucleotide of the GenBank accession is counted as nucleotide 1 and the variant nucleotide is numbered accordingly.
  • the "variance” column provides the nucleotide location of a variance with respect to an ATG codon believed to be the authentic ATG start codon of the gene, where the A of ATG is numbered as one (1) and the immediately preceding nucleotide is numbered as minus one (-1). This reading frame is important because it allows the potential consequence of the variant nucleotide to be inte ⁇ reted in the context of the gene anatomy (5' untranslated region, protein coding sequence, 3' untranslated region). Column 7 also provides the identity of the two variant nucleotides at the indicated position.
  • CDS_Context indicates whether the variance is in a coding region but silent (S); in a coding region and results in an amino acid change (e.g., R347C, where the letters are one letter amino acid abbreviations and the number is the amino acid residue in the encoded amino acid sequence which is changed); in a sequence 5' to the coding region (5); or in a sequence 3' to the coding region (3).
  • an amino acid change e.g., R347C, where the letters are one letter amino acid abbreviations and the number is the amino acid residue in the encoded amino acid sequence which is changed
  • inte ⁇ reting the location of the variance in the gene is contingent on the conect assignment of the initial ATG of the encoded protein (the translation start site). It should be recognized that assignment of the conect ATG may occasionally be inconect in GenBank, but that one skilled in the art will know how to carry out experiments to definitively identify the conect translation initiation codon (which is not always an amino acid change (e.g., R3
  • the priority for use to resolve the ambiguity is GenBank accession number, OMIM identification number, HUGO identifier, common name identifier.
  • Tables 18-23 lists additional DNA sequence variances (in addition to those in Tables 12-17) in genes relevant to the methods of the present invention (i.e. selected genes from Tables 1-6). These variances were identified by various research groups and published in the scientific literature. The inventors realized that these variances may be useful for understanding inte ⁇ atient variation in response to treatment of the diseases listed in Tables 7-1 1, and more generally useful for the methods of the present invention.
  • the layout of Tables 18-23 is identical to that of Tables 12-17, and therefore the descriptions of the rows and columns in Tables 12- 17 (above) pertain to Tables 18-23, as do the caveats and other remarks.
  • Tables 24-68 provide lists of exemplary compounds in clinical development for the various disease indications listed in Tables 7-1 1.
  • the compounds listed in the tables are exemplary; that is, the methods of the invention will apply to other compounds as well.
  • Each table has four columns. The first column is titled “Product Name”, the second column is titled “Chemical Name” , the third "Action” and the fourth
  • the third column, “Action”, summarizes in a word or phrase an important pharmacological action of the compound, or what is cunently believed to be an important pharmacological action - in most cases additional pharmacological actions are known but not listed to conserve space; alternatively, subsequent studies may reveal additional or alternative pharmacological actions. (Sources listed in the detailed description will help clarify whether additional pharmacological actions have been discovered.)
  • the fourth column, “Indication”, provides an exemplary disease or condition for which the compound is cunently being, or has already been, developed. In many cases the compound is being, has already been, or will likely be developed for other indications. Again, one skilled in the art will know how to identify additional drug development programs for these compounds. For example, a compound in development for one neurodegenerative disease is likely to be evaluated in the treatment of other neurodegenerative diseases.
  • A. Neurological and Psychiatric Diseases The treatment of neurological and psychiatric diseases presents a challenge to physicians and other medical practitioners because the available therapeutics are only partially effective in only a fraction of patients. Further, many cunently used medicines produce serious adverse effects. Therapeutic benefits and toxic side effects have to be balanced in each patient. This requires much attention to drug selection, dosage adjustment and monitoring for potential adverse events on the part of care givers - effectively a new pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic study must be performed for each patient. These limitations of therapy are especially true of the most debilitating neurological and psychiatric diseases such as psychosis, depression, epilepticepilepsy, the neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease, migraine and cerebrovascular disease. Although these diseases have distinct clinical presentations, havethere is extensive overlap in pathogenetic mechanisms and symptoms.
  • Difficulties in treating neurological and psychiatric diseases are attributable to factors such as limited understanding of disease condition pathophysiology, lack of specificity of pathophysiologic changes (i.e. variation in pathophysiologic machanisms in patients with similar clinical presentation) and lack of specificity of therapeutic compounds. Further, most medical therapy is directed to the amelioration of symptoms, not the anest or reversal of underlying pathophysiologic processes.
  • One good example of the difficulty of developing and marketing effective treatments is the history of therapeutic candidates for Alzheimer's disease.
  • the pharmacokinetic parameters with potential effects on efficacy are abso ⁇ tion, distribution, metabolism, and excretion. These parameters affect efficacy broadly by modulating the availability of a compound at the site(s) of action. Inte ⁇ atient variation in the availability of a compound drug, agent, or candidate therapeutic intervention can result in a reduction of the available compound or more compound at the site of action with a conesponding altered clinical effect. Differences in these parameters, therefore, can be a potential foundation of inte ⁇ atient variability to drug response.
  • abso ⁇ tion is a critical first step in the pharmacologic process. Within the gastrointestinal tract, abso ⁇ tion of a drug, agent, or candidate therapeutic intervention can be affected by the pH of the contents, speed of gastric emptying, and presence of chelating or binding molecules to the drug, agent or candidate therapeutic intervention. Each of these parameters can effectively reduce the rate of passive abso ⁇ tion of the drug across the gastrointestinal mucosal membrane.
  • the drug, agent or candidate therapeutic intervention must be delivered or distributed to the primary site of pharmacologic action.
  • distribution is dependent on regional blood flow and cardiac output; distribution may be further affected by the rate and extent of sequestration of the drug into biological spaces that render the product unavailable to the principle or primary site of pharmacologic site of action.
  • many drugs are actively transported into biological compartments. These processes, if over- or under active may affect the availability and hence reduce the efficacy of the product. Further, only unbound drug may be effective to a cell, tissue, or physiological process, and bound product may be transported to a space that is physiologically unrelated to the pharmacologic mechanism of action or may be of deleterious adverse or toxic consequence.
  • Metabolism- Induction of metabolic enzymes to covalently modify the parent drug, agent or candidate therapeutic intervention may reduce the ability of the parent drug to elicit a pharmacologic action. Metabolism may affect the target active site binding, rate and extent of distribution and excretion, and overall availability of the active molecule. d. Excretion- If the excretion of the drug or drug metabolite is rapid, less drug is available to elicit a pharmacologic effect.
  • Adverse drug reactions can be categorized as 1 ) mechanism based reactions which are exaggerations of pharmacologic effects and 2) idiosyncratic, unpredictable effects unrelated to the primary pharmacologic action. Although some side effects appear shortly after administration of a durg, some side effects appear long after drug administration or after cessation of the drug. Furthermore, these reactions can be categorized by reversible or ineversible manifestations of the drug- induced toxicity referring to whether the clinical symptomology subsides or persists upon withdrawal of the offending agent.
  • excessive drug effects may result from alterations of pharmacokinetic parameters by either drug-drug interactions, pathophysiologic disease mediated alterations in the organs or processes involved in abso ⁇ tion, distribution, metabolism, or excretion, or genetic predisposition to heightened pharmacodynamic effect of the drug.
  • the excessive or heightened response may be receptor or drug target or non-receptor or non-drug target mediated.
  • antineoplastic agents act by prevention of cell division in dividing cells or promoting cytotoxicity via disruption of DNA synthesis, transcription, and formation of mitotic spindles. These agents, unfortunately, do not distinguish between normal and cancerous cells, e.g. normally dividing cells and cancer cells are equally killed. Therefore, adverse events of antineoplastic agents include bone manow suppression leading to anemia, leukopenia, and thrombocytopenia; immunosuppression rendering the patient susceptible and vulnerable to infectious agents; and initiation of mutagenesis and the formation of alternate forms of cancer, in many cases, acute myeloid leukemia.
  • immunosuppression as a result of therapy to reduce or ablate immune response.
  • This therapy includes but is not exclusive to prevention of graft vs. host or autoimmune disease.
  • These agents e.g. corticosteroids, cyclosporine, and azathioprine, all suppress humoral or cell-mediated immunity.
  • Patients taking these agents are rendered susceptible to microbial infections, particular opportunistic infections such as cytomegalovirus, pneumocystis carnii, Candida, and sperigillus.
  • long-term immunosuppressive therapy is associated with increased risk of developing lymphoma.
  • Individual drugs are associated with renal injury (cyclosporine) and interstitial pneumonitis (azathioprine).
  • idiosyncratic reactions arise often by unpredictable, unknown mechanisms or reactions that evoke immunologic reactions or unanticipated cytotoxicity.
  • Adverse reactions in this category are often found together, because often it is difficult to ascertain the etiology of the offending reaction.
  • These toxic events can be specific for a target organ, e.g. ototoxicity, nephrotoxicity, hepatotoxicity, neurotxicity, etc. or are caused by reactive metabolic intermediates and are toxic or create local damage usually near the site of metabolism.
  • Immunologic reactions to drugs are thought or result from the combination of the drug or agent with a protein to form an antigenic protein-drug complex that stimulates the immune system response. Without the formation of a complex, most small molecular drugs are unable, alone, to elicit an immunological response. First exposure to the offending drug produces a latent reaction, subsequent exposures usually results in heightened and rapid immunological response. These allergic reactions, characterized by immunohypersensitivity, are most dramatic in anaphylaxis.
  • immune responses that result in adverse reactions or toxicities they include but are not limited to : 1) immune response mediated cytotoxicity which occurs when the drug-protein complex binds to the surface of a cell and this cell-complex is then recognized by circulating antibodies; 2) serum sickness which occurs when immune complexes of drug and antibody are found in the circulation; and 3) lupus syndromes in which the drug or reactive intermediate interact with nuclear material to stimulate the formation of antinuclear antibodies.
  • Adverse drug reactions include, but are not limited to, the following organs systems: a) hemostasis which encompass blood dyscrasias (feature of over half of all drug-related deaths) which are bone manow aplasia, granulocytopenia, aplastic anemia, leukopenia, pancytopenia, lymphoid hype ⁇ lasia, hemolytic anemia, and thrombocytopenia; b) cutaneous which encompass urticaria, macules, papules, angioedema, morbilliform-maculopapular rash, toxic epidermal necrolysis, erythema multiforme, erythema nodosum, contact dermititis, vesicles, petechiae, exfolliative dermititis, fixed drug eruptions, and severe skin rash (Stevens-Johnson syndrome); c) cardiovascular which includes anythmias, QT prolongation, cardiomyopathy, hypotension, or hypertension; d) renal which
  • tricyclic antidepressants can cause central nervous system depression, seizures, respiratory anest, cardiac arrythmias and anest.
  • the mechanism for the injury is a result of the increased synaptic concentrations of biogenic amines and inhibition of postsynaptic receptors.
  • Acetominophen can cause hepatic necrosis as a result of prolonged high dose usage or overdose.
  • acetominophen In the hepatocyte, acetominophen is converted to a toxic metabolite that binds to glutathione. As the concentration of acetominophen increases the levels of glutathione are depleted and the toxic acetominophen metabolite then binds liver macromolecules. Aggregation of polymo ⁇ honuclear neutrophils in hepatic microcirculation may cause ischemia and foster necrotic events. Halothane can cause hepatic necrosis as well as prodrome fever and jaundice. Interestingly, the liver effects of halothane are usually after a first time exposure. The hepatic reaction is thought to occur via a genetic predisposition to deran 'sg-e ⁇ d metabolism with the formation of toxic metabolites.
  • Abso ⁇ tion is the pharmacokinetic parameter that describes the rate and extent of the drug, agent, or candidate therapeutic intervention leaves the site of administration.
  • bioavailability is the parameter that is clinically relevant.
  • Bioavailability is the term used to define the extent to which the active component of the drug, agent, or candidate therapeutic intervention reaches the its site of physiologic action or a biological fluid to which has access to the site of biological action.
  • bioavailability is related to all pharmacokinetic parameters, e.g. abso ⁇ tion, distribution, metabolism, and excretion, bioavailability is primarily dependent on the first ability of the drug, agent, or candidate therapeutic intervention to be absorbed from the site of delivery, i.e. cross cellular membranes.
  • the abso ⁇ tion surface is dependent on the route of administration.
  • abso ⁇ tion of drugs can occur via 1) oral (enteral); 2) sublingual; 3) injections (parenteral, i.e., intravenous, intramuscular, intraarterial, intrathecal, intraperiotoneal, or subcutaneous); 4) rectal; 5) inhalation (pulmonary); 6) topical application (skin and eye).
  • the adso ⁇ tion rate and extent is dependent on the concentration of the drug at the site, the patency of the epithelial cells, local biological conditions, and function of the active or passive transport.
  • Abso ⁇ tion can affect both the efficacy and safety of a drug, agent, or candidate therapeutic intervention. For example, for a compound to achieve full pharmacologic potential, it must be available at the target site, be active, and be unbound. In regards to safety, abso ⁇ tion affects safety in one or more of the following: site of delivery pain, necrosis, or irritation; rate of administration; and enatic available concentrations.
  • the distribution of the drug, agent, or candidate therapeutic intervention is dependent on the rate and extent the compound enters the bloodstream. Once in the bloodstream, the compound may be distributed to the interstitial and cellular fluids.
  • the distribution of drugs to target tissues can be categorized into two phases. The first distribution phase, is dependent on cardiac output and regional blood flow, both of which are dependent on the health and status of the cardiovascular system.
  • Drug entry into tissues requires free drug, and drug binding proteins may limit this active or passive transport. Once distributed into tissues, the drug may be sequestered within that tissue, to render full pharmacologic activity or to prevent that drug from reaching the appropriate target tissue.
  • Distribution can affect both the efficacy and safety of a drug, agent, or candidate therapeutic intervention. For example, for a compound to achieve full pharmacologic potential, it must be available at the target site, be active, and be unbound. In regards to safety, distribution affects safety in one or more of the following: distribution to a tissue that is more or less affected by the pharmacologic action of the compound, enatic available concentrations, and tissue specific distribution characteristics.
  • Drugs or xenobiotics are usually found in the circulation bound to plasma proteins, generally but not exclusive to serum albumin. It is the bound form of the drug that is taken up by the hepatocyte. Bile salts in the circulation are taken up via organic anion transporters. Once inside the hepatocyte, the drug or bile salt is a substrate for a series of reactions that are either oxidative or reductive or reactions that are conjugative steps in the metabolism of the substrate. Generally these chemical modifications are a refined process to render the substrate more hydrophilic, or polar, to be more likely excreted in the bile (via the intestinal tract) or urine (via the kidneys). However, there are exceptions whereby the redox reactions produce reactive intermediates or products that retard elimination.
  • hepatic function if inadequate is based upon clinical observation, e.g., the presence of jaundice, right upper quadrant abdominal discomfort or pain, pruritis, or by clinical laboratory analyses, e.g., aspartate transaminase (AST or SGOT) or alanine transferase (ALT or SGPT).
  • AST or SGOT aspartate transaminase
  • ALT or SGPT alanine transferase
  • phase I functionalization reactions occur. Phase I reactions introduce or expose a functional group to the parent compound. In general, phase I reactions render the parent compound pharmacologically inactive, however there are examples of phase I reaction activation or retention of activity. In phase II reactions, biosynthetic reactions occur. Phase II conjugation reactions leads to a covalent linkage between a functional group on the parent compound with glucuronic acid, sulfate, glutathione, amino acids, or acetate. The metabolic conversion of drugs is the liver, however, all tissues have enzymatic activity.
  • Factors affecting drug biotransformation are 1) induction of metabolizing enzymes, 2) inhibition of enzymatic reactions, and 3) genetic polymo ⁇ hisms. It is the inte ⁇ lay of these factors and the health and well being of the patient or subject that determines the fate of parent drug molecules in the body.
  • the first factor affecting drug biotransformation is induction of metabolizing enzyme activity.
  • the metabolic processes that modify drugs or chemicals can be induced to significant enzymatic activity. Under physiological conditions, the induction process is in place to coordinately metabolize excess substrates.
  • the induction process can be both at the level of enzymatic activity and increased protein levels of the pertinent enzyme or enzymes. Induction may include one or several of the enzymatic pathways or processes in response to the presence of drugs, xenobiotics, endogenous substrates, or metabolic by-products. There may or may not be increased toxicity as a result of increased concentrations of metabolites. Further, induction of phase I reactive processes (oxidation or reduction reactions) may or may not induce the phase II reactive processes (congujation reactions).
  • the second factor affecting drug biotransformation is the inhibition of metabolic enzymes. Enzymatic inhibition can occur via 1) competition of two or more substrates for the enzymatic active site, 2) suicide inhibitors, or 3) depletion of required cofactors for the enzymatic pathways or processes in phase I or phase II reactions.
  • two or more drugs, xenobiotics, or substrates present can interact with the active site of the enzyme. If one drug binds specifically to the enzymatic active site or to an other intracellular regulatory protein molecule, other compounds are blocked from binding and remain unbound. In this case, unmetabolized parent drug or xenobiotic remains in the circulation, potentially for extended periods of time.
  • Competitive inhibition is dependent on the relative specificity of the substrates for the enzymatic active site and the concentration of the drugs or substrates.
  • cytochrome P450 An example of competitive drug biotransformation inhibition are cimetidine and ketoconazole which inhibit oxidative drug metabolism by forming a tight complex with the heme iron complex of cytochrome P450, and macrolide antibiotics such as erythromycin and troleandomycin are metabolized to products bind to heme groups on the cytochrome P450 molecules.
  • the inhibition of enzymes involved in the drug biotransformation process may also occur by suicide inactivation.
  • the drug or xenobiotic may interact and covalently modify or render inactive the enzyme involved in the metabolic pathway.
  • the parent drug compound or molecule is not metabolized, nor is it free to interact with another molecule.
  • suicide inactivators are secobarbital and synthetic steroids (norethindrone or ethinyl estradiol) which bind to cytochrome P450 and destroy the heme portion of the enzyme unit.
  • inhibition of the enzymes involved in the drug biotransformation pathway can also occur by agents or compounds or physiological status that deplete NADPH or other cofactors required for the enzymatic reactions to occur.
  • lack of oxygen or NADPH may reduce the efficiency and activity of a particular enzyme.
  • cofactors provide specific groups for the enzymatic covalent modification of the drug or xenobiotic. These phase II cofactors are required for conjugation biotransformation reactions to occur and depletion of these cofactors would be rate limiting.
  • the third factor that can affect drug biotransformation is genetic polymo ⁇ hism. Differences among individuals to metabolize drugs have long been known.
  • Isoniazid is a primary drug prescribed for the chemotherapy of tuberculosis. Marked interindividual variation in the elimination of this drug was observed and genetic studies of families revealed that this va ⁇ ation was genetically controlled. Isoniazid is predominantly metabolized via N-acetylation.
  • sulfonamides sulfadiazine, sulfamethazine, sulfapyridine, sulfameridine, and sulfadoxine.
  • Other drugs that first undergo metabolism and then polymo ⁇ hically acetylated are clonazepam and caffeine
  • Another common genetic polymo ⁇ hism associated with oxidative metabolism is exemplified by the drug deb ⁇ soquine (a sympatholytic antihypertensive). It was discovered that variable inter-patient hypotensive response was due to differing metabolic rates of debrisoquine 4-hydroxylase. Further analysis of family studies revealed that oxidative metabolic reactions are under monogeneic control.
  • a cytochrome P450 enzyme, CYP2D6 was determined to be the target gene for deb ⁇ soquine 4-hydroxylase activity. Poor metabolizers of desb ⁇ soquine are homozygous for a recessive CYP2D6 allele and rapid or fast metabolizers are homozygous or heterozygous for the wild type CYP2D6 allele.
  • U ⁇ nary metabolic ratio can be determined after administration of a probe drug and phenotypic assignments (poor or extensive metabolizer) can be identified.
  • the extent of deb ⁇ soquine metabolic analysis achieved clinical importance as it was determined that other drugs were poorly metabolized in individuals that poorly metabolized deb ⁇ soquine.
  • anti-anyhthmics such as flecainide, propafenone, and mexiletine
  • antidepressants such as amitryptiline, clomipramine, desipramine, fluoetine, imipramine, maprotiline, mianserin, paroxetine, and nortnptyline
  • neuroleptics such as haloperidol, pe ⁇ henazine, and thioridazine
  • antianginals such as perhexilene
  • opioids such as dextrometho ⁇ han and codeine
  • amphetamines such as methylenedioxymethamphetamine.
  • many ⁇ -adrenergic antagonists are metabolized and are subject to polymo ⁇ hic influence in elimination patterns.
  • mephenytoin metabolizers drugs can be grouped into the poor mephenytoin metabolizers are mephobarbital, hexobarbital, side-chain oxidization of propanolol, the demethylation of imipramine, and the metabolism of diazepam and desmethyldiazepam. Further analysis of other drugs such as the metabolism of antidepressant drugs (citalopram), the proton pump inhibitor omeprazol, the antimalarial drugs pantoprazole and lansoprazole cosegregate with mephenytoin metabolites.
  • antidepressant drugs citalopram
  • the proton pump inhibitor omeprazol the proton pump inhibitor omeprazol
  • antimalarial drugs pantoprazole and lansoprazole cosegregate with mephenytoin metabolites.
  • liver disease pathologies such as hepatitis, alcoholic liver disease, fatty liver disease, biliary cinhosis, and hepatocarcinomas can impair function of normal physiological metabolic pathways.
  • decreases in hepatic circulation as a result of cardiac insufficiency, hypertension, vascular obstruction, or vascular insult can affect the rate and extent of drug biotransformation. For example drugs with a high hepatocyte extraction ratio would have different metabolism rates affected by alterations of hepatic circulation.
  • hepatic damage may affect the metabolism and clearance of a parent drug or metabolic by-product
  • residual concentrations of parent drug or metabolic by-products may be deleterious to the liver and its metabolic functions.
  • a significant portion of the drug will be metabolized by intestinal or hepatic enzymes before it reaches the general circulation. This first pass effect may generate active drug (administered drug was a prodrug), inactive drug, or toxic drug.
  • active drug administered drug was a prodrug
  • inactive drug or toxic drug.
  • a metabolic product of hepatic metabolic pathways can affect the liver, kidney, and other organs of the body prior to excretion.
  • oxidases catalyze the transfer of electrons from substrate to oxygen, generating either hydrogen peroxide or superoxide anions.
  • oxidases There are two oxidases present in hepatocytes; they are aldehyde oxidases and monoamine oxidases. Both of these enzymes have broad substrate specificity and contribute broadly to the metabolism of drugs.
  • a third oxidase, xanthine oxidase may contribute to the oxidation of drugs, due its ability to catalyze the oxidation of heterocyclic aromatic amines, for example methotrexate and 6-merca ⁇ topurine.
  • Xanthine oxidase in intact tissues is present as a NAD-dependent dehydrogenase, and is converted to an oxidase when there is disruption of the tissue, for example during hepatic cellular damage.
  • Aldehyde oxidase catalyzes the oxidation of fatty aldehydes to carboxylic acids and the hydroxylation of substituted pyridines, pyrimidines, purines, and pteridines. Generally, xenobiotic aromatic nitrogen heterocycles are metabolized by this enzyme.
  • Monoamine oxidase is present in two forms, A and B. They are dimeric proteins consisting of identical subunits and FAD is covalently linked to the protein through a cysteinyl residue. Catalytic cycles of monoamine oxidases A or B occur in discrete steps that take an amine and convert it to an aldehyde, while in the process creating hydrogen peroxide and ammonia. These oxidases have a broad specificity; they protect mitochondrial proteins from xenobiotic amines and hydrazines. Further neurotransmitters are metabolized through this route, e.g. serotonin, dopamine, and catecholamines. Primary alkylamines containing unsubstituted methylene group or groups adjacent to the nitrogen exhibits activity.
  • Activity increases as the length of a side chain, with optimal side length being C6.
  • These enzymes also catalyze the oxidation of secondary and tertiary amines and acyclic amines.
  • Hydrazines can be oxidized by these oxidases.
  • Substrates for monoamine oxidases include but are not exclusive to the following amines: benzylamine, dopamine, tyramine, epinephrine, N-methylbenzylamine, and N,N- dimethlybenzylamine; and the following hydrazines: procarbazine 1 ,2- dimethylhydrazine.
  • Mono-oxygenases are present in liver cell homogenates and contain two distinct types of xenobiotic mono-oxygenases. They are the cytochrome P450 and the flavin-dependent mono-oxygenases.
  • the liver microsomal P-450 system consists of a flavoprotein, and a family of related, but distinct, hemoproteins.
  • the flavoprotein catalyzes the transfer of the electrons from NADPH to the hemoprotein, and is the mono-oxygenase.
  • the reaction also requires phosphatidylcholine.
  • the reductase is a monomeric flavoprotein that contains both FAD and FMN. The reductase is specific for
  • Examples of enzymatic inductive processes that affect biotransformation reactions involve the P450 gene family. Specifically, glucocorticoids and anticonvulsants induce CYP3A4; isoniazid, acetone, and chronic ethanol consumption for CYP2E1. Many inducers of the cyotchrome P450 enzymes also induce conjugation metabolic enzymes, e.g. glucuronosyltransferases.
  • P-450 terminal oxidase
  • mitochondrial P-450 exhibit little or no activity in the metabolism of drugs, xenobiotics, biological compounds, or chemicals.
  • alkanes hexane, decane, hexadecane
  • alkenes vinyl chloride, aflatoxin-Bl, dieldrin
  • aromatic hydrocarbons naphthylene, bromobenzene, benzo(a)pyrene, biphenyl
  • alipathic amines aminopyrine, benzphetamine, ethylmo ⁇ hine
  • heterocyclic amines (3- acetylpyridine, 4,4'-bipyridine, quinoline
  • amides N-acetlyaminofluorene, urethane
  • ethers indemethacin, pheancetin. p-nitroanisole
  • sulfides chloropromazine, thioanisole
  • P450s that have been identified in human liver. Substrate specificities vary among these P-450 dependent mono-oxygenases. For example, P4501A 1 prefers polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; P-4501A2 prefers arylamines, arylamides; P-450A26 prefers coumarin, 7-ethoxycoumarin; P-450 2C8, 2C9, 2C10 prefers tolbutamide, hexobarbital; P-450 2C18 prefers mephenytoin; P-450 mp-1, mp-2 prefers debrisoquine and related amines; P450 2E1 prefers ethanol, N- nitrosoalkylamines, vinyl monomers; P-450 3A3, 3A4, 3A5, 3A7 prefers dihydropyridines, cyclosporin, lovastatin, aflatoxins.
  • the flavin-containing mono-oxygenases are the principle enzymes catalyzing the N-oxidation of tertiary amine drugs to N-oxides.
  • the N-oxides are found in abundance in serum.
  • isoforms have been identified and the catalytic cycle is similar to the cytochrome P450 system, falvin-containing mono-oxygenases substrate specificity differs.
  • these flavin-containing mono-oxygenases are present in the cell as very reactive oxygen- activated form. It is believed that particular protein structure stabilizes the nucleophilic molecule. Since the molecule is so highly reactive, precise substrate- to-enzyme fit is unnecessary.
  • tertiary amines trifluroperazine, bromopheniramine, mo ⁇ hine, nicotine, pargyline
  • secondary amines desipramine, methamphetamine, propanolol
  • hydrazines (1,1- demethlyhydrazine, N-aminopiperidine, 1 -methyl- 1-phenylhydrazine
  • thiols and disulfides dithiothreitol, ⁇ -mercaptomethanol, thiophenol
  • thiocarbamides thiourea, methimazole, propylthiouracil
  • sulfides dimethylsulfide, sulindac sulfide.
  • drugs that undergo oxidative reactions are: N-dealkylation
  • the reductases are a class of enzymes that are involved in the metabolic reduction of xenobiotics.
  • This class of enzymes includes the aldehyde and ketone reductases, the quinone reductases, the nitro and nitroso reductases, the azoreductases, the N-oxide reductases, and the sulfoxide reductases.
  • These classes of enzymes are involved in sequential one-electron reduction of some functional groups and produce radicals that can produce damage cellular components directly or indirectly.
  • the dehydrogenases consist of alcohol dehydrogenases, aldehyde dehydrogenases, or dihydrodiol dehydrogenases. This class of enzymes is involved in the catalysis of hydrogen transfer to a hydrogen acceptor, usually a pyridine nucleotide.
  • esters, amides, imides, or other functional groups that are generated as a result of a hydrolysis reaction can alter the hydophilicity of a molecule and enhance urinary excretion.
  • Hydrolysis occurs both enzymatically and nonenzymatically. Hydrolysis of proteins before they are degraded has been suggested as a step in the process of the aging of intracellular proteins.
  • Antibodies with an affinity for certain esters and certain proteases e.g. 3- phosphoglyceraldehyde dehydrogenase and carbonic anhydrase have been shown to have esterase activity.
  • Enzymatic hydrolysis of drugs and xenobiotics include the following enzymes: esterases, amidases, imidases, and epoxide hydratases.
  • Examples of drugs undergoing hydrolysis reactions are: procaine, aspirin, clofibrate, lidocaine, procainamide, indomethacin.
  • hydrolytic processes include reactions owing to both enzymes in tissues, circulation, and those elaborated by microorganisms in the lower bowel; for example, sulfatases, glucoronidases, and phosphatases.
  • conjugation reactions In addition, to the redox reactions of the hepatocyte to detoxify or metabolize xenobiotics, there are a series of conjugation reactions.
  • the substrates for these reactions are generally the products from the redox reactions described above.
  • conjugation reactions involve donation of a suitable hydrophilic molecular group to an accepting xenobiotic or its metabolite.
  • the major function of these covalent modifications is to render the parent compound pharmacologically inactive.
  • the covalent addition of such a group to a parent drug or compound not only inactivates the substrate but also renders the recipient molecule more polar and is more readily excreted via the bile ducts into the intestinal tract or via the urine.
  • Lipophilic compounds that have one of the functional groups that can serve as an acceptor undergo enzymatic catalysis with a second, donor substrate.
  • the conjugation reactions include the following broad categories: glucuronidation, sulfation, methylation, N-acetylation, and conjugation with amino acids.
  • the enzymes involved in these reactions are as follows: UDP-glucuronyltransferase, alcohol sulfotransferase, amine N-sulfotransferase, phenol sulfotransferase, glutathione transferase, catechol O-methyltransferase, amine N-methyltransferase, histamine N-methyltransferase, thiol S-methyltransferase, benzoyl-CoA glycine acyltransferase, acetyltransacetylase, cysteine S-conjugate N-acetyltransferase, cysteine S-conjugate N-acetyltransferase, cysteine conjugate ⁇ -lyase, thioltransferase, and rhodanese.
  • glucuronidation acetominophen, mo ⁇ hine, diazepam
  • sulfation acetominophen, steroids, methyldopa
  • acetylation sulfonamides, isoniazid, dapsone, clonazepan
  • Excretion of parent drugs and metabolites can occur in the excretory organs, namely the kidneys, liver, lungs, skin, and breasts (milk).
  • the kidneys are the most important organs for the excretion of drugs and metabolites. Renal excretion involves glomerular filtration, active tubular abso ⁇ tion, and passive tubule reabso ⁇ tion. The more hydrophilic the compound is the more readily excreted via urine.
  • many drugs and metabolites are excreted via the bile into the intestinal tract. These metabolites may be excreted in the feces, or may be reabsorbed by the gastrointestinal epithelial cell lining. Organic anions and cations, steroids, fatty acids, and other drugs may be specifically transported into the bile canniculus.
  • the physiologic goal is to detoxify and rid the body of drugs, xenobiotics, endogenous or exogenous chemicals, or compounds that may or may not be deleterious to the major organs of the body.
  • the detoxification mechanisms function to attain this goal, however there are many cases of major organ toxicity upon exposure to drugs or metabolites of drugs.
  • drugs and drug metabolites predominantly affect the liver and kidneys due to the circulatory and physiological processes, other organs can be affected.
  • the modified products can then be actively transported into the bile cannicula.
  • the transport occurs in an energy dependent fashion requiring
  • ATP ATP binding cassette
  • MDRl multi-drug resistance protein 1
  • MRP2 multi-drug resistance associated protein
  • BSEP canalicular bile-salt-export pump
  • sodium-taurocholate cotransporter organic anion-transporting polypeptide, glutathione transporter, and a chloride- bicarbonate anion exchanger are also involved in the transport.
  • MDRl protein mediates the canicular excretion of bulky lipophilic cations, e.g. anticancer drugs, calcium channel blockers, cyclosporine A, and various other drugs.
  • MDR3 protein transports phosphatidyl choline from the inner leaflet to the outer leaflet of the canicular membrane. Phosphatidyl choline then can be selectively extracted by intracanicular bile salts and secreted into bile as vesicles or mixed micelles.
  • MRP2 is involved in the transport of amphipathic anionic substrates e.g.
  • leukotriene C4 glutathione-S congujates, glucuronides (bilirubin diglucuronide and estradiol-17b- glucuronide), sulfate conjugates, and is responsible for the generation of bile flow independent of bile salts within the bile cannicula.
  • SPGP is the canicular bile salt export pump in the mammalian liver.
  • the hepatocyte has the ability to recruit the ATP-requiring transporters when faced with excessive metabolites. After synthesis, these transporters are stored in compartments that, in response to c AMP, can be actively moved through the cell to the membrane and fused to the cannicula.
  • the active movement from the intracellular compartment to the membrane requires microtubules, cytoplasmic kinesin, cytoplasmic dynesin, and calcium. It has been shown that peptides activate phophosinositide 3 kinase, and increased turnover of phosphoinostides drives the formation of 3'phophoinositol, which can activate the transporter in the membrane and ultimately increases movement to the cannicular membrane. Signaling pathways via the activation of rab5 stimulate the active movement of the transporters to the internal compartment.
  • Inflammatory or immunological diseases and clinical symptoms includes diseases and processes such as: arthritis (including rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, and other degenerative syndromes of the joints), asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (including bronchitis, bronchiectasis, emphysema and other pulmonary diseases associated with obstruction to air flow), interstitial or restrictive lung diseases, autoimmune disease (including systemic lupus erythematosus, scleroderma and other diseases characterized by autoantibodies), transplantation (often treated with long term immunosuppressive therapy), pain associated with inflammation, psoriasis and other inflammatory skin diseases, atherosclerosis (for which there is strong data supporting the role of inflammatory pathogenetic mechanisms), and hepatitis, among other diseases.
  • arthritis including rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, and other degenerative syndromes of the joints
  • asthma chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
  • bronchitis including bron
  • Inflammation is a complex process that comprises different cellular and physiologic events that can be initiated by tissue injury, by abnormal immune function, or by a wide variety of other endogenous or exogenous factors, not all of which are understood.
  • the inflammatory process can also escape normal regulatory control and become part of the disease process.
  • Autoimmunity is one aspect of some diseases associated with abnormal immunologic function. Such diseases are characterized by the presence of autoantibodies and oligoclonal B cell populations. Immunological reactions associated with loss of self tolerance may be localized to a specific tissue, or may be systemic. Ultimaltely, in severe cases, the immune system produces life threatening damage to tissues, physiological function is compromised. Autoimmunity can be initiated by a variety of endogenous (genetic predisposition and others) and exogenous (chemicals, drugs, microorganisms, and others) factors.
  • Difficulties in treating endocrine and metabolic diseases are attributable to factors such as limited understanding of disease pathophysiology, lack of specificity of pathophysiologic changes (e.g. different pathophysiologic machamsms in patients with similar clinical presentation) and lack of specificity of therapeutic compounds. Further, most medical therapy is directed to the amelioration of symptoms or other secondary changes (e.g. achieving effective control of blood sugar), not the anest or reversal of underlying pathophysiologic processes.
  • One good example of the difficulty of developing and marketing effective treatments for metabolic and endocrine diseases is the recent history of obesity therapeutics.
  • cardiovascular and renal diseases present a challenge to physicians and other medical practitioners because the available therapeutics are only partially effective in only a fraction of patients. Further, many cunently used medicines produce serious adverse effects. Therapeutic benefits and toxic side effects have to be balanced in each patient. This requires much attention to drug selection, dosage adjustment and monitoring for potential adverse events on the part of care givers - in many cases (e.g. antihypertensive therapeutics) effectively a new pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic study must be performed for each patient. These limitations of therapy are especially true of the most debilitating cardiovascular and renal diseases. Although these diseases have distinct clinical presentations, there is extensive overlap in pathogenetic mechanisms and symptoms.
  • Difficulties in treating cardiovascular and renal diseases are attributable to factors such as limited understanding of disease pathophysiology, lack of specificity of pathophysiologic changes (i.e. variation in pathophysiologic machanisms in patients with similar clinical presentation) and lack of specificity of therapeutic compounds. Further, most medical therapy is directed to the amelioration of symptoms, not the arrest or reversal of underlying pathophysiologic processes.
  • Cancers can differ greatly in their response to chemotherapy: tumors that proliferate rapidly including melanomas, leukemias, and myelomas tend to respond well to classical chemotherapy using cytotoxic agents; tumors that grow slowly, in contrast, such as lung and colon carcinomas tend to respond poorly; the growth of endocrine tumors such as ones of pancreatic, prostate, testicular, ovarian, adrenal, pituitary, or breast origin can be hormonaly dependent and treatment with agonists of insulin, estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, etc. function can prove valuable; and solid tumors are more apt to respond to treatment with antiangeogenesis agents than fluid tumors. Surgery (for solid tumors) and radiation treatment exist as therapies that are often used in conjuction with chemotherapeutic agents.
  • a clinician must select a therapy (often a combination of agents and including radiation treatment or surgery) based on tumor type in addition to evaluating the possible toxicities associated with proposed therapeutic regimens, taking the patiens cunent hepatic, renal and myeloproliferative function into account. Since cunent practice utilizes high doses of cytotoxic agents to minimize the formation of metastasese as well as the appearance of secondary, resistant neoplasms, avoiding toxicity becomes a serious issue given the nanow therapeutic index of most drugs in this category.
  • neoplastic disease is empirical in nature, is associated with severe undesirable side effects, and disease progression is common. Based upon these clinical realities and the difficulties medical practioners face in therapy of neoplastic disease, drug development based upon genotype to identify responders, nonresponders, and or those likely to develop undesirable side effects will be an undeniable beneficial addition to cunent medical practice.
  • Anxiety is a common, nonspecific symptom associated to a greater or lesser degree with many psychiatric diseases, including psychoses, neuroses, mood disorders and personality disorders. It is also an inevitable component of everyday life brought on by stressful events such as medical or surgical procedures. Some prominent nonspecific symptoms of anxiety include tachycardia, chest pains, or inegular heartbeat; epigastric distress; headache, dizzyness, syncope, or parethesias.
  • the pnncipal treatments for anxiety have been benzodiazepines, monoamine oxidase inhibitors, antidepressants, and ⁇ -adrenergic antagonists In all cases, both panic attack and generalized anxiety, concunent continued behavioral and psychological therapy is required to regain a sense of normal life function
  • Huntington's disease is an inherited disorder characterized by the gradual onset of motor incoordination and cognitive decline in mid-life. Symptoms develop insidiously either as a movement disorder manifested by brief jerk-like movements of the extremeties, trunk, face, neck (choreas) or as personality changes.
  • Fine motor incoordination and impairment of rapid eye movements are early features. Bradykinesisas and dystonia may predominate if the onset occurs early in life.
  • dysarthria As the disorder progresses the involuntary movements become more severe and are characterized by: dysarthria, dysphagia, and impaired balance. Cognitive deficits begin by features of slowed mental processing, difficulty in organizing complex tasks, and memory deficits (family, friends, and immediate situation is unaffected). These patients have tendancies to become irritable, anxious, and clinically depressed. In rare cases there may be paranoia or delusional states. There are approximately 25,000 Americans diagnosed with HD.
  • Cunent therapies do not include alternatives for the treatment of the progression of the neurodegeneration.
  • Medical management of the associated clinical symptoms includes the following categories: depression, psychosis, and choreas. In the cases of depression and psychoses, the therapies of beneficial therapeutic use are described in this invention.
  • the treatment of choreas generally includes neuroleptic agents that affect dopaminergic pathways by antagonism at the receptor level. Monoamine depleting dru -.g_,s.. can also be used to minimize choreas.
  • a clinician when presented with a newly diagnosed HD patient, m general, follows standard neurological society or published guidelines for first line therapy. However, when faced with a partially responsive or therapy resistant patient, the clinician can choose from multiple agents, none being completely effective, has limited guidance or rationale to select one agent the other, and follows an empincal medical decision making course of action.
  • conventional neuroleptic drugs are uniformly, and atypical are latently, associated with undesirable dose-dependent side effects. These include but are not exclusive to sedation, weight gain, cognitive deficits, sexual or reproductive insufficiencies, agranulocytosis, cardiovascular complications, neuroleptic malignant syndrome (parkinsonism with catatonia), jaundice, blood dyscrasias, skin reactions, epithelial keratopathy, seizures, and extrapyramidal effects.
  • the blood dyscrasias include mild leukocytosis, leukopenia, and eosinophiha.
  • the skin reactions include uticana and dermititis and are usually associated with phenothiazmes.
  • Epithelial keratopathy and opacities in the cornea is associated with chlo ⁇ romazme therapy. In extreme cases these effects may impair vision. These ocular deposits tend to spontaneously disappear upon discontinuation of chlo ⁇ romazine drug therapy
  • the extrapyramidal side effects of conventional neuroleptics include dystonia (facial g ⁇ macing, torticollis, oculgync crisis), akathesia (feeling of distress or discomfort leading to restlessness or constant movement), and parkinsonian syndrome ( ⁇ gidity and tremor at rest, flat facial expression). With long term usage of conventional neuroleptic drugs, tardive dyskmesias uniformly appear in HD patients.
  • Tardive dyskinesia is a syndrome of repetitive, painless, involuntary movements. These abnormal involuntary movements are insuppressible, stereotyped, autonomic movements that cease only during sleep, vary in intensity over time, and are dependent on the level of arousal or emotional distress.
  • the syndrome is characterized by quick choreiform (ticlike) movements of the face, eyelids (blinks or spasms), mouth (grimaces), tongue, extremities, or trunk. These movements may have varying degrees of athetosis (twisting movements) and sustained dystonic postures.
  • Increasing the dose of the conventional neuroleptic agent can reverse extrapyramidal effects observed in patients. However, increasing the dose ultimately leads to more severe dyskinesias.
  • Antiparkinson agents tend to exacerbate the tardive dyskinesia symptoms and thus are not used clinically. Because dopaminergic agonists tend to worsen the symptoms and dopaminergic antagonists tend to retard the symptoms of tardive dyskinesias, the optimal alternative is to use a neuroleptic agent that has selective dopaminergic antagonist activity. This alternative therapy would manage both psychosis and dyskinesias. Often a clinician faces the dilemma of a patient with medically managed choreas, but the dose-related tardive dyskinesias, agranulocytosis, or seizures compels the medical care personnel to opt to switch therapies to possibly those agents or drugs with fewer or less severe side effects but with substandard or limited efficacy. Under these conditions, inability to treat the psychotic or chorea symptoms with the backdrop of ineversible dyskinesias leaves the patient with few alternatives.
  • polymo ⁇ hisms in key genes that affect neuroleptic activity in schizophrenic patients. These polymo ⁇ hisms may be further applicable for neuroleptic response in HD patients.
  • dopamine D4 receptor subtype there are known tandem repeats in exon 3.
  • schizophrenic patients on maintenance doses of chlo ⁇ romazine were stratified into two groups, one having 2 tandem base pair repeats and the other having 4 tandem base pair repeats. Thirty- four percent of group one patients and 62% of group two patients had a favorable response to chlo ⁇ romazine therapy du ⁇ ng acute stage treatments.
  • the presence of homogeneous four 48 base pair repeats in both alleles in exon 3 of the dopamine D4 receptor subtype thus appears to be associated with beneficial chlo ⁇ romazine response.
  • T267T vs. C267T polymo ⁇ hism
  • 5HT2C cys23ser
  • 5HT2A his452tyr
  • Cell death starts in the caudate nucleus by an unknown mechanism
  • the huntingtm protein is essential to life
  • the huntingtm protem undergoes cleavage as cells age
  • the mechanism of cleavage is performed in part by members of the caspase enzymatic family
  • the huntmgtin protein is cleaved into smaller units, the peptides become toxic, and it has been shown that the smaller fragments tend to migrate into the nuclear compartment. It has been shown that preventing huntingtm cleavage prevents cellular toxicity.
  • Some of the cleaved huntingin fragments form aggregates which may promote or be a by-product of neuronal cell death.
  • genes within pathways that are either involved in metabolism of neurotransmitters or are involved in metabolism of va ⁇ ous drugs or compounds.
  • Tables 1-6, 12-17, 18-23 there are listings of candidate genes and specific single nucleotide polymo ⁇ hisms that may be cntical for the identification and stratification of a patient population diagnosed with HD based upon genotype.
  • Cunent pathways that may have involvement m the therapeutic benefit of HD include glutammergic, enorgic, dopaminergic, chohnergic, opiates, estrogen, mitochondnal maintenance, growth, differentiation, and apoptosis, secretion gene pathways that are listed in Tables 2, 7, 13, and 19
  • One skilled in the art would be able to identify these pathway specific gene or genes that may be involved in the manifestation of HD, are likely candidate targets for novel therapeutic approaches, or are involved in mediating patient population differences in drug response to therapies for HD.
  • the main demyehnating diseases result in loss of the myelin sheath that sunounds axons, with preservation of the axons.
  • the main demyehnating diseases are multiple sclerosis, including its variants (Marburg and Balo variants of MS and neuoromyelitis optica), and the perivenous encephalitides, which include acute disseminated encephalomyelitis and acute necrotizing hemonhagic leukoencephalitis.. Due to the paucity of information concerning etiology of these diseases, identification and classification is largely descriptive. The most common and best studied of these diseases is multiple sclerosis.
  • MS Desc ⁇ ption of Multiple Sclerosis Clinically, MS usually starts as a relapsing illness with episodes of neurological dysfunction lasting several weeks, followed by substantial or complete improvement. This is the relapsing-remitting phase of the disease. Many patients remain in this stage of the disease for years or even decades, while others rapidly progress to the next stage, secondary progressive MS, in which, with repeated relapses, recovery becomes less and less complete. There is also a steadily progressive relapse-independent form of the disease termed primary progressive MS. This form is characterized by a steady worsening of neurological function without any recovery or improvement, and more often affects men.
  • MS Although the pathogenesis of MS is not understood, there is accumulating evidence that immunoregulatory mechanisms are involved. Cunent therapy of MS is therefore directed to modulating immune function and thereby halting or retarding myelin degeneration, or facilitating remyelination. Remyelination has been shown to occur spontaneously in response to therapeutic interventions in animals (both normals and MS models). However, in MS animal models remyelination appears to be aborted soon after it begins.
  • interferon beta- 1 ⁇ (Betaseron) reduces annual relapse rate and reduces development and progression of new lesions in relapsing-remitting MS as monitored by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and has been shown to reduce annual relapse rate, reduce disability progression, and delay increase of lesion volume by MRI in secondary progressive MS; 2) Interferon beta-la (IFN-beta-l ⁇ ; Avonex) treatment results in reduced disability progression, annual relapse rate, and new brain lesions, as visualized by MRI; 3) Glatiramer acetate (Copaxone; Copolymer- 1; Cop-1) reduces annual relapse rate; 4) Intravenous immunoglobulin, reduces annual relapse rate, and delays disability progression; 5) High-dose methylprednisolone therapy is effective in shortening MS attacks, and may be useful in the long term treatment of secondary-progressive MS
  • the latter drug in particular, has been shown effective in reducing disease activity, both by decreasing the number of exacerbations and by slowing clinical progression.
  • the first four agents are of comparable efficacy in the treatment of relapsing-remitting MS. Not enough trials have been performed to reliably assess the utility of treating nonresponders to one of these treatments with a different treatment, or to assess potential markers of response.
  • Cunent therapies reduce, but do not arrest, disease progression, and only a fraction of patients benefit from treatment; approximately 30%> of patients on interferons experience reductions in relapse rates.
  • primary progressive MS there are cunently no effective therapies available; interferon beta- lb has in fact been shown to worsen spasticity in primary progressive MS.
  • interferons are associated to varying degrees with flu-like symptoms, muscle- ache, fever, chills, and asthenia. There are also side effects that are difficult to distinguish from the course of the demyehnating illness, for example interferons may lower the seizure threshold and exacerbate depressive illnesses, two clinical problems also observed in patients without interferon therapy. Impact of Pharmacogenomics on Drug Development for Multiple Sclerosis
  • aspects of therapy for demyehnating disease that can be addressed by pharmacogenetic methods include: 1 ) Which patients are most likely to respond to medication? 2) Which drugs are most likely to benefit which patients? 3) What is the optimal dose and duration of treatment? 4) What is the relationship between disease type, stage and manifestations and drug response? 5) Can adverse treatment responses be predicted?
  • Described below and in Tables 2 and 7 are gene pathways that affect cunent drug therapy as well as drugs cunently in development for MS. Described in the Detailed Description are methods for the identification of candidate genes and gene pathways, patient stratification, clinical trial design and statistical analysis and genotyping for testing the impact of genetic variation on treatment response in multiple sclerosis and other demyehnating diseases.
  • Table 32 A sample of therapies approved or in development for preventing or treating the progression of symptoms of MS cunently known in the art is shown in Table 32.
  • the candidate therapeutics were sorted and listed by mechanism of action. Further, the product name, the pharmacologic mechanism of action, chemical name (if specified), and the indication is listed as well.
  • IIG intravenous immune globulin
  • CSF cerebrospinal fluid
  • the three cunent theories for the cause of MS that have been studied to effectively understand the mechanism of disease as well as establish rationale for the development of effective candidate therapeutic interventions.
  • the three cunent theories are 1 ) viral infection, 2) genetic predisposition, 3) inflammation and autoimmunity, and 4) ion channel modulators.
  • HHV-6 human he ⁇ es virus type 6
  • HHV-6 is a neurotropic virus that can establish a latent infection in man.
  • HHV-6 protein and DNA have been isolated and identified from neuroglial cells in active MS spinal lesions.
  • HHV-6 DNA identified in serum samples indicate a recent infection.
  • HHV-6 is the causal infectious agent of MS.
  • a hypothesis of molecular mimicry has been proposed as a likely possibility to explain the indirect immune-mediated injury to otherwise normal tissue in the course of clearing an infectious agent.
  • HHV-6 there are other neuro-specific infectious agents that may damage the CNS through this mechanism.
  • the molecular similarity (mimicry) between virus and myelin antigens may be permissive for immunological cross-reactivity between HHV-6 and myelin antigens.
  • the T-cells become activated, cross the blood brain barrier and misidentify normal myelin antigens as 'virus' resulting in T-cell mediated cellular and tissue injury.
  • MS is a sporadic disease
  • studies have pointed to an organized familial clustering, which suggests a genetic predisposition to MS. Equally likely, these studies also suggest that there is a genetic predisposition to an environmental stress or causal event.
  • CD4+ and CD+8 autoreactivity to several putative CNS antigens including myelin basic protein, proteolipid protein, myelin oligodendroglial glycoprotein, 2 ',3 '-cyclic nucleotide phophodiesterases, myelin-associated glycoproteins, and viral antigens. Further, there appears to be down regulation of cytokine production including TNF- ⁇ and IL-3.
  • the same genetic and environmental factors may activate the secretion of ⁇ -crystallin on the oligodendrocytes rendering these cells more susceptible to T cell recognition.
  • the T-cells once in the CNS then secrete cytokines (TNF- ⁇ and INF- ⁇ ) activate the antigen presenting cells (astrocytes, microglia, and macrophages) enhancing (macrophage, microglia) or inhibiting (astrocytes) further immune signaling.
  • the activated T cell then encounters the putative MS antigen or antigens in light of the MHC class II molecules on the antigen presenting cells, resulting in T-cell activation.
  • the activated T-cells can then differentiated into Thl or Th2 type CD4+ cells which then results in proinflammatory or anti-inflammatory cytokine signaling, respectively. It has been shown in MS patients that antibody, complement, and antibody-mediated cellular toxicity mechanisms may cause the myelin lesions.
  • Proposed gene targets to produce the membrane depolarization are the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor, voltage gated Na+ channels, and other ion channels.
  • the future strategies for the beneficial therapy of MS are borne out of the existing mechanisms of the etiology of this demyehnating disease as previously described. They are antivirals, cytokine and anticytokine strategies, immune deviation strategies to enhance Th2 cell/cytokine performance, matrix metal loproteinase inhibitors, trimolecular complex strategies, cathepsin B inhibitors, and oxygen radical scavengers.
  • antivirals include valcylcovir and acyclovir.
  • Cytokine and anticytokine strategies include TNF inhibitors, antiinflammatory cytokines, and inhibitors of proinflammatory cytokines.
  • Th2 cell/cytokine predominance includes pentoxifylline, transforming growth factor- ⁇ (TGF- ⁇ ), and 11-10, 11-4 alone in combination with corticosteroids.
  • Matrix metalloproteinase inhibitors include D-penacillamine, and hydroxyamatate.
  • Trimolecular complex strategies include anti-MHC monoclonal antibodies, MHC class II hypervariable peptide vaccines, anti-T cell monoclonal antibodies, altered peptide ligands, T cell vaccination strategies (myelin basic protein reactive T-cell, T- cell receptor peptide vaccination), co-stimulation strategies (antib7-l , CTLA-4Ig fusion proteins, CD40/CD40 ligand interactions), and adhesion molecule signaling strategies (monoclonal antibodies, or small molecules directed to these adhesion molecules).
  • Neural regeneration development programs will include growth factors including NGF, BDGF, CNTF, NT-3, and other cytokines, as well as other factors that are involved in the support of nerve cell viability, growth, and sustaining neural transmission. Technological advances that reduce difficulties in determining progression of the demyelination by neuroimaging techniques will aid development of new therapies. Estimation of expected clinical and sunogate measures and patterns to identify, screen, and develop statistically derived stopping rules for efficacy and futility.
  • genes within pathways that are either involved in metabolism of neuro transmitters or are involved in metabolism of various drugs or compounds.
  • Tables 2, 13, 19 there are listings of candidate genes and specific single nucleotide polymo ⁇ hisms that may be critical for the identification and stratification of a patient population diagnosed with MS based upon genotype.
  • Cunent pathways that may have involvement in the therapeutic benefit of epilepsy include glutaminergic, GABAergic, opiates, corticotropin releasing hormone, potassium channel, prostaglandin, platelet activating factor, cytokines, clot formation, second messenger cascade, growth, differentiation, and apoptosis, cytoskeleton, adhesion, and myelination gene pathways that are listed in Tables 2, 7, 13, and 19-
  • glutaminergic GABAergic
  • opiates corticotropin releasing hormone
  • potassium channel prostaglandin
  • platelet activating factor cytokines
  • clot formation second messenger cascade
  • growth, differentiation, and apoptosis cytoskeleton, adhesion, and myelination gene pathways that are listed in Tables 2, 7, 13, and 19-
  • Chronic pain can be caused by chronic pathologic processes in somatic structures or viscera, or by prolonged dysfunction of parts the peripheral or central nervous system. In all there are approximately 70 million Americans that experience chronic pain. Chronic pain may be the result of recunent headache, arthritis, back or spinal injuries, musculoskeletal disorders, cardiac or visceral pathologies. Chronic pain is also part of the clinical manifestation of cancer; many of these cases are medically intractable pain. Chronic pain syndromes include polyarteritis nodosa; systemic lupus erythmatosus; entrapment neuropathy; lumbar plexitis; Bell's palsy; ca ⁇ al tunnel syndrome.
  • diabetic neuropathy neuroopathic complications of diabetes mellitus include distal symmetric, sensory, autonomic, asymetric proximal, cranial and other mononeuropathies
  • cervical radiculopathy Guillain-Bane syndrome
  • brachial plexitis familial amyloid neuropathy
  • HIN neuropathy post spinal cord injury
  • post he ⁇ etic neuralgia post he ⁇ etic neuralgia
  • non-opioid analgesics are stepwise prescribed in combination with moderate to potent opiates.
  • the guidelines call for a determination by the patient and the physician of pain relief Broadly speaking, the guidelines are as follows mild pain is treated with non-opioid analgesics, moderate or persisting pain is treated with a weak opioid plus non-opioid analgesics, and severe pam that persists or increases is treated with a potent opioid plus non-opioid analgesics
  • Pain management regimens include not only the use of opioids and non- opioid analgesics, but also benzodiazepines, local anesthetics, anticonvulsants, antichohnergics, serotonin norepmephnne reuptake inhibitors, neuroleptics, and barbiturates These drugs in combination can relieve associated symptoms of chronic pain syndromes such as anxiety, acute on top of chrome pain, seizures, dry mouth, dehnum, and inability to sleep, respectively
  • Treatment options for chronic pain fall into the following categones 1 ) general health promotion and relief from exacerbating factors, 2) nonnarcotic pharmacologic, 3) physical; 4) surgical, and 5) narcotic
  • the nonnarcotic empincal therapies include t ⁇ cychc antidepressants (amit ⁇ ptyhne, nortnptyhne, doxepin, lmipramine), anticonvulsants (carbamazepine, phenytoin), GABAergic agonists (BACLOFEN ® ) and antipsychotics (fluphenazme)
  • Narcotic therapies include opioid agonists (methadone and fentanyl) Devices and surgical therapies can be used in combination with drug therapy In general these therapies have been shown to reduce pain and each are descnbed in detail below
  • Antidepressants The tertiary amines are the most commonly used anti-depressants to manage pain associated with post-SCI Although the exact mechanism is unknown the interference with the re-uptake of neurotransmittters (dopamine, norepmephnne, and serotonin) may reduce pam transmission m the afferent pathways Further, the increased quantities of these neurotransmitters in the areas of the hyperexcitable neurons, descending pain inhibitory pathways that terminate in the substantia gelatmosa of the dorsal horn, may act to reduce pain transmission Interestingly, the dose of the tncychcs for the management of pam is approximately half that required for the management of depression These compounds can be determined to be effective for pain management in approximately two weeks
  • anticonvulsant therapies are considered to stabilize the threshold against hyperexcitabihty of neurons and inhibiting the spread of epileptiform activity in neurons involved in nociception Further, activation of inhibitory neurons may lead to a pain reduction
  • anticonvulsants are more effective when given in combination with antidepressants.
  • Neuroleptics The neuroleptics are thought to exert a potentiation of the antidepressants and may impart a dopaminergic antagonism. Neuroleptics are usually given in combination with an antidepressant.
  • GABAergic agonists Baclofen, a GABAegeic agonist when delivered intrathecally was effective in reducing chronic pain in those patients in which the pain was of musculoskeletal origin (83%> of these patients), but was ineffective in those patients with neurogenic pain (78% experienced no change).
  • Physical treatments include transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) and spinal cord stimulation devices. Using TENS, some success has been reported to reduce peripheral pain. Upon placing the electrodes, peripheral sensory nerve stimulation is thought to activate pain inhibitory intemeurons in the substantia gelatinosa or dorsal root entry zone of the spinal cord. Spinal cord stimulation devices are programmable multichannel systems with electrodes that may be placed percutaneously, these systems do not require laminectomy. These stimulators have been shown to reduce chronic pain (percieved pain levels requiring intensive therapies: discomforting, distressing, threatened, and excruciating) by 50% long term. The global ratings for quality of life in these patients demonstrated similar long term improvements.
  • spinal cord stimulation results in a reduction of pain is unknown, but it is thought to occur through an antisympathetic effect. Further, it seems to be effective in cases in which the patient has neuropathic or an ischemic component to the pain.
  • peripheral neuropathies posthe ⁇ etic neuralgia, intercostal neuralgia, causalgic pain, diabetic neuropathy, idiophathic neuropathy
  • spinal cord stimulation is able to reduce chronic pain in approximately 50% of the patients.
  • Neurosurgical treatments consist of nerve blocks, neuroablative and neuroaugmentative procedures.
  • Nerve blocks Peripheral, epidural, and sympathetic nerve blocks have been attempted.
  • the analgesic effect is usually short-lived and ineffective against central mechanisms of pain.
  • Neuroablative procedures There are surgical procedures that are rarely performed because they have been shown to be ineffective, 1 e sympathectomies.
  • Electrodes are implanted in the penventncular gray matter, specific sensory thalamic nuclei, or the internal capsule
  • Some of these pain syndromes are more resistant to analgesic therapy, for example approximately half of the individuals with spinal cord injuries endure chronic pain and 30% experience severe, debilitating chronic pain. Approximately 75%> of advanced stage cancer patients experience moderate to severe pain and approximately half of these individuals are refractory to standard therapy for management of pain.
  • baclofen is associated with drowsiness and confusion. Further, baclofen may cause hepatotoxicity.
  • Complications of radiofrequency lesions of DREZ procedure includes cerebrospinal fluid leaking, loss of sensory/motor functions, exacerbation of bowel, bladder, or sexual dysfunction, and epidural/subcutaneous hematomas. Patients must consider the risks of this procedure, particularly the potential loss of two levels of sensation.
  • Associated with deep brain stimulation are complications due to the release of large amounts of natural opioids leading to deafferenation and nociceptive pain.
  • optimization of GABAergic, opiate, or ion channel modulation mediated therapy of pain further demonstrates the utility of selection of a potential epilepsy patient that has a predisposing genotype in which selective analgesics or agents are more effective and or are more safe.
  • GABAergic receptor ion channel or ion channel mediated mechanisms of neurotransmission
  • GABAergic receptor mediated intracellular mechanism of action that is preeminently responsible for drug response.
  • Table 33 A sample of therapies approved or in development for preventing or treating the progression of symptoms of pain cunently known in the art is shown in Table 33.
  • the candidate therapeutics were sorted and listed by mechanism of action. Further, the product name, the pharmacologic mechanism of action, chemical name (if specified), and the indication is listed as well.
  • the persistence of pain most likely involves a cascade of pathological neurochemical events that lead to abnormal sensory hyperexcitability and excitotoxicity.
  • the persistence of hyperexcitability involves a sequence of neuroplastic events in the spinal cord.
  • the hyperexcitability cascade involves NMDA receptor mediated intracellular calcium-dependent increase of nitric oxide (NO) and cGMP production.
  • NO nitric oxide
  • cGMP cGMP production.
  • NO nitric oxide
  • GABA inhibitory gamma-aminobutryic acid
  • Recent studies suggest that abnormal pain sensations may be alleviated by application of GAB A receptor agonists.
  • the analgesic capacity of GABA receptor agonists has been demonstrated in numerous animal models of acute and chronic pain.
  • genes within pathways that are either involved in metabolism of neurotransmitters or are involved in metabolism of various drugs or compounds.
  • Tables 2, 13, and 19 there are listings of candidate genes and specific single nucleotide polymo ⁇ hisms that may be critical for the identification and stratification of a patient population diagnosed with pain based upon genotype.
  • Cunent pathways that may have involvement in the therapeutic benefit of epilepsy include glutaminergic, enorgic, dopaminergic, adrenergic, cholinergic, histaminergic, purinergic, GABAergic, glycinergic, melatonin, nitric oxide, peptide protein hormone processing, opiates, cholecystoki in, tachykinin, bradykinin, corticotropin releasing hormone, somatostatin, galanin, calcium or sodium channels, prostaglandin, cytokines, growth, differentiation, apoptosis, lipid transport/metabolism pathways that are listed in Tables 2, 7, 13, and 19.
  • One skilled in the art would be able to identify these pathway specific gene or genes that may be involved in the manifestation of pain, are likely candidate targets for novel therapeutic approaches, or are involved in mediating patient population differences in drug response to therapies for pain.
  • Parkinson's disease is one of the major neurodegenerative disorders of middle and old age.
  • PD is a clinical syndrome that is dominated by four clinical symptoms: tremor at rest, bradykinesia, rigidity, and postural instability.
  • PD can be generally categorized by the clinically predominant parkinsonian feature: 1) those patients having tremor, or 2) those patients having postural instability and or gait difficulty as the predominant clinical parkinsonian manifestation. In those patients with tremor predominant disease, the onset is earlier in life and exhibits a slower progression that those patients with gait difficulties or postural instability.
  • stage I- signs and symptoms are unilateral
  • stage II- signs and symptoms are bilateral
  • stage Ill- signs and symptoms are bilateral and balance is impaired
  • stage IV- functionally disabled is confined to wheelchair or bed.
  • Resting tremor and bradykinesias are the hallmarks of PD.
  • Bradykinesias are primarily responsible for the altered clinical presentation for most PD patients: retardation of activities of daily living and generalized slowing down of movements, lack of facial expression (hypomimia or masked facies), staring expression due to limited ability to blink, impaired swallowing which causes drooling, hypokinetic and hypophonic dysarthria, monotonous speech, micrographia, impaired simultaneous and repetitive movements, difficulty in standing from a chair and turning in bed, shuffling gait with short steps, decreased arm swing and other autonomic movements, start hesitation and sudden freezing of motion. Freezing of motion manifests as a sudden and often unpredictable inability to move and represents the single most disabling parkinsonian symptoms.
  • acquired or symptomatic parkinsonism is the result of infectious (postencephalitic and slow virus) disease, side effects from drugs (neuroleptics (antipsychotic and antiemetic drugs), rese ⁇ ine, tertabenazine, a- methyl dopa, lithium, flunarizine, cinnarizine), toxins (MPTP, carbon dioxide, manganese, mercury, cesium, methanol and ethanol), cerebrovascular insult (multi- infarct, hypotensive shock), trauma (pugilistic encephalopathy), and others (parathyroid abnormalities, hypothyroidism, hepatocerebral degeneration, cerebral tumors, normal pressure hydrocephalus, syringomesencephalia).
  • Parkinsonism can also be the result of heredodegenerative disease, for example autosomal Lewy body disease, Huntington's disease, Wilson's disease, Hallervorden-Spatz disease, olivopontocerebellar and spinocerebellar degenerations, familial basal ganglia calcification, familial parkinsonism with peripheral neuropathy, and neuroacanthocytosis.
  • heredodegenerative disease for example autosomal Lewy body disease, Huntington's disease, Wilson's disease, Hallervorden-Spatz disease, olivopontocerebellar and spinocerebellar degenerations, familial basal ganglia calcification, familial parkinsonism with peripheral neuropathy, and neuroacanthocytosis.
  • parkinsonism can be the result of multiple-system degenerations and include for example progressive supranuclear palsy, Shy-Drager syndrome, striatonigral degeneration, Parkinsonism-dementia-amyotrophic lateral sclerosis complex, corticobasal ganglionic degeneration, Alzheimer's disease, and hemiatrophy-parkinsonism.
  • These non-PD parkinsonism symptoms can be clinically identified as distinct from PD due to the presence of atypical signs or symptoms of the particular dysfunction or syndrome, absence or paucity of tremor, and poor response to levodopa.
  • idiopathic PD cases are almost uniformly identified by the absence of dopaminergic terminals and depigmentation within the substantia nigra and the presence of Lewy bodies (eosinophilic cytoplasmic inclusions in neurons consisting of aggregates of normal filaments). These abnormalities are predominantly found in the ventrolateral region of the substantia nigra which is the region that projects to the putamen. It has been estimated that at least 80% > of dopaminergic neuronal loss within the substantia nigra and an equal degree of dopamine depletion within the striatum is required before signs and symptoms of PD is clinically observed.
  • Dopaminergic Replacement Drugs- therapy of PD is aimed at replacing the lost dopamine that has resulted in the loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra and other brain regions.
  • L-dopa is a prodrug that can be converted to dopamine within the exisiting neurons.
  • L-dopa is beneficial in early PD, because it is effectively metabolized in presynaptic terminals and secreted in an active form. Due to the rapid decarboxylation of L-dopa in the periphery, administration of large doses is required to achieve therapeutic benefit.
  • L- dopa is usually administered with carbidopa, an inhibitor of peripheral decarboxylation and thus greater concentrations of L-dopa enters the CNS.
  • the combination of L-dopa and carbidopa reduces by 75% the amount of L-dopa required.
  • Dopaminergic Agonists- dopaminergic agonists can be administered in the early stages of the disease, examples include parlodel and permax.
  • Anticholinergic Drugs- anticholinergic agents are prescribed for the management of tremor or inordinate movements associated with PD, examples include artane, and cogentin. The majority of the anticholinergic therapies for the adjunct treatment of
  • PD are long-acting medications thus relief of symptoms may continue through the night when patients have difficulty turning in their bed, and to rise in the morning.
  • Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors- inhibition of the metabolism of dopamine by monoamine oxidase can be achieved to increase the synaptic levels of dopamine.
  • An example is selegiline.
  • Another therapeutic alternative for the treatment of essential tremor a device for deep brain stimulation, is approved for unilateral implantation in the ventral intermediate nucleus of the thalamus.
  • a programmable, implantable pulse generator is implanted just below the clavicle.
  • the implanted device has been shown to be effective in 20%> of the patients, bilateral implantation and stimulation is under investigation.
  • L-dopa therapy of PD has therapeutic benefit in the early stages of the disease. However, as the movement disorder progresses, the dopaminergic terminals are lost and the prodrug is no longer converted to the active form. The therapeutic benefit is then limited to the level and extent of the intact postsynaptic neurons.
  • Dyskinesias consisting of chorea and dystonia, occur in approximately 40% of patients treated with levodopa. These dyskinesias are most frequently observed when plasma levels of L-dopa are high.
  • anticholinergic therapies are less likely to be administered and further if prescribed are less likely to be effective.
  • Thalamotomy and pallidotomy are two surgical procedures that can only be performed once per side. Thus, refractory cases or cases whereby surgery was not sufficient to alter the essential tremor, additional surgery is unavailable. Deep brain stimulation is only 20% effective, requires extensive follow-up, and is associated with a surgical morbidity of 5%. Animal model studies of growth factors, GDNF, affected sprouting of peripheral neurons and those in the spinal cord. Unregulated neural sprouting can be deleterious to neurological function.
  • L-dopa is a prodrug that can be of therapeutic benefit to patients with PD.
  • side effects and toxicities associated with L-dopa therapy they are choreiform and dystonic dyskinesias and other involuntary movements, adverse mental changes such as paranoid ideation, psychotic episodes, depression, and cognitive impairments (dementia).
  • Dyskinesias associated with levodopa can be debilitating and as uncomfortable as the rigidity and akinesia of PD.
  • NMS neuroleptic malignant syndrome
  • dopaminergic agonists are useful for the activation of post synaptic dopaminergic receptors.
  • the side effects and toxicities associated with dopaminergic agonists are: abnormal involuntary movements, hallucinations, "on-off phenomena, dizziness, fainting, visual disturbances, ataxia, insomnia, depression, hypotension, constipation, vertigo, and shortness of breath. It has been observed clinical laboratory transient elevations of blood sera urea and nitrogen, SGOT, SGPT, GGPT, CPK, alkaline phosphatase, and uric acid.
  • Anticholinergic drugs- the predominant affect afforded by the anticholinergic drugs is to treat the extrapyramidal effects that develop with long-term dopaminergic therapies. This therapy is thus via the anticholinergic and antihistaminergic effects.
  • anticholinergic therapies there are adverse reactions that are associated with anticholinergic therapies, they are tachycardia, paralytic ileus, constipation, dry mouth, toxic psychosis (confusion, disorientation, memory impairment, visual hallucinations, possible exacerbation of preexisiting psychiatric symptoms or syndromes, bluned vision, dysuria, and urinary retention.
  • MAO-B monoamine oxidase type B
  • MAO-B inhibition can be deleterious if administered with a tricyclic antidepressant.
  • MAO-B inhibitor an opioid narcotic
  • me ⁇ eridine an opioid narcotic
  • hyperthermia concomitant administration of these two types of drugs.
  • Others- inhibition of COMT as described above is a useful therapeutic alternative to many PD patients.
  • side effects and toxicities associated with this drug family In some patients there is a clinical liver enzyme elevation that requires monthly monitoring and liver function tests are routinely administered every 6 weeks for the first three months of therapy. Liver impairment can result in the reduction of drug detoxification mechanisms, and clinically as jaundice.
  • COMT and monoamine oxidase are the two predominant metabolizing enzymes for catecholamines
  • concunent therapy of a COMT and a non-selective monoamine oxidase inhibitor may result in abenant neuroexcitoxicity.
  • selective monoamine oxidase inhibitors of MAO-B may be administered together.
  • Oxidative stress In oxidative stress, generation of reactive oxygen species, part of the normal cellular metabolism, is abenant and levels exceed the regulated cellular metabolism or scavenging mechanisms.
  • the free radicals are generated by the conversion of superoxide ions to hydrogen peroxide via the enzyme superoxide dismutase and the reaction of hydrogen peroxide with reduced glutathione to produce water under the control of glutathione peroxidase. Since it has been documented a 60%> reduction in the available reduced glutathione as well as a increased generation of iron associated with neuromelanin, there is a potential shift in the balance of the capacity to scavenge hydrogen peroxide radicals.
  • Oxidative stress may also be part of circuitous pathway leading to cell death that is as follows: generated free radicals lead to mitochondrial damage, which leads to neuron excitotoxicity, which leads to increased concentrations of intracellular calcium which increases the generation of free radicals. All four pathways (free radicals, mitochondrial damage, neural excitotoxicity, and increased intracellular calcium) can independently lead to neuron cell death. Neuroprotective agents, antioxidative agents, and those agents having effects of halting, retarding, or preventing progression of neurodegeneration may affect one or more of these pathways leading to therapeutically relevant agents.
  • Mitochondrial damage In mitochondrial damage, the evidence is born out of the experiments of the specific neurotoxin, MPTP. MPTP is a protoxin, its active form MPP+ has been shown to result form its inhibition of mitochondrial respiration at the level of complex I, the complex that controls the transfer of one electron from
  • NADH to co-enzyme Q and the transfer of two protons to the mitochondrial inner space both are then used to synthesize ATP from ADP.
  • MPP+ is thought to increase leakage of electrons at complex I, thereby increasing the generation of superoxide. Since the association of MPTP and the evolution of PD in intravenous drug users, it has been shown that there is a decrease in complex I activity in the substantia nigra in PD patients and is relatively unique to PD than other neurodegenerative disorders.
  • Excitotoxic damage In excitotoxic damage, the theory posits there is an excess glutaminergic signal from the neocortex and the subthalamic nucleus to the substantia nigra.
  • the excess signal by acting at NMD A receptors, changes the permeability of the neural cells to calcium which leads to abenant post synaptic membrane potentials, enhanced propensity for depolarization and latent repolarization, and activation of nitric oxide synthase (NOS). Activation of NOS leads to the generation of free oxygen radicals through the peroxynitrite reaction.
  • TUNEL assay (apoptosis) to determine DNA fragmentation and cyanine dye labeling to determine cell structural detail
  • DNA fragmentation and chromatin condensation occurs in the same nuclei of neurons in substantia nigra in patients with PD. Therefore, it appears that the number of apoptotic nuclei in the substantia nigra in PD is greater than that seen in normal aging, consistent with the
  • antiapoptotic agents or therapies may halt, retard, or prevent the progression of neurodegeneration.
  • Growth factors including but not limited to BDNF, GDNF, bFGF have been studied in preclinical animal models of PD. Furthermore, GDNF has been tested in clinical trials.
  • Alternative neurotrophic agents are a group of ligand called the immunophilins. These ligands have been shown to have neurite growth promoting and neuroprotective effects. Although these effects were first described from results of experiments of the immunosuppressive agents, cyclosporine and FK-506, nonimmunosuppressive analogues have been generated to have neuroprotective capacity while having none of the immunosuppresive qualities. These low molecular weight ligands may hold promise for the medical management of PD. Based upon these varying hypotheses as stated above, there are many products in devleopment for PD. Table 34 below lists cunent therapies that are in development for PD.
  • Spasticity is a complication that occurs in patients with diagnosed neurodegenerative diseases or cerebral insults such as multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, tetanus, traumatic brain injury, post traumatic spinal cord injury, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, dystonic syndromes (axial dystonia), and stroke. Together there are approximately 1.8 million individuals with spasticity in the U.S.
  • Spasticity is a term that generally refers to one of a variety of forms of muscle hypertonicity, hyperactive muscle stretch reflexes, exaggerated tendon reflexes, and clonus and flexor spasms. Spasticity is commonly described as an isokinetic movement disorder distinguished by velocity-dependent increase in muscle tone characterized by hyperactive stretch reflexes.
  • spasticity Patients with spasticity have impaired voluntary control of skeletal muscles, difficulty relaxing muscles once movement has stopped, difficulty initiating rapid movements, and an inability to regulate controlled movement.
  • spasticity there are three types of spasticity 1) mild, characterized by hyperactive reflexes and unsustained myoclonus; 2) moderate, characterized by involuntary, uncontrolled contractions, sustained myoclonus neither of which affects activities of daily living; and 3) marked or severe, characterized by unpredictable, uncontrolled paroxysms of spasm and involuntary clonus; these can throw the patient from a wheelchair and often the patient cannot lie in bed quietly; these patients have difficulties using a wheelchair, and transfers (for example: from bed to chair) are problematic.
  • cerebral origin spasticity etiologies resulting from congenital or acquired injuries such as trauma (traumatic brain injury), anoxia (cerebral palsy), or stroke
  • spinal origin spasticity etiologies resulting from congenital or acquired injuries such as trauma (traumatic brain injury), anoxia (cerebral palsy), or stroke
  • spinal origin spasticity etiologies resulting from congenital or acquired injuries such as trauma (traumatic brain injury), anoxia (cerebral palsy), or stroke
  • spinal origin spasticity etiologies resulting from congenital or acquired injuries such as trauma (traumatic brain injury), anoxia (cerebral palsy), or stroke
  • trauma traumatic brain injury
  • anoxia Cerebral palsy
  • stroke spinal origin spasticity
  • Spasticity may not require treatment until it becomes painful, bothersome to the patient, or interferes with the activities of daily living.
  • Existing treatments for spasticity may be categorized as systemic or locally acting.
  • dantrolene interferes with the excitation-contraction coupling mechanism by interfering with Ca ⁇ (dantirum), baclofen (GABA B agonist, lioresal), diazepam (GABA agonist, valium), tizanidine hydrochloride ( ⁇ 2 -agonist, zanaflex).
  • Back-up medication is the ⁇ -agonist, clonidine.
  • Locally acting treatments include intrathecal baclofen, surgical or chemical rhizotomy, and nerve motor point blocks.
  • Intrathecal baclofen Oral Baclofen is associated with undesirable side effects, however, Baclofen can be delivered to the subarachnoid space attached to a subcutaneous pump.
  • Intrathecal baclofen is a convenient therapy and this form of drug delivery poses fewer central side effects. Further, intrathecal baclofen has shown to reduce spasticity, improve functional capabilities, and increases functional range of passive movement.
  • This category includes rhizotomy, which has been most successful in the treatment of spasticity in children with cerebral palsy. In elderly patients that may have stroke induced spasticity, rhizotomy is uncommon and virtually not considered. Another surgical procedure, tendon lengthening, can be considered in those patients in which the lower extremities are affected. This procedure can be considered in those stroke patients who have developed spasticity.
  • Chemodenervation is performed via injections of phenol (or ethanol) or botulinum toxin.
  • phenol injections there is neurolysis of the motor nerve.
  • This nerve block technique is useful for motor neuron associated spasticity, and is generally avoided in cases where sensory and motor neurons are hyperactive.
  • the improvement of spasticity after phenol injections may last for a few weeks to years.
  • Botulinum toxin (BTX) injection into motor neurons has proven useful in the treatment of spasticity.
  • This potent neurotoxin isolated from Clostrium botulinum acts by binding to receptors at the neuromuscular junctions. The binding to the type A toxin is highly specific.
  • Intramuscular delivery of BTX has the advantages of lack of sensory effects, lack of caustic chemicals such as phenol, ability to target specific muscle groups through the use of electromyography, and an ability to weaken muscles in a graded fashion. Limitations of Cunent Therapies for Spasticity: Efficacy and Toxicity
  • dantrolene which acts on directly on muscle
  • all of the other oral medications act on the central nervous system and there are unwanted effects from the medications, i.e. drowsiness and confusion.
  • Dantrolene and baclofen may cause hepatotoxicity, and dantrolene may cause weakness in other muscle groups.
  • the systemic treatments are highly nonselective. As listed above, there are some indications that these oral medications are less likely reduce the spasticity; outcomes of oral medications in the treatment of cerebral origin spasticity are poor as compared to good outcomes in patients with spinal origin spasticity. Often combination regimens are used to attempt to curb the myoclonus.
  • Intrathecal Baclofen- The limitations of this method of delivery are numerous: pump failure, infection, catheter migration, and the need to refill the reservoir.
  • the half-life for ITB is 4-5 hours, and the pump must be refilled at least every 90 days.
  • Chemodenervation this technique is dependent on the proficiency of the surgeon and the accuracy of motor stimulation electromyography (EMG). Phenol injection close to a sensory nerve can result in causalgia due to injury of the myelin sheath of the sensory nerve.
  • EMG motor stimulation electromyography
  • optimization of GABAergic or ion channel modulation mediated therapy of spasticity further demonstrates the utility of selection of a potential spasticity patient that has a predisposing genotype in which selective antispasticity or agents are more effective and or are more safe.
  • Table 36 A sample of therapies approved or in development for preventing or treating the progression of symptoms of spasticity cunently known in the art is shown in Table 36.
  • the candidate therapeutics were sorted and listed by mechanism of action. Further, the product name, the pharmacologic mechanism of action, chemical name (if specified), and the indication is listed as well.
  • Spastic paresis or spastic dystonia appear to arise from an imbalance of inhibition and excitation occurring at the level of the motor neuron.
  • the most basic component is the abnormal intraspinal response to sensory input. Since modulation of the local spinal cord activity (peripheral segmental reflex arcs and the anterior horn cells) occurs via the descending pathways, loss of the GABA intemeurons can affect the balance of excitation/inhibition and leads to hyperexcitable cells that result in an increase in activity of by the extrafusal muscle fibers.
  • genes within pathways that are either involved in metabolism of neurotransmitters or are involved in metabolism of various drugs or compounds.
  • Tables 2, 13, and 19 there are listings of candidate genes and specific single nucleotide polymo ⁇ hisms that may be critical for the identification and stratification of a patient population diagnosed with spasticity based upon genotype.
  • Cunent pathways that may have involvement in the therapeutic benefit of epilepsy include glutaminergic, adrenergic, cholinergic, GABAergic, calcium channel, mitochondrial maintenance, adhesion, and myelination gene pathways that are listed in Tables 2, 13, and 19.
  • One skilled in the art would be able to identify these pathway specific gene or genes that may be involved in the manifestation of spasticity, are likely candidate targets for novel therapeutic approaches, or are involved in mediating patient population differences in drug response to therapies for spasticity.
  • Ischemic cerebrovascular disease is a result of an imbalance of the oxygen supply and the oxygen demand of brain tissue. Stroke is a series of clinical manifestations of reduction of blood supply to the cerebrovascular bed. The signs and symptoms may be complex and depend on the location and extent of the infarct. Ischemic cerebrovascular disease is divided into thrombotic and hemonhagic stroke.
  • Strokes are the result of reduced blood flow supplied by one or more or of the major cerebral arteries. Blockage or reduction of blood volume to these main arteries manifests as identifiable neurological symptoms. For example, occlusion of the middle cerebral artery results in contralateral hemiparesis, expressive aphasia, anosognosia and spatial disorientation, contralateral inferior quadrantanopsia, contralateral hemiparesis, sensory loss, contralateral homonymous hemianopsia, or superior quadrantanopsia. Blockage or reduction of the inner carotid artery, anterior cerebral artery, vertebral or basilar arteries, or the posterior artery can result in similarly clinically distinct neurological symptoms. Transient ischemic attacks (TIA) are similar to a thrombotic stroke in that neurological deficit lasts for a brief period and is generally treated with potent platelet aggregation inhibitors.
  • TIA Transient ischemic attacks
  • Thrombotic strokes are the result of focal blockage of one or more of the cerebral arteries or branches resulting in neurological signs and symptoms lasting greater than one hour.
  • Artherosclerotic plaques in extracranial or intracranial arteries cause approximately two thirds of thrombotic strokes.
  • Embolization, stenosis, or occlusion of one or more of the cerebral arteries or branches may cause thrombotic strokes.
  • Emboli can be of cardiac origin (e.g. mural thrombi, valvular heart disease, anythmias (atrial fibrillation), cardiac myxoma, and paradoxical emboli (venous origin).
  • Focal ischemia may also be the result of inflammation and necrosis of extracranial or intracranial blood vessels, i.e.
  • vasculitides e.g. primary cerebral arteritis, giant cell vasculitis, infectious vasculitis
  • hematologic abnormalities hemoglobinopathy, hyperviscosity syndrome, hypercoagulable states, protein C or S deficiency, the presence of antiphospholipid antibodies.
  • Strokes may be drug related, for example illicit drugs (cocaine, "crack”, amphetamines, lysergic acid, phencyclidine, methylphenidate, sympathomimetics, heroin, and pentazocine), ethanol, and oral contraceptives.
  • fibromuscular dysplasia for example fibromuscular dysplasia, arterial dissection, homocystinuria, migraine, subarachnoid hemonhage, vasospasm, emboli of other origin (fat, bone, and air), and moyamoya.
  • hemonhagic strokes can be considered diffuse or focal, depending on the extent of the vessel disruption.
  • causes of spontaneous intracranial hemonhage include arterial aneurysms (beny aneurysms, fusiform aneurysm, mycotic aneurysm, and aneurysm with vasculitis), cerebrovascular malformations, hypertensive-artherosclerotic hemonhage, hemonhage into a brain tumor, systemic bleeding diatheses, hemorrhage with vasculopathies, hemmorhage with intracranial venous infarction.
  • Subarachnoid hemonhage is caused by rupture of surface arteries (aneurysms, vascular formations, head trauma) with blood limited to the cerebrospinal fluid space between the pial and the arachnoid membranes.
  • a hemonhagic stroke is clear on the CCT, gradual reduction of systemic BP is achieved by standard vascular dilatation medications.
  • Angiography can be useful to identify the source of the hemonhage. Surgical management of the hemonhage may be required.
  • TIA transient ischemic attack
  • Platelet aggregation inhibition is standard therapy; aspirin or ticlopidine.
  • Ticlopidine is associated with neutropenia and agranulocytosis which may be life threatening. Because of these severe side effects, Ticlopidine is reserved for patients who are intolerant to aspirin therapy.
  • TIA may be surgically treated with endarterectomy.
  • thrombotic therapy e.g. tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), streptokinase, urokinase
  • tPA tissue plasminogen activator
  • streptokinase streptokinase
  • urokinase urokinase
  • the therapeutic window for tPA has been shown to be within three hours of onset of symptoms. Hypothermia has been shown to decrease mortality and improve outcomes. Hyperthermia has been shown to worsen both mortality rates and outcomes.
  • the single most limiting factor of stroke therapy is the rapid identification of stroke symptoms and urgency of intervention within a short time.
  • Tissue plasminogen activator tPA
  • streptokinase streptokinase
  • heparin heparin
  • urokinase Tissue plasminogen activator
  • tPA has a 6% > rate of cerebral hemonhage
  • streptokinase is generally not used for thrombotic strokes because of serious side effects and limited quantifiable efficacy
  • urokinase is generally delivered near the site of the clot or obstruction.
  • Factors influencing the best medical treatment of ischemic stroke must weigh the benefits and limitations of each o f these therapies .
  • genotyping There are two categories of genotyping that provided insight on the selection of candidate genes for polymo ⁇ hic genotypic studies of drug response.
  • One set of likely candidates come from disease etiology or linkage studies. These data may provide input on the genetic etiology or abenant mechanisms of strokes.
  • Another set are those genes involved in the biochemical or molecular mechanisms of drugs, agents, or candidate therapeutic interventions.
  • Ischemic penumbra is the tissue immediately adjacent to the infarct zone that is viable and mo ⁇ hologically intact but functionally impaired due to the restricted blood flow. Once the blood flow decreases to a certain threshold, this penumbra tissue can be classified as "misery-perfused" because oxygen consumption is preserved and increased oxygen extraction occurs. Ischemic penumbra is, thus, a dynamic process of impaired perfusion and unstable energy metabolism. Since necrosis naturally follows the continued oxygen deprivation, it has been reported that final cerebral infarct size is infarct zone plus the unrecoverable penumbra. Functional imaging of the cerebral infarct can detect the penumbra tissue, and in some reports the penumbra tissue can be identified up to 48 hours.
  • Exemplary diseases characterized by abnormal inflammatory or immunologic responses are described below. These diseases are suitable for application of the methods described in this invention for identification of variances in a gene or genes involved in therapeutic response, e.g. efficacy, tolerability or toxicity.
  • Arthritis comprises a variety of diseases characterized by pain, swelling, and limited movement in joints and connective tissues. Arthritis is usually chronic and there are three prevalent forms of the disease: rheumatoid arthritis (RA), osteoarthritis (OA), and fibromyalgia.
  • RA rheumatoid arthritis
  • OA osteoarthritis
  • fibromyalgia rheumatoid arthritis
  • RA rheumatoid arthritis
  • OA osteoarthritis
  • fibromyalgia the synovial joint lining becomes inflamed as a result of hyperactive immune response.
  • RA the synovial joint lining becomes inflamed as a result of hyperactive immune response.
  • OA the cartilage that covers the ends of the bones within joints deteriorates, causing pain and loss of movement as bone begins to rub against bone.
  • 20.7 million Americans with OA the majority being over the age of 45.
  • fibromyalgia In fibromyalgia, widespread pain affects muscles, attachments of muscles to bone, and the connective tissues, i.e., the ligaments and tendons. There are an estimated 3.7 million individuals diagnosed with fibromyalgia syndrome. Other serious and common forms of arthritis or related disorders include the following: gout, systemic lupus erythmatosus, scleroderma, ankylosing spondylitis, and juvenile arthritis.
  • Rheumatoid arthritis involves the disarthroidal joints and can affect a variety of other organs.
  • the clinical hallmarks of RA include: morning stiffness; swelling of three or more joints; swelling of hand joints (proximal inte ⁇ halangeal, metaca ⁇ ophalangeal, or wrist); symmetric swelling; subcutaneous nodules; serum rheumatoid factor; and erosions and or penarticular osteopema, in hand or w ⁇ st joints, often observed on radiograph
  • Osteoarthritis is a degenerative process in joint tissues that may occur in response to aging, genetic, and environmental factors. It is charactenzed by progressive degeneration of cartilage, bone remodeling, and overgrowth of bone.
  • OA OA
  • the clinical hallmarks of OA include: deep aching pain in the afflicted joints (hands, knees spine, and hips), morning stiffness of short duration, vanable joint thickening and effusion.
  • Pathologically OA is charactenzed by breakdown of cartilage. Destruction of joint cartilage involves direct physical injury, enzymatic degradation as a result of the injury to chondrocytes, and subchondral bone stiffening as a result of the bone remodeling.
  • Agents used to treat RA fall into one of the following four categones: analgesics (NSAIDs, salicylates), disease modifying antirheumatic agents (gold compounds, cytotoxic), hormones (glucocorticoids), and skin and mucosal membrane preparations.
  • NSAIDs analgesics
  • salicylates disease modifying antirheumatic agents
  • gold compounds gold compounds
  • cytotoxic cytotoxic
  • hormones glucocorticoids
  • skin and mucosal membrane preparations Treatment for the treatment of OA focus on decreasing pain (analgesics) and physical therapies ro increase joint mobility.
  • Analgesics Typically, pam associated with arthritis can be controlled with NSAIDs including but not excluded to, salicylates, para-aminophenol denvatives, mdole and indene denvatives, heteroaryl acetic acids, arylpropnomc acids, anthranihc acids, enohc acids, or alkanones.
  • Antiinflammatory agents such as cyclooxygenase inhibitors, hpoxygenase inhibitors, and others can be used to block the inflammation physiological pathway which mediate pain and the progression of the disease.
  • these agents are add-on therapies.
  • NSAIDs de ⁇ ve their pnnciple mechanism of action by the inhibition of prostaglandin and leukot ⁇ ene synthesis. These compounds inhibit key enzymes in the biosynthetic pathway, i.e. cyclooxygenase.
  • cyclooxygenase There are d gs that selectively inhibit isoforms of cyclooxygenase 1 and 2 (COX-1, COX-2) which enhances patient tolerance due to the prevalence of COX-2 induction occurs in inflammation mediated by cytokines and others.
  • pynmidine synthesis inhibitors can be used as an antiinflammatory agent m arthritis, e.g. leflunomide.
  • Disease-Modifying Antirheumatic Dmgs or agents Agents involved in the modification of clinical disease manifestation, reduction in inflammation, or slow the progression of the disease are refened to as disease-modifying antirheumatic dmgs (DMARDs) and include gold salts (aurothioglucose, aurothiomalate, auranofin), hypotensives (angiotension converting enzyme inhibitors), anaprox, immunosuppressives (azathioprine, cyclosporine), agents to treat metallic poison (penicillamine), depen, naprosen, immuran, antimalarials (chloroquine, hydroxychloroquine), alkylating agents (cyclophosphamide), absorbable sulfonamides (sulfasalazine), irritants and counter-irritants (capsaicin), antim
  • Hormones and Growth Factors Agents acting at hormone receptors or growth factor receptors include steroids (glucocorticoids), adrenocorticotrophic hormone (corticotropin), and tumor necrosis factor inhibitors (soluble TNF receptors (enbrel) and TNF monoclonal antibody (remicade). Since the autoimmunity component of the disease is driven primarily by activated T-cells, which give rise to cytokines IL-1 and TNF at the rheumatoid synovium. These agents are known to interfere with the actions of these cytokines.
  • Corticosteroids affect the inflammation within the joints by decreasing growth and development of mast cells, inducing apoptosis, suppressing lymphocyte generation of IL-5 and other cytokines, inhibiting some mediator release, inhibiting cytokine production, inhibiting the transcription of cytokines (for example IL-8, TNF- ⁇ , prototypic antiviral chemokine (regulated-on-activation normal T-expressed and secreted, RANTES), and GM-CSF), and inhibiting nitric oxide synthesis.
  • cytokines for example IL-8, TNF- ⁇ , prototypic antiviral chemokine (regulated-on-activation normal T-expressed and secreted, RANTES), and GM-CSF
  • Skin and mucosal membrane preparations irritants and counter-irritants can be used to treat arthritic joints and include, but not limited to, Capaicin
  • Chlorambucil, cyclosporine, cyclophosphamide are agents that are available for use in the treatment of refractory RA or with severe extraarticular complications such as vasiculitits, comeal perforation or other severe systemic maladies associated with RA.
  • therapies discussed above are limited to the slowing or retarding the progression of arthritis. As degeneration of the joints progresses, and ineversible damage occurs, the options become limited. Thus, therapies for arthritis are aimed at reduction of manifestation of symptoms by controlling the clinical manifestations of inflammation.
  • Analgesics associated side effects include dyspepsia, gast ⁇ c or small bowel bleeding, ulceration, renal insufficiency, confusion, rash, headache, hepatic toxicity NSAIDs also reversibly inhibit platelet aggregation and prolong bleeding time
  • Antirheumatic agents (DMARDs) associated side effects include antimala ⁇ als retinal or macular damage; sulfonamides hematologic toxicities (leukopenia, thrombocytopenia, hemolysis m patients with glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency); antimetabolites hepatic compromise including hepatic fibrosis, ascites, esophageal va ⁇ ces, cmhosis, pneumonitis, myelosuppression, immunosuppressives: myelosuppression, (cyclosponne.
  • renal insufficiency anemia, hypertension agents to treat metallic poison: rash, stomatitis, dysgeusia or metallic taste, myelosuppression (thrombocytopenia), protemu ⁇ a, nephrotic syndrome or renal failure, and induction of autoimmune syndromes (systemic lupus erythmatosus, myesthema gravis, polymyocytis, Goodpasture's syndrome), gold preparations hematologic, renal, pulmonary, and protemuna, chlorambucil. myelosuppression, myeloprohferative disorders, malignancy, hemonhagic cystitis
  • Soluble TNF receptors agents have been shown to induce sepsis and predispose patients to senous infections. Further this product was associated with site of injection reactions, infections, and headache
  • Glucocorticoid associated side effects include increased appetite, weight gam, fluid retention, acne, ecchymosis, development of cushoid facies, hypertension, hyperkalemia, diabetes, hyperglycemia, hyperosmolar state, hyperhpidemia, hepatic steatosis, atherosclerosis, myopathy, aseptic necrosis, osteoporosis, ulcers, pancreatitis, psuedotumor cerebn, pyschosis, glaucoma, cataract formation, vascular necrosis, increased suseptibihty to infection, impairment of the hypothalamus- pituitary axis, decreased thyroid hormone semm binding protiens, and impaired wound healing.
  • Rheumatoid arthritis has been thought to be the result of host genetic factors, immunoregulatory abnormalities and autoimmunity, and triggering or persistent microbial infection.
  • HLA-DR4 antigen human leukocyte antigen
  • Autoimmune component in over 80%> of RA patients autoantibodies to the Fc portion of IgG (rheumatoid factors, RF) are present and can be used to determine diagnosis. The higher the titer of RFs the more severe joint disease and extrarticular manifestations.
  • ICAM-1 inhibitors related to the autoimmune component of the disease, ICAM-1 inhibitors, or other agents to reduce adhesion have been developed.
  • EBV Epstein-Ban vims
  • a gene, genes, or gene pathway involved in the etiology of arthritis or associated disorders or potential sites for targeted dmg therapy of arthritis are depicted in Table 9 with the specific gene list in Table 4.
  • Cunent candidate therapeutic interventions in development for the treatment of arthritis are listed in Table 38.
  • Chronic obstmctive pulmonary disease is an imperfect term that refers to four pulmonary disorders including simple chronic bronchitis, asthmatic bronchitis, chronic obstmctive bronchitis, and emphysema.
  • a common characteristic of the disease is airway obstmction.
  • Airways obstmction denotes the slowing of forced expiration.
  • a decrease in the forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) to forced vital capacity (FVC) indicates that airflow is impaired.
  • Forced expiration is determined primarily by intrinsic resistance of the airways, compressibility of the airways, and lung elastic recoil. Reduced maximal expiratory flow results from high airway resistance, reduced lung recoil, or excessive airways collapsibility.
  • Simple chronic bronchitis is a syndrome predominantly characterized by chronic productive cough and is usually the result of low-grade exposure to bronchial irritants. This syndrome is associated with enhanced mucous secretion, reduced ciliary activity, and impaired resistance to bronchial infection. Bronchitis patients range from those who experience sporadic cough producing mucous to those with a severe, disabling condition manifested by one or more of the following: increased resistance to airflow, hypoxia, hypercapnia, and ineversible nanowing of the small airways, i.e. bronchioles and bronchi (2 mm or less in diameter).
  • bronchiole irritants in individuals with hyperactive or sensitive airways can lead to bronchospasm, i.e. bronchial smooth muscle constriction, that is frequently accompanied by excess mucous production and edema of the bronchial walls.
  • bronchospasm i.e. bronchial smooth muscle constriction
  • Episodic bronchospasm in individuals with chronic bronchitis is termed asthmatic bronchitis and is applied to those individuals with chronic airway constriction, chronic productive cough, and episodic bronchospasm.
  • Emphysema is characterized by abnormal, excessive, permanent enlargement of airway spaces distal to the terminal bronchioles, and is accompanied by destmction of their walls and may or may not be associated with fibrotic tissue.
  • Emphysema is strongly related to and conelated to inhalation of tobacco smoke, i.e. cigarette or cigar smoking.
  • emphysema there is a loss of elastic recoil leading to pulmonary hyperinflation.
  • the hyperinflation reaches a limit when the diaphragm is pushed flat and no longer functions effectively.
  • the chest wall is expanded to the point that it pushes inward rather than exerting its normal outward force.
  • a deficiency in alpha 1- antitrypsin can predispose individuals to signs and symptoms of COPD.
  • these individuals there is a marked alveolar wall destmction with a non-uniform pattern of air space enlargement.
  • these patients there may be excessive formation of thick mucous and is often accompanied by persistent cough.
  • Complications of COPD include hypoxemia, cor pulmonale, hypercapnia, and dyspnea.
  • Sustained chronic hypoxemia is a condition that leads to pulmonary vasoconstriction that with time becomes ineversible and leads to cor pulmonale.
  • the current therapies is use for the treatment of subjects with COPD are aimed at reducing the airway obstmction that is reversible, controlling the persistent cough and sputum production, reducing or eliminate airway infections, increasing exercise tolerance to the maximum allowable at the individual's level of physiological deficit, controlling the remedial disease complications, i.e. cardiovascular dysfunction and arterial hypoxemia, and relief of the anxiety and depression or other psychiatric symptoms that accompany patients attempts to cope with the debilitating clinical manifestations.
  • all treatment regimens include education and supportive therapy to encourage subjects with COPD to cease behaviors that may exacerbate symptoms such as inhalation of pulmonary irritants, i.e. smoking and others, and substance abuse, i.e. narcotics and sedatives.
  • Bronchodilators can be inhaled, or by oral, subcutaneous, or intravenous routes. Beta-adrenergic agonists or other sympathomimetic agents are used to produce rapid acute bronchodilation.
  • Anticholinergics agents are used to produce sustained bronchodilation. Nebulized atropine has been supplanted with the advent of a quaternary ammonium salt, ipratropium bromide, which undergoes minimal systemic abso ⁇ tion and thus has limited anticholinergic toxicity. Ipratropium has been shown to be effective in patients that have not responded to ⁇ -adrenergic agonists and can reduce sputum volume without altering viscosity.
  • Anticholinergics and beta-adrenergic agonist combinations have been used with some success. Such combinations reduce the need to administer high doses, due to additive effects, and therefore reduce the likelihood for adverse effects or toxic side effects.
  • Theophylline is a methylxanthine bronchodilator.
  • Theophylline improves airway flow, decreases dyspnea, reduces pulmonary arterial pressure, increases arterial oxygen tension, improves diaphragmatic strength and endurance, increases right ventricular function (pulmonary vasodilator and cardiac inotropic effects), and may produce antiinflammatory effects.
  • Expectorants can be used to increase the secretion clearance in patients with COPD. Although this therapy has not been demonstrated to render clinical benefit, it is as add on therapy that enables the patient to experience an enhanced productive cough.
  • Anti-Inflammatory agents can be used to increase the secretion clearance in patients with COPD. Although this therapy has not been demonstrated to render clinical benefit, it is as add on therapy that enables the patient to experience an enhanced productive cough.
  • corticosteroids Prolonged use of corticosteroids have been used to retard the rate of decline in FEV1 in COPD subjects. However, it has been determined that systemic corticosteroids are beneficial for acute exacerbations of COPD but are not used for long-term treatment and have not been proven to retard the progression of the disease.
  • Corticosteroids affect the decline of FEV1 in the airways by decreasing growth and development of mast cells, inducing apoptosis, suppressing lymphocyte generation of IL-5 and other cytokines, inhibiting some mediator release, inhibiting cytokine production, inhibiting the transcription of cytokines (for example IL-8, TNF- ⁇ , prototypic antiviral chemokine (regulated-on-activation normal T-expressed and secreted, RANTES), and GM-CSF), and inhibiting nitric oxide synthesis.
  • cytokines for example IL-8, TNF- ⁇ , prototypic antiviral chemokine (regulated-on-activation normal T-expressed and secreted, RANTES), and GM-CSF
  • Alpha 1 -protease inhibitor deficiency as a cause of early development of emphysema has increased the awareness of the role of protease-antipro tease and oxidant-antioxidant imbalances in COPD.
  • Intravenous delivery of alpha 1 -protease inhibitor can provide the appropriate levels in those individuals with a genetic deficiency and those whose deficiency is acquired.
  • Mucolvtics and secretion clearance agents can be used to assist in the removal of secretions during productive cough. These agents can thin secretions in patients with chronic bronchitis. Supplemental oxygen therapy is used to treat the deleterious effects of sustained chronic hypoxemia and hypercapnia. Conection of this condition is one of the treatments shown to have a positive effect on the survival rate in patients with COPD.
  • Treatment of cases of cor pulmonale includes the use of diuretics and positive inotropic agents such as digitalis. Careful monitoring is required in these patients due to a development of marked right ventricular hypertrophy.
  • Dyspnea may be severely disabling despite aggressive therapy. Judicious use of opiates to control dyspnea and increase exercise tolerance have been proven to be beneficial. Unfortunately, opiates can have a respiratory depressant effect and care must be taken to deliver the appropriate therapeutic dose.
  • Surgical procedures can be performed to attempt to restore pulmonary capacity and function. Lung volume reduction surgery is useful to remove a portion of emphysematous lung tissue so that the diaphragm can return to its normal dome shape and the chest wall can reassume its normal configuration, mechanics, and physiology. Bullectomy is a procedure in which large bullae and sunounding lung tissue are removed. This allows for the remaining tissue to expand and once again function normally. Another procedure is lung transplantation. This expensive and aggressive approach is usually reserved for younger patients, particularly those who are alpha 1-antitrypsin deficient.
  • Beta adrenergic therapy is limited by three factors: 1 ) the density of ⁇ 2 receptors in the airways decreases with age, 2) despite the selectivity of the ⁇ 2 receptor agonists, there is cross reactivity to ⁇ l receptors and may affect the myocardium and other peripheral tissues, and 3) there is ⁇ -adrenergic receptor desensitization. Most of the recommended doses of beta adrenergic agonists provide less than maximal bronchodilation. Beta-adrenergic agonists can cause tremor, reflex tachycardia, tachyphylaxis, cardiomyopathy, and other cardiac toxic effects.
  • Tachycardia is particularly problematic in the elderly or for those individuals who are at cardiac risk. Further, ⁇ -adrenergic agonists have been shown to cause hyperkalemia. The majority of patients with COPD are current or former smokers, all of whom are may have coexisting coronary artery disease, thus in the compendium of therapies it is desirable to have alternatives to ⁇ -adrenergic agonists.
  • Anticholinergics as bronchodilators have been associated with systemic side effects.
  • systemic anticholinergic side effects include bradycardia (if pronounced, includes compensatory tachycardia), dry mouth, inhibition of sweating, dilatation of the pupils, and visual blurring.
  • Ipratropium has a slow onset of action and a longer duration of action than ⁇ -adrenergic agonists which can be deleterious for acute bronchodilation because patients continue to administer the drug without effect and overdose.
  • Theophylline continues to be a controversial treatment due to misconceptions of its role as a bronchodilator, dmg delivery problems, and conflicting results of comparative studies during acute exacerbations. Further, theophylline has a limited therapeutic window, i.e. the dose required to achieve bronchodilation is close to the dose associated with undesirable or adverse side effects including convulsions, cardiac anhythmias, tachycardia, vasodilation, and diuresis. Further complicating therapy with theophylline is the intra-patient variability in efficacious response.
  • corticosteroids can be useful for patients in which continued symptoms or severe airflow limitations exist despite therapy with other agents. Only 20-30%> of these patients experience therapeutic benefit for long-term use and indiscriminate use often leads to adverse effects without benefits. Unfortunately there have not been identified predictors of responders or nonresponders to long term steroid use in patients with COPD. Therefore, only those patients that attempt long-tem steroid use and have documented clinical improvement should continue steroid therapy. Unfortunately, those patients in which long-term steroid use results in no benefit are subjected to potential adverse effects or toxicities.
  • Glucocorticoid associated side effects include increased appetite, weight gain, fluid retention, acne, ecchymosis, development of cushoid facies, hypertension, hyperkalemia, diabetes, hyperglycemia, hyperosmolar state, hyperhpidemia, hepatic steatosis, atherosclerosis, myopathy, aseptic necrosis, osteoporosis, ulcers, pancreatitis, psuedotumor cerebri, pyschosis, glaucoma, cataract formation, vascular necrosis, increased suseptibihty to infection, impairment of the hypothalamus-pituitary axis, decreased thyroid hormone semm binding protiens, and impaired wound healing. Mucolytic and secretion clearance agents have been shown to improve thinning secretions however, there is little evidence to suggest that these agents render clinical improvement. Further cough suppressants may impair secretion clearance and possible increase the risk of pulmonary infection.
  • Nicotine replacement therapies such as nicotine patches (transdermal), gum, and transnasal formulations as well as bupropion (an antidepressant or other in this category) should be considered.
  • CFCs chorofluorohydrocarbons
  • next generation anticholinergic therapies alpha 1 antiproteinase augmentation therapies, and refinement of surgical procedures.
  • a gene, genes, or gene pathway involved in the etiology of COPD or associated disorders or potential sites for targeted dmg therapy of COPD are depicted in Table 9 with the specific gene list in Table 4.
  • Cunent candidate therapeutic interventions in development for the treatment of COPD are listed in Table 39.
  • autoimmune response can vary from minimal to severe depending on the extent of the loss of self tolerance and to the localization of the antigens. There is then a distinction between autoimmune response which may or may not be pathologic and autoimmune disease which does lead to pathologic conditions.
  • autoimmune disease there is a combination of the following types of evidence, 1) identification of the target antigens, 2) identification and isolation of self-reactive autoantibodies or self-reactive lymphocytes, 3) identification of clinical evidence, i.e. familial hereditary data, lymphocyte infiltration, MHC association and clinical symptomatic improvement with immunosuppressive agents.
  • auotimmune disease Initiation of auotimmune disease is thought to require one or more of the following: genetic predisposition to loss of tolerance, environmental factors that stimulate abenant immune response, or loss or dysfunction of cellular or organ physiological processes leading to pathological immune response. Since many autoreactive clones of T and B cells exist and are normally regulated by homeostatic mechanisms, loss or breakdown of this system of checks and balances can lead to activation or enhancement of these autoreactive clones and ultimately lead to autoimmune disease.
  • autoimmune diseases or diseases that have an autoimmune component including: amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, anti-phospholipid syndrome, aplastic anemia, autoimmune hemolytic anemia, diabetes mellitus type 1, Guillan-Bane syndrome, idiopathic thromobocytopenic pu ⁇ ura, Grave's disease, myasthenia gravis, polymyositis, rheumatoid arthritis, Hashimoto's thyroiditis, uveitis, Wegener granulomatosis, periarteritis nodosa, ocular pemphigoid, pemphigus vulgaris, psoriasis, Goodpasture's syndrome, Churg-Strauss vasiculitis, poly-dermatomyositis, Cogan syndrome- autoimmune inner ear disease, hemolytic
  • MS Multiple sclerosis
  • MS begins with a relapsing illness with episodes of neurological dysfunction lasting several weeks, followed by substantial or complete improvement. This is identified as the relapsing-remitting stage of the disease found to be predominantly in females (1.6: 1 ). There are some patients that remain in this stage of the disease for decades; others may rapidly progress to the next stage. As time progresses, and repeated relapses occur, recovery becomes less and less complete or as substantial. In these cases, a gradual relapse independent clinical progression develops and is termed secondary progressive MS. Further, the nonrelapsing-nonremitting form is characterized by a gradual progression and steady worsening of neurological function without any recovery or improvement. A steady but gradual neurological decline and predominately identified in males characterizes the primary progressive form of MS. Clarity in understanding the significance of these varying disease patterns and diagnosis is dependent on quality neurological examination overtime.
  • SLE Systemic lupus erythmatosus
  • Clinical manifestations of the disease include reddish rash on the cheeks, fatigue, anemia, rashes, sun sensitivity, alopecia, arthritis, pericarditis, pleurisy, vasiculitis, nephritis, and central nervous system disease.
  • the immune hypereactivity appears to derive from immune hypereactivity and loss of self-tolerance.
  • antibodies are produced against several nuclear components, notably antinuclear antibodies to native double stranded DNA, single stranded DNA, or nucleohistones.
  • Scleroderma is a chronic disease marked by increases of fibrotic tissue involving the circulatory system, connective tissue (in particular the skin), visceral organs, and the immune system. There are approximately 500-700,000 Americans diagnosed with scleroderma. There are two types of scleroderma, localized and systemic. In localized scleroderma (linear and mo ⁇ hea) the disorder of the connective tissue is limited to the skin, the tissues just beneath the skin, and muscle. Internal organs are not affected. In systemic scleroderma (sclerosis) vascular, digestive, pulmonary , renal, muscle and joints may be affected.
  • Raynaud's syndrome (frequent spasms of small arteries induced by temperature changes and emotion resulting in deprivation of blood supply to peripheral tissues), CREST syndrome (calcium deposits, Reynaud's syndrome, loss of muscular control of the esophagus, sclerodactylia, and telangiectasia), and Sjogren's syndrome (inflammation of the conductive, cornea, tear, and salivary glands with progressive destmction by lymphocytes and plasma cells) are both subcategories of scleroderma.
  • scleroderma The clinical manifestations of scleroderma include the following symptoms: fatigue, swelling and numbness of the hands and feet, shiny skin and disappearance of skin folds, ulcers on the fingers, calcium deposits on the fingers, joint inflammation, joints tightening into bend position, muscle weakness, itchy skin, difficulty in swallowing, shortness of breath, fatty dianhea or constipation, and loss of body hair.
  • renal impairment and failure is a common endpoint, therapy affecting the hypertensive phase or renal involvement has changed the mortality rate.
  • This form of diabetes involves the chronic inflammatory destmction of the insulin-producing islet cells of the pancreas.
  • this form of diabetes is treated similarly to the type II form (which is not linked to autoimmunity), i.e. insulin replacement therapy, early identification of type I versus type II individuals may be useful to thwart the autoimmune destmction of the ⁇ -cells.
  • retinopathy leading to blindness nephropathy (diabetic nephropathy is the leading cause of end- stage renal disease)
  • coronary and cardiovascular disease neuropathy (severe forms can lead to amputation)
  • impotence diabetic neuropathy and cardiovascular disease can lead to impotence
  • Sarcoidosis is a granulomatous disorder characterized by enhanced cellular immune response at one or more involved sites.
  • the prevalence of sarcoidosis is 5 in 100,000, so approximately 13,000 patients have been diagnosed.
  • Pulmonary involvement includes dyspnea with or without exertion, persistent dry cough, and atypical chest pain.
  • Cor pulmonale can develop as a complication of pulmonary dysfunction and further progress to right atria dilatation and right ventricular hypertrophy.
  • Ocular involvement includes disturbance in visual acuity, and in chronic cases may lead to glaucoma, cataract formation and retinal neovascularization.
  • the infiltrate may be diffuse or patchy and may be accompanied by fibrotic tissue.
  • Membranous nephropathy may develop and lead to impairment of glomerular filtration rate.
  • cytotoxic T cells and T-cell mediate delayed hypersensitivity are involved.
  • Nephritis is a component of the clinical manifestation of systemic lupus erythmatosis, scleroderma, and other autoimmune diseases and disorders.
  • analgesics Typically, pain associated with autoimmune disease can be controlled with NSAIDs including but not excluded to, salicylates, para- aminophenol derivatives, indole and indene derivatives, heteroaryl acetic acids, arylproprionic acids, anthranilic acids, enolic acids, or alkanones.
  • Antiinflammatory agents such as cyclooxygenase inhibitors, lipoxygenase inhibitors, and others can be used to block the inflammation physiological pathway which mediate pain.
  • these dmgs are limited in their efficacy in advanced or more severe stages of autoimmune disease, these agents are add-on therapies.
  • NSAIDs derive their principle mechanism of action by the inhibition of prostaglandin and leukotriene synthesis. These compounds inhibit key enzymes in the biosynthetic pathway, i.e. cyclooxygenase.
  • cyclooxygenase There are dmgs that selectively inhibit isoforms of cyclooxygenase 1 and 2 (COX-1, COX-2) which enhances patient tolerance due to the prevalence of COX-2 induction occurs in inflammation mediated by cytokines and others.
  • Immunosuppressive dmgs or agents Agents involved in the modification of the immune system for the treatment of autoimmune disease are immunosuppressive agents Immunosuppressives include azathiop ⁇ ne, cyclosponne, pemcillamine, antimala ⁇ als (chloroqume, hydroxychloroqume), alkylating agents (cyclophosphamide), and antimetabolites (methotrexate)
  • Hormones and Growth Factors Agents acting at hormone receptors or growth factor receptors include steroids (glucocorticoids), adrenocorticotrophic hormone (corticotropm), and tumor necrosis factor inhibitors (soluble TNF receptors (enbrel) and TNF monoclonal antibody (remicade) Since the autoimmunity component of the disease is dnven pnma ⁇ ly by activated T-cells, which give nse to cytokines IL-1 and TNF at the affected areas These agents are known to interfere with the actions of these cytokines
  • Corticosteroids affect the immune response by decreasing growth and development of mast cells, inducing apoptosis, suppressing lymphocyte generation of IL-5 and other cytokines, inhibiting some mediator release, inhibiting cytokine production, inhibiting the transc ⁇ ption of cytokines (for example IL-8, TNF- ⁇ , prototypic antiviral chemokine (regulated-on- activation normal T-expressed and secreted, RANTES), and GM-CSF), and inhibiting nit ⁇ c oxide synthesis.
  • cytokines for example IL-8, TNF- ⁇ , prototypic antiviral chemokine (regulated-on- activation normal T-expressed and secreted, RANTES), and GM-CSF
  • Plasma Exchange A useful technique for the removal of autoantibodies is a process called plasmaphoresis or plasma exchange In this process, antibodies are removed that mediate humoral immune response to the autoantigen Antioxidants Many of the therapies in use for these auotimmune diseases are aimed at reducing the level and extent of tissue damage mediated by T-cell immune response For example, dimethyl sulfoxide, dimethyl sulfone, para- ammobenzoic acid, and vitamin E are included m this category
  • therapies discussed above are limited to the slowing or retarding the progression of autoimmune disease As immune response tissue damage occurs, degeneration of the function progresses, irreversible damage occurs, and therapeutic options become limited
  • therapies for autoimmune disease are aimed at reduction of manifestation of symptoms by controlling the clinical manifestations of inflammation and the hypersensitive immune response
  • Dmgs used to treat autoimmune disease may cause death, disability, disease, and place an unborn child at risk.
  • the undesired side effects or toxicities are listed for each dmg category as described above.
  • Analgesics associated side effects include dyspepsia, gastric or small bowel bleeding, ulceration, renal insufficiency, confusion, rash, headache, hepatic toxicity. NSAIDs also reversibly inhibit platelet aggregation and prolong bleeding time. Immunosuppressive therapies have associated side effects including antimalarials: retinal or macular damage; sulfonamides: hematologic toxicities
  • hepatic compromise including hepatic fibrosis, ascites, esopageal varices, cinhosis, pneumonitis, myelosuppression
  • immunosuppressives myelosuppression, (cyclosporine: renal insufficiency anemia, hypertension); penicillamine: rash, stomatitis, dysgeusia or metallic taste, myelosuppression (thrombocytopenia), proteinuria, nephrotic syndrome or renal failure, and induction of autoimmune syndromes (systemic lupus erythmatosus, myesthenia gravis, polymyocytis, Goodpasture's syndrome).
  • Glucocorticoid associated side effects include increased appetite, weight gain, fluid retention, acne, ecchymosis, development of cushoid facies, hypertension, hyperkalemia, diabetes, hyperglycemia, hyperosmolar state, hyperhpidemia, hepatic steatosis, atherosclerosis, myopathy, aseptic necrosis, osteoporosis, ulcers, pancreatitis, psuedotumor cerebri, pyschosis, glaucoma, cataract formation, vascular necrosis, increased suseptibihty to infection, impairment of the hypothalamus- pituitary axis, decreased thyroid hormone semm binding protiens. and impaired wound healing.
  • Autoimmune disease has been thought to be the result of host genetic factors, immunoregulatory abnormalities and autoimmunity, and triggering or persistent microbial infection.
  • a gene, genes, or gene pathway involved in the etiology of atuoimmune diseases or disorders or associated disorders or potential sites for targeted dmg therapy of autoimmunity are depicted in Table 9 with the specific gene list in Table 4.
  • Cunent candidate therapeutic interventions in development are listed for the treatment of autoimmune disease or disorder, Tables 40 and 42, and for systemic lupus erythmatosus, Table 41.
  • cellular transplantation includes, but not excluded to, grafting bone manow cells in patients with hematopoeitic or lymphocytic cancers, dopaminergic producing cells in brains of patients with Parkinson's disease, striated muscle cells in patient's with Duchenne's muscular dystrophy, myocytes or cardiomyocytes in patient's with ischemic heart disease or cardiomyopathy, and replacement of neurons or astrocytes or glial cells in neurodegenerative disease including but not excluded to Alzheimer's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, multiple sclerosis, Huntington's disease, refractory pain, epilepsy, and stroke.
  • transplantation includes autografts, isografts, allografts or xenografts and can involve whole organ or cellular grafts.
  • all other transplantation procedures include pre- and post-surgical immunosuppression to blunt graft rejection or graft versus host disease
  • Successful immunosuppression in this setting includes an appropnate balance between the need to prevent the process of graft rejection and the nsk of suppressing the recipient's immune system to the extent that they become vulnerable to infection or other complications
  • T cells and circulating antibodies are induced against allografts or xenografts While the antibodies are responsible for rejection of erythrocytes, T-cells are mainly responsible for the rejection of most other type of tissue
  • the antigens found on grafted tissue which initiate the rapid rejection of an allograft are found on most cell membranes and are encoded by genes in the major histocompatibihty complex (MHC) which are called the HLA
  • MHC major histocompatibihty complex
  • HLA histocompatibihty complex
  • the stmctures encoded in these genes, MHC class I and class II molecules are involved in the determining the discnmination between self and non- self
  • the degree of the histocompatibihty betwee donor and recipient can be determined serologically, by genotyp ⁇ ng,or by a mixed lymphocyte reaction
  • Chronic rejection is characterized by arteriosclerosis, in which the smooth muscle cells lining the arteries in the graft organ proliferate to create lesions and lead to fibrosis, with a result of constricting blood flow.
  • arteriosclerosis in which the smooth muscle cells lining the arteries in the graft organ proliferate to create lesions and lead to fibrosis, with a result of constricting blood flow.
  • the chronic immune rejection there is slow and progressive destmction of the grafted organ or cells. If damage to the tissue is extensive, very little can be done to save the graft.
  • Clinical immunosuppression involves the non-specific suppression of both cell-mediated and humoral immune reactivity to the grafted tissue.
  • These agents are useful to blunt the proliferative phase of lymphocyte activation of the immune response.
  • Azathioprine acts to inhibit the proliferation of T cells.
  • Azathioprine is cleaved to 6-mercaptopurine and it is this active compound that serves to suppress the T-cell mediated antigenic determination and engraftment.
  • Azathioprone is a relatively non-selective immunosuppressive agent.
  • Other agents in the same class as azathioprine, i.e. antimetabolites, include but are not excluded to, mercaptopurine, chlorambucil, and cyclophosphamide.
  • the agents inhibits DNA synthesis and therefore have their greatest effect on the immune response during the proliferative phase of lymphocyte activation. These agents inhibit primary antibody response and have minimal effects on the cell-mediated immunity.
  • These agents inhibit dihydrofolate reductase preventing the conversion of folic acid to tetrahydro folic acid. This conversion is necessary for the production of DNA and RNA.
  • Alkylating Agents These agents (nitrogen mustard, phenylalanine mustard, busulfan, cyclophosphamide) alter the stmcture of the DNA and RNA. These agents have reactive ring stmctures which combine with electron rich groups such as tertiary nitrogen in purines or pyrimidines, or -NH2, -COOH, -SH, -PO3H2 groups.
  • Cyclosporin acts by inhibiting the production of IL-2, which results in an inhibition of the proliferation of T and B lymphocytes. Cyclosporin is widely prescribed for transplantation patients due to the clinical advantage of potent immunosuppression with limited myelosuppression.
  • FK-506 (Tacrolimus) is an agent that acts by inhibiting the production of IL- 2 which prevents the proliferation of T and B lymphocytes.
  • Mycophenolate mofetil is rapidly converted to mycophenolic acid which selectively inhibits T and B cell proliferation.
  • Mycophenolate mofetil has an advantage over azathiprine because it does not damage chromosomes.
  • a tilymphocvtic globulin is an agent that binds to circulating T- lymphocytes and the cells coated with the ALG are lysed and cleared by the reticuloendothelial system.
  • ALG is more commonly used for renal transplantation, showing little to no benefit for liver or bone manow transplantation..
  • Total lymphoid inadiation or total body inadiation is based upon the immunosuppression observed after this procedure was used in patients with
  • a murine monoclonal antibody is available to deplete the circulating CD3 lymphocytes. This antibody reacts with the T3 recognition site of the T- lymphocytes and blocks the recognition of the Class I and II antigens. This leads to prevention of the activation of the effector lymphocytes. This antibody has been useful in the treatment of rejection of renal, pancreatic, hepatic, cardiac, and pulmonary whole organ transplantations.
  • Steroids- such as the glucocorticoids are widely used in transplantation in combination with other dmgs.
  • corticosteroids suppress immune function by inhibiting the activation of T cells.
  • Corticosteroids affect the inflammation within the airways by decreasing growth and development of mast cells, inducing apoptosis, suppressing lymphocyte generation of IL-5 and other cytokines, inhibiting some mediator release, inhibiting cytokine production, inhibiting the transcription of cytokines (for example IL-8, TNF- ⁇ , prototypic antiviral chemokine (regulated-on-activation normal T-expressed and secreted, RANTES), and GM-CSF), and inhibiting nitric oxide synthesis.
  • cytokines for example IL-8, TNF- ⁇ , prototypic antiviral chemokine (regulated-on-activation normal T-expressed and secreted, RANTES), and GM-CSF
  • Steroids are highly effective in the early induction and maintenance regimens and are first line therapy in acute allograft rejection.
  • Blood transfusions can be used to cause allosensitzation if the recipient is exposed to donor antigens in the presence of azathioprine. In this way, induction of a specific degree of hyporeactivity against graft antigens can result by a potential suppressor cell phenomena.
  • the efficacy of immunosuppression is a balance between prevention of graft rejection or graft versus host disease and subjecting a patient unnecessarily to blunted immune defenses to ward off infections. All too often, this balance is not achieved and on one end the patient succumbs to infections or on the other the graft is rejected. It has been estimated that 30% of the transplantation patients are in this category.
  • Azathioprine is associated with suppression of bone manow production, and blood disorders including anemia, thrombocytopenia, and leukopenia.
  • Hepatotoxicty ocuns in a dose-independent manner, and is ineversible.
  • Azathioprine is associated with chromosome damage and therefore is mutagenic.
  • Methotrexate and aminopterin are associated with bone manow suppression, mucosal breakdown, gastrointestinal bleeding, megaloblastic hematopoiesis.
  • Alkylating Agents are associated with stomatitis, nausea, vomiting, dianhea, skin rash, anemia, and alopecia.
  • cyclophosphamide has been associated with fluid retention, hemonhagic cystitis, and cardiac toxicity.
  • Cyclosporin is associated with gingival hype ⁇ lasia, hirsutism, tremor, hypertension, hyperkalemia, hepatotoxicity, hyperglycemia, hypomagnesiumemia, hypercholesterolemia, hypertriglyceridemia, and hyperuricemia, nausea and gastrointestinal inegularities, and renal dysfunction.
  • Nephro toxicity associated with cyclosporin manifests as tubular necrosis, interstitial fibrosis, and tubular atrophy.
  • FK506 is associated with neurotoxicity, nephrotoxicity, and disturbances of glucose metabolism.
  • the major neurotoxic symptoms are reversible and dose dependent and include headache, tremors, parasthesias, insomnia, increased sensitivity to light, mood changes, aphasia, and seizures.
  • ALGs are associated with anemia, thrombocytopenia, and allergic reactions including urticaria, anaphylactoid reactions, semm sickness, joint pain, fever, and malaise.
  • Radiation is associated with higher incidence of infections and chromosomal breakage and mutations.
  • Monoclonal antibody therapy has been associated with the production of human anti-mouse antibodies (HAMA) in 80%> of the treated patients and the sensitization rate is 15-40% thus limiting retreatment rates.
  • Side effects are fever, chills, nausea, vomiting, headache, dyspnea, wheezing, pulmonary edema, tachycardia, hypotension, aseptic menigitis, seizures, and coma.
  • These symptoms are related to the inordinate release of cytokines TNF, IL-1 , and interferon-gamma. Although these symptoms can be reduced by pretreatment with steroids, acetominophen, or diphenhydramine the HAMA response precludes repeated use.
  • Steroids- Glucocorticoid associated side effects include increased appetite, weight gain, fluid retention, acne, ecchymosis, development of cushoid facies, hypertension, hyperkalemia, diabetes, hyperglycemia, hyperosmolar state, hyperhpidemia, hepatic steatosis, atherosclerosis, myopathy, aseptic necrosis, osteoporosis, ulcers, pancreatitis, psuedotumor cerebri, pyschosis, glaucoma, cataract formation, vascular necrosis, increased suseptibihty to infection, impairment of the hypothalamus-pituitary axis, decreased thyroid hormone semm binding protiens, and impaired wound healing.
  • the infections experienced by transplant patients are 50%> bacterial, 30% > viral, 15% fungal.
  • Some of the common bacterial infections are Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, and gram-negative rods in line sepsis.
  • Urinary tract infections, pneumonias, wound infections, and surgical infections include cholecystitis, appendicitis, diverticular disease, ulcer, etc.).
  • Common viral infections include cytomegalovims, Epstein-Ban vims, He ⁇ es Simplex. Virus, and varicella zoster vims.
  • common fungal or protozoan infections include Candida albicans, Asperigillus flavus, Cryptococcus neoformans, Coccidiodes immitis, Histoplasma capsulatum, Norcardia asteroides, and Pneumocystis carinii.
  • Pain associated with inflammation can be caused by pathologic processes in somatic stmctures or viscera, or by prolonged dysfunction of parts the peripheral nervous system.
  • Pain associated with inflammation may be the result of recunent injuries, trauma, headache, arthritis, chronic obstmctive pulmonary disease, psoriasis, or other pathologies. Pain associated with inflammation may be acute or chronic depending on the level and extent of the inflammation.
  • non-opioid analgesics are stepwise prescribed in combination with moderate to potent opiates.
  • the guidelines call for a determination by the patient and the physician of pain relief. Broadly speaking, the guidelines are as follows: mild pain is treated with non-opioid analgesics, moderate or persisting pain is treated with a weak opioid plus non-opioid analgesics, and severe pain that persists or increases is treated with a potent opioid plus non-opioid analgesics.
  • Analgesics Typically, pain associated with inflammation can be controlled with NSAIDs including but not excluded to, salicylates, para-aminophenol derivatives, indole and indene derivatives, heteroaryl acetic acids, arylproprionic acids, anthranilic acids, enolic acids, or alkanones.
  • Antiinflammatory agents such as cyclooxygenase inhibitors, lipoxygenase inhibitors, and others can be used to block the inflammation physiological pathway which mediate pain and the progression of the disease.
  • these dmgs are limited in their efficacy in advanced or more severe stages of arthritis, these agents are add-on therapies.
  • NSAIDs derive their principle mechanism of action by the inhibition of prostaglandin and leukotriene synthesis. These compounds inhibit key enzymes in the biosynthetic pathway, i.e. cyclooxygenase. There are dmgs that selectively inhibit isoforms of cyclooxygenase 1 and 2 (COX-1 , COX-2) which enhances patient tolerance due to the prevalence of COX-2 induction occurs in inflammation mediated by cytokines and others. Further, pyrimidine synthesis inhibitors can be used as an antiinflammatory agent in arthritis, e.g. leflunomide.
  • therapies discussed above are limited to the slowing or retarding the progression of arthritis. As degeneration of the joints progresses, and ineversible damage occurs, the options become limited. Thus, therapies for arthritis are aimed at reduction of manifestation of symptoms by controlling the clinical manifestations of inflammation.
  • Analgesics associated side effects include dyspepsia, gastric or small bowel bleeding, ulceration, renal insufficiency, confusion, rash, headache, hepatic toxicity. NSAIDs also reversibly inhibit platelet aggregation and prolong bleeding time.
  • the persistence of pain most likely involves a cascade of pathological neurochemical events that lead to abnormal sensory hyperexcitability and excitotoxicity.
  • the genes listed in Figure 1 are part of a pathway are all involved in producing prostaglandins or leukotrienes, which are two potent mediators of inflammation. Inordinate levels of prostaglandins have been implicated in pain associated with inflammation, and several dmgs target this branch of the pathway, to inhibit the action of leukotrienes.
  • a pro-inflammatory stimulus such as tumor necrosis factor, membrane phosphlipids, or interleukin- 1 , as shown in the figure, membrane phospholipases are activated, and arachidonic acid is released from membrane phospholipids into the cell.
  • the liberated arachidonic acid is then metabolized either by the cyclooxgenase enzymes, which leads to the production of prostaglandins, or the lipoxgenase family of enzymes, which leads to the production of leukotrienes.
  • the cyclooxgenase enzymes which leads to the production of prostaglandins
  • the lipoxgenase family of enzymes which leads to the production of leukotrienes.
  • leukotrienes and prostaglandins can lead to a persistence of neural hyperexcitability involving a sequence of neuroplastic events.
  • a gene, genes, or gene pathway involved in the etiology of pain or associated disorders or potential sites for targeted dmg therapy of pain are depicted in Table 9 with the specific gene list in Table 4.
  • Cunent candidate therapeutic interventions in development for the treatment of pain associated with inflammation are listed in Table 44.
  • Papulosquamous skin disorders have diverse etiologies and include psoriasis, Reiter's syndrome, pityriasis rosea, lichen planus, oityriasis rubra pilaris, secondary syphilis, mycosis fungoides, and ichthyosiform emptions.
  • Psoriasis is a genetically determined, chronic epidermal proliferative disease with an unpredicatable course. Psoriasis appears as erythematous plaques with silvery, mica-like scales, and is usually nonpruritic. The plaques appear anywhere on the body and almost never involves the mucous membranes. There are variations of psoriasis including guttate psoriasis, inverse psoriasis, pustular psoriasis, erythroderma, and psonatic arthntis. There is an increased prevalence of psonasis m subjects with the HLA antigens BW17, B13, and BW37.
  • This multifactonal disease is charactenzed by an accelerated cell cycle in an increased number of dividing cells that results in rapid epidermal cell proliferation It is estimated that 4-5 million Americans have psonasis, 100,000 have severe cases, and 1 in 20 have psonat ⁇ c arthntis.
  • the goals of the therapeutic regimens is to limit the epidermal proliferation underlying the dermal inflammation.
  • topical and systemic treatments available, however in either category the treatment suppresses the condition for only as long as is administered.
  • the treatment of psonasis entails a stepwise increase of extent of the therapy ranging from topical applications to phototherapy to systemic interventions to prevent the epidermal proliferation.
  • topical treatments include corticosteroid ointments, vitamin D containing ointments, preparations containing coal tar or anthralin. salicylic acid containing ointments, and vanous other moistu ⁇ zers and bath solutions. These steps are aimed at reducing the itching, scaling, and progression of the lesions.
  • phototherapy other than natural sunlight can be used to thwart the epidermal cell proliferation.
  • ultarviolet light is administered to affected areas or uniformly to the body.
  • phototherapy light delivered to the skin activates po ⁇ hyrin molecules. These activated molecules transfer their energy to form cytotoxic singlet oxygen leading to lethal alteration of cellular membranes and subsequent tissue destmction.
  • UNB therapy UNB light is administered alone or with ointments containing coal tar, anthralin, or salicylic acid.
  • UVA light is administered with psoralen
  • systemic agents are administered to those cases refractory to the previously described first two steps
  • These compounds include retinoids, methotrexate, hydroxyurea, cyclosponn, azthiopnne, 5-fluorouracil, cyclophosphamide, vinblastine, dapsone, and sulfasalazme.
  • the mam limitation of the cunent therapies for psonasis is that the dmgs are only efficacious du ⁇ ng the administration. Further, pe ⁇ ods of remission and outbreaks are difficult to impossible to predict. It has been shown that patients must rotate their treatments to retain efficacy. This can lead to missed schedules and requires patient education. Lastly, for all the listed therapies there is unreliable efficacy in their ability to stop proliferation and inflammation of the lesions. Toxicities of the cunent therapies include the following: phototherapy can lead to other skin lesions and sunburn.
  • Cytotoxic agents used as immunosuppresive agents including methotrexate, 5-fluorouracil, cyclophospahmide, and vinblastine have associated side effects including hepatic compromise including hepatic fibrosis, ascites, esopageal varices, cinhosis, pneumonitis, myelosuppression, (cyclosporine: renal insuffienciency anemia, hypertension).
  • a gene, genes, or gene pathway involved in the etiology of psoriasis or associated disorders or potential sites for targeted dmg therapy of psoriasis are depicted in Table 9 with the specific gene list in Table 4.
  • Cunent candidate therapeutic interventions in development for the treatment of psoriasis are listed in Table 45.
  • Atherosclerosis is a complex combination of hyperhpidemia, injury to the endothelium, and inflammation. The interaction of these multiple processes in association with local genetic and hemodynamic influences may promote the formation of atheromatous plaques as a reparative response of the arterial wall.
  • Atherosclerotic plaques are composed of thrombogenic lipid— rich core protected by a fibrous cap comprising smooth muscle cells and inflammatory cells. The inflammatory cells are predominantly macrophages. As atherosclerotic plagues build blood flow is reduced creating ischemia in tissues down stream from the area of the plaque.
  • the stenosis created by the plaques may be a part of the resulting ischemic event.
  • less obstmctive but more vulnerable plaques occur which are characterized by a thinned fibrous cap, marked lipid accumulation, a large number of macrophages, and a smaller amount of smooth muscle cells.
  • thrombosis is stimulated.
  • Advanced atherosclerotic lesions are caused by a series of cellular and molecular events involving replication of smooth muscle cells and macrophages on the vessel wall.
  • T lymphocytes The interaction of these cells with the T lymphocytes can lead to a fib ⁇ roliferative response.
  • Large amounts of connective tissue produced by these smooth muscle cells consist of macrophages, T lymphocytes, smooth muscle cells, connective tissue, necrotic residues, and varying amounts of lipids and lipoproteins.
  • Endothelial cells maintain the vessel surface in a non-thrombogenic state, preventing platelet and leukocyte adhesion, and act in maintaining the vascular tonus by releasing nitric oxide, prostaglandin, and endothelin. These cells also produce growth factors, cytokines, and chemokines to maintain the integrity of the collagen- and proteoglycan-rich basement membrane. Changes in some of these functions may trigger cell interactions with monocytes, platelets, smooth muscle cells, and lymphocytes. Hyperhpidemia and hypercholesterolemia are sufficient to induce dysfunction of the endothelial modulation of the vasoactive reactions and arteriolar tonus.
  • the inflammatory mechanisms involved in the initial events or atherosclerosis are classic components of a specialized type of chronic inflammatory response that precedes the migration and proliferation of smooth muscle cells of the vessel wall.
  • the foramtion and accumulation of foam cells in the intima leads to the first stage of the atherosclerotic lesion. In this stage, the accumulation of fatty straie consisting of a mixture of macrophages, lipids, and T lymphocytes representing a a purely inflammatory response.
  • the stimulating agent i.e. hyperhpidemia, hypercholesterolemia, or other risk factor
  • the protective inflammmatory response will also persist and themay become deleterious to the cells lining the arterial wall. This condition may lead to an intermediate lesion that may contain multiple smooth muscle cell layers, macrophages, and T lymphocytes.
  • a fibrous capsule is formed covering the contents of the lesion.
  • a gene, genes, or gene pathway involved in the etiology of athersclerosis or associated disorders or potential sites for targeted dmg therapy of athersclerosis are depicted in Table 9 with the specific gene list in Table 4.
  • Cunent candidate therapeutic interventions in development for the treatment of athersclerosis are listed in Table 46.
  • Endocrine and Metabolic Disease Included in the description below are endocrinologic and/or metabolic diseases, disorders, or syndromes. They include diabetes, diabetes insipidus, obesity, contraception (not a disease but a common reason for taking steroid dmgs), infertility, hormonal insufficiency related to aging, osteoporosis, acne, alopecia, adrenal dysfunction, thyroid dysfunction, and parathyroid dysfunction. Application of the methods of this invention to these diseases is described.
  • Carbohydrate metabolism in mammals is controlled by a unique inte ⁇ lay of hormones, neurotransmitters, and other physiological influences to ensure a constant supply of metabolic fuel is available to the tissues.
  • the two main hormones that regulate carbohydrate balance are insulin and glucagon. Both hormones are produced in the pancreas; ⁇ -cells produce insulin, ⁇ -cells produce glucagon. Insulin in the fuel excess state stimulates storage of the available metabolic precursors into glycogen and lipids; glucagon in the fuel deficient state stimulates the movement of the fuel stores to available metabolic precursors.
  • insulin or glucagon is abnormal there are pathologic changes.
  • Type II Diabetes Diabetes Mellitus
  • DM Diabetes Mellitus
  • sensitivity insulin resistance
  • DM is associate with hyperglycemia and consequent polyuria and polydipsia.
  • IDDM insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus
  • NTDDM non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus
  • the ⁇ -islets cells are lost, stop producing or secreting insulin in patients with IDDM, but remain functional in patients with early stage NIDDM.
  • glucagon opposes the effect of insulin on the liver by stimulating glycogenolysis and gluconeogenesis, but glucagon has little if no effect on the peripheral utilization of glucose.
  • the diabetic patient with insulin deficiency or insulin resistance and hyperglucagonemia there is an increase in hepatic glucose production, a decrease of peripheral glucose uptake, and a decrease in the conversion of glucose to glycogen in the liver.
  • the physiologic changes stimulated by insulin is to increase the available storage of glucose into glycogen stores.
  • insulin stimulates the uptake and storage of glucose as glycogen, and inhibits hepatic gluconeogenesis and glycogenolysis.
  • insulin stimulates glucose uptake and storage as glycogen and amino acids in protein and inhibits release of gluconeogenic precursors (e.g., alanine, lactate and pyruvate) to the hepatic circulation.
  • gluconeogenic precursors e.g., alanine, lactate and pyruvate
  • insulin stimulates the glucose uptake and metabolism to glycerol (the backbone of triglycerides for storage in fat droplets) and inhibits the flow of gluconeogenic precursors to the hepatic circulation, e.g. glycerol and nonesterified fatty acids.
  • Insulin inhibits the breakdown of triglycerides, glycogen, protein and the conversion of amino acids to glucose (gluconeogenesis).
  • glycogen stores are depleted and replaced with stores of ketone bodies (see below).
  • insulin stimulates the production of amino acids and their inco ⁇ oration into protein.
  • the amino acids stored in the muscle or other tissues, protein manufacture is reduced, and all available amino acids are metabolized to pyruvate, oxaloacetate, and ⁇ -ketoglutarate.
  • the pyruvate can be converted to acetyl-CoA which can be further metabolized to acetoacetate, free fatty acid-CoA, or enter the cholesterol synthetic pathway via HMG CoA. In this case, there is production of ketones, fatty acids, and cholesterol.
  • insulin stimulates lipoprotein lipase.
  • Lipoprotein lipase is synthesized primarily in fat and muscle, and when secreted into the extracellular space, the enzyme is associated with the surface of endothelial cells. Lipoprotein lipase hydrolyzes free fatty acids from triglyceride-rich lipoproteins (i.e. chylomicrons, very low density lipoproteins). Free fatty acids liberated from the lipoproteins are then taken up by adipose tissue, esterified into triglycerides for storage in fat droplets or adipocytes.
  • triglyceride-rich lipoproteins i.e. chylomicrons, very low density lipoproteins. Free fatty acids liberated from the lipoproteins are then taken up by adipose tissue, esterified into triglycerides for storage in fat droplets or adipocytes.
  • Insulin stimulates the synthesis and secretion of lipoprotein lipase, inhibits lipolysis of triglycerides stored in adipose tissue, and promotes glucose uptake into the fat stores to provide a glycerol substrate within the adipocytes for esterification of the fatty acids.
  • DKA Diabetic ketoacidosis
  • Glucagon further stimulates the hepatic ketogenic state; glucagon lowers malonyl coenzyme A levels (the first enzymatic step in the production of fatty acids) which in -urn stimulates the activity of camitine acyltransferase I, an enzyme the translocates fatty acids from cytosolic to intramitochondrial spaces. The fatty acids once in the mitochondria are converted in the absence of glucose to ketones.
  • NIDDM peripheral tissue insulin resistance
  • the characteristic post-insulin receptor defect has been difficult to target therapeutically, however, there are working hypotheses to be exploited during dmg development.
  • One theory to explain the how insulin resistance comes about is the single gateway theory. In the liver, it is thought that insulin is acting not directly on the hepatocytes, but through an indirect means. In this theory, insulin resistant fat cells over produce free fatty acids. It is the free fatty acids that circulate to the liver, muscle, and others tissues to mediate insulin resistance by a yet unknown mechanism of action.
  • TNF ⁇ insulin resistance
  • PPR- ⁇ peroxisome prohferator receptor- ⁇
  • CEBP ⁇ CAAT-enhancer binding protein ⁇
  • TNF ⁇ stimulates apoptotic signals by activating capases
  • the skeletal muscle TNF ⁇ inhibits insulin stimulated glucose uptake, and directly affects the insulin signaling pathway; it stimulates phosphorylation of the IRS-1 ; and inhibits PPR- ⁇ and CEBP ⁇ .
  • An example of the importance of TNF ⁇ on the mediation of insulin resistance are recent studies in adipocyte macrophages whereby it has been shown that TNF ⁇ has a direct effect on macrophages metabolism (a shift from glucose utilization to free fatty acid production) and a direct effect on PPR- ⁇ and CEBP ⁇ .
  • Type II DM is associated with metabolic syndrome X, also refened to as insulin resistance syndrome, or metabolic syndrome.
  • This syndrome is characterized by hypertriglycendemia, low serum high density lipoprotein (HDL) and cholesterol, hypertension, central obesity, defective fibrinolysis, and artherosclerosis.
  • Syndrome X "the deadly quartet" of obesity, NIDDM, hypertension, and dyslipidemia are common metabolic disorders that have been shown to predispose the patient to early cardiovascular disease, including but not limited to coronary artery disease, heart failure, or congestive heart failure. In these cases, the pancreatic ⁇ -cells produce insulin, but the peripheral tissues are physiologically unresponsive to insulin.
  • Metabolic Syndrome X- It is well known that individuals who are diagnosed with metabolic syndrome X progress to a diagnosis of IDDM.
  • One explanation of the transition of insulin independent to insulin dependent DM is that the overactive, uncontrolled pancreatic ⁇ -cells in NEDDM may generate oxygen free radicals that are deletenous to the ⁇ -cells and they undergo apoptosis.
  • Another theory that may explain the loss of ⁇ -cells is that free fatty acids produced in adipose, hepatic, and other tissues may compromise the activity of the functioning pancreatic ⁇ -cells and ultimately leads to ⁇ -cell apoptosis and death.
  • NIDDM neurotrophic factor-induced diabetes mellitus .
  • Therapeutic alternatives to treat NIDDM are as follows: 1) diet modifications that are aimed at lowering the daily intake of glucose (carbohydrates) and lipids; 2) low doses of exogenous insulin can be used to inhibit the patient's production and secretion of insulin from the pancreatic b- cells; 3) oral hypoglycemic agents, e.g.
  • Novel therapeutic alternatives are required to be developed to meet the need of the population of NIDDM as well as those individuals in which progression to syndrome X has occuned.
  • Table 56 lists the current candidate therapeutic interventions in development for the treatment of one or more of the deadly quartet that is part of metabolic syndrome X.
  • breast adenocarcinomas express at significant levels peroxisome prohferator activated receptor gamma (PPAR ⁇ ), that when activated by a specific ligand, will induce terminal differentiation of malignant breast epithelial cells.
  • PPAR ⁇ peroxisome prohferator activated receptor gamma
  • specific activators of PPAR ⁇ have been developed for the treatment of NIDDM, the antiproliferative and terminal differentiation effect may be exploited for the development of anti-neoplastic agents.
  • agents affecting the PPAR ⁇ pathway may be desirable candidate therapeutic interventions for cancer and DM. Cunent candidate therapeutic interventions for the treatment of cancer are listed in Table 24.
  • IDDM and NIDDM include retinopathy (proliferative and nonproliferative), nephropathy, neuropathy (including symmetric distal polyneuropathy, asymetric neuropathy, cranial mononeuropathy and mononeuropathy multiplex), peripheral mononeuropathy and, neuromuscular syndromes and autonomic neuropathy, cardiovascular disease, and skin ulcers due to vascular disease.
  • retinopathy proliferative and nonproliferative
  • nephropathy including symmetric distal polyneuropathy, asymetric neuropathy, cranial mononeuropathy and mononeuropathy multiplex
  • peripheral mononeuropathy and, neuromuscular syndromes and autonomic neuropathy
  • cardiovascular disease and skin ulcers due to vascular disease.
  • retinopathy proliferative and nonproliferative
  • neuropathy including symmetric distal polyneuropathy, asymetric neuropathy, cranial mononeuropathy and mononeuropathy multiplex
  • peripheral mononeuropathy and, neuromuscular syndromes and autonomic neuropathy, cardiovascular
  • ADH antidiuretic hormone
  • AVP vasopressin
  • DI diabetes insipidus
  • the etiology of the disorder includes disease processes of the supraoptic nuclei, paraventricular nuclei, the hypothalamohypophysial tract, or the pituitary gland. Although 30% > of the cases are attributed to neoplastic lesions of the hypothalamus, 30% are post-traumatic, and 30%) are idiopathic, with the remaining 10% beign attributed to vascular lesions, infections, systemic diseases such as sarcoidosis that affect the hypothalamic function, and mutations in the ADH gene preprohormone processing pathway. Treatment of DI depends on the level and extent of the vasopressinergic deficiency. In cases, restoration of fluid balance and control of dehydration is paramount.
  • vasopressinergic agonists candidate therapeutic interventions that enhance vasopressin secretion (e.g. clofibrate), or agents that increase the renal response to vasopressin (e.g. chlo ⁇ ropamide).
  • nephrogenic DI In cases of nephrogenic DI, there is an inability of the renal cells to respond to vasopressin. In one form of this condition, there is congenital defects of the vasopressinergic receptor V2, preventing the ADH stimulation of adenylate cylcase and is an X-linked autosomal dominant genentic condition. In another form of nephrogenic DI, there are mutations in the autsomal gene for aquaporin-2 which produce a nonfunctional versions of this water channel. Although DI is more common, hypersecretion or over-activity of the ADH pathway leads to a syndrome termed inappropriate hypersecretion of ADH (SIADH). In this syndrome there is profound hyponatremia.
  • SIADH inappropriate hypersecretion of ADH
  • This syndrome can occur in patients with cerebral disease (cerebral salt wasting) or pulmonary disease (pulmonary salt wasting), in some cases whereby a tumor is hypersecreting vasopressin, or in the absence of complicating disease. In these cases, patients with inappropriate hypersecretion or vasopressin can be successfully treated with agents or candidate therapeutic interventions that interrupt the vasopressinergic signal, for example, meclocycline, an antibiotic that reduces the renal response to vasopressin.
  • agents or candidate therapeutic interventions that interrupt the vasopressinergic signal, for example, meclocycline, an antibiotic that reduces the renal response to vasopressin.
  • obesity refers to a condition by which more than 20% or 25% of body weight is due to fat in men and women, respectively.
  • Another, more reliable, index of fat distribution is the body mass index
  • BMI body weight divided by the square of the height (normal range being 20-25 kg/m " ).
  • Obesity is a serious illness that can lead to many complications including hypertension, diabetes, cancer, degenerative arthritis, elevated cholesterol, gallstones or inhibited bile secretion, heart attacks and other cardiovascular disease, strokes, sleep disorders, and psychiatric illnesses including anxiety and depression.
  • Tables 5 and 10 lists the possible genes and gene pathways involved in the manifestation of obesity. Specifically, there are two gene pathways that may be associated with a genetic predisposition to obesity, they are leptin and its receptor, and peroxisome-proliferator-activated receptor ⁇ 2 (PPAR ⁇ 2).
  • PPAR ⁇ 2 peroxisome-proliferator-activated receptor ⁇ 2
  • the lipostatic hypothesis of obesity achieved prominence for a potential mechanism of inordinate eating. It was determined in mice lacking a specific gene, the ob gene, did not become sated after eating and ultimately became obese and diabetic.
  • the product of this gene is a 167 amino acid protein called leptin.
  • Leptin acts as a hormone to reduce food intake and increase energy consumption.
  • the leptin recetor is encoded by the db gene.
  • mice lacking the db gene are also obese, but have high levels of circulating leptin.
  • the leptin receptor is found in two forms, the short and long form which are the result of alternative splicing.
  • the long form is found in the hypothalamus.
  • leptin and leptin receptor dysfunction creating obesity is thought to occur by (i) interfering with the transport of leptin into the ENDOCRINE AND METABOLIC, (ii) impairing leptin receptor signal transduction, (iii) impairing downstream mediators of leptin action, or (iv) causing obesity by a leptin- independent mechanism - for example a mechanism that originates downstream of leptin or that bypasses leptin.
  • a leptin- independent mechanism for example a mechanism that originates downstream of leptin or that bypasses leptin.
  • leptin receptor OB-R
  • melanocortin 4-receptor MC4-R
  • pro-opiomelanocortin OB-R
  • POMC prohormone convertase 1
  • PCI prohormone convertase 1
  • Leptin signaling could be affected by polymo ⁇ hisms that affect protein levels or function. Futhermore, there may be polymo ⁇ hisms in the promoters of all four genes as well as the genomic locus of the leptin receptor and three genes implicated in the signal transduction pathway immediately downstream of the leptin receptor. Other genes involved in the leptin signal include Neuropeptide Y. Each gene in this set has the potential to modulate the biological function of leptin. Neuropeptide Y, which stimulates food intake through the Yl and Y5 receptors (and possibly others), is inhibited by leptin. Agouti-related protein inhibits MC4-R signaling and is also down-regulated by leptin.
  • NPY neuropeptide Y
  • PPAR- ⁇ 2 is a transcription factor (described above and in Example 1 ) and has been demonstrated to be a key regulator of adipocyte differentiation and energy stroage.
  • PPAR- ⁇ 2 is involved in the direction of differentiation of preadipocytes to adipocytes.
  • over expression of PPAR- ⁇ 2 leads the fibroblast cells to differentiate to adipocytes.
  • phosphorylation of PPAR- ⁇ 2 at a serine residue at position 1 14 reduces differentiation process mediated by PPAR- ⁇ 2. This serine is contained within a mitogen acitvated protein kinase or related kinase, indicating an intracellular mechanism for the regulated control of adipocyte differentiation.
  • genes that be involved in the genetic differences in obese versus normal weight subjects include signaling genes based on two observations. First, although no human or rodent models are available to assess the affect of mutation on body mass, it has been shown that JAK2 and STAT3 knockouts are embryonic lethals. This would seem to indicate functions beyond regulation of body mass. Second, there is considerable redundancy in most signal transduction pathways, and there may be compensatory mechanisms to overcome any effects of polymo ⁇ hism in JAK2 or STAT.
  • the targets include galanin, ⁇ 3-adrenergic receptor, neuropeptide Y, corticotropin releasing factor, and the cholecystokinin receptors.
  • the most widely used oral contraceptives are estrogens and progestins alone or in combination. These agents are taken by women each day to prevent ovulation.
  • the combination therapies are either mono-, bi-, or triphasic which are named as such to indicate the level of estrogen in each of the tablets, i.e. monophasic has the same amount, biphasic has two different doses, and triphasic has three.
  • Progestins are delivered in the same tablet, and the ratio of estrogen to progestin allows for a reduction in the overall amount of steroids delivered to the subject as well as more closely approximates the natural steroid ratio during a mentraal period.
  • the phase delivery of steroids to women wishing to block ovulation has limited the untoward side-effects progestins have on the cardiovascular system.
  • cardiovascular effects include estrogen increasing semm HDL while lowering semm LDL and progestins decreasing HDL and increasing LDL. This inordinate and unregulated change in the lipo ⁇ otien balance in women can lead to hypertension.
  • Estrogen is a growth promoting hormone, and the estrogen found in almost all of the oral contraceptives has been studied for effects on or risk of ovarian, cervical, endometiral, and breast cancer as well as hepatocellular adenoma in women. However, studies have not conclusively demonstrated an association of higher rates of these types of cancers in women that have used oral contraception.
  • the metabolic and endocrine effects of oral contraceptives are increased fasting glucose levels, peripheral insulin resistance, higher incidence of gall bladder disease, and estrogen mediated increases of hepatic synthesis of semm proteins.
  • oral contraceptives there are other side effects and disease risk that are associated with oral contraceptives that include increased risk of thromboembolism, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, headaches, decreassed libido, visual disturbances, depression, and post- pill ammenorhea.
  • beneficial effects of oral contraceptives that include reduction of pelvic inflammatory disease, lower incidence of iron deficient anemia, symprtomatic relief of endometriosis, improvement of acne and dysmenonhea, as well as decreasd risk to develop ectopic pregnancies, uterine fibroids, and ovarian cysts.
  • Oral steroid contraceptives also interact with several other dmgs and such interactions can lead to loss of efficacy and include altered dmg abso ⁇ tion or metabolism. Any agent or compound that induces hepatic microsomal enzymes or reduces the abso ⁇ tion can alter the effectiveness of the oral contraceptives and these include certain antibiotics, anticonvulsants, or antacids. Furthermore, agents that oppose the therapuetic effects of the oral contraceptives include anticoagulants, antidiabetics, and certain antihypertensives (guanethidine, and ⁇ -methyldopa).
  • genes that one may conelate to candidate therapeutic responses or safety include: blockade of implantation, blockade of sperm penetration into the egg, or blockade of sperm production.
  • Infertility is the involuntary inability to concieve a child. Infertility is the result of one or more of the following functions for the male or female including 1 ) adequate production of normal motile sperm, 2) ejaculation of sperm through a patent ductal system, 3) the sperm must be able to traverse an unobstructed female reproductive tract, 4) the female must ovulate and release the ovum, 5) the sperm must be able to enter the ovum, 6) the fertilized ovum must be capable of developing and implanting in the appropriately prepared endometrium. Nearly 40% of the infertility cases, the male has a dysfunction or inadequate function.
  • Couples experiencing infertility have alternatives to alter their reproductive capacity. Although many of the methods are mechanical and require a procedure, such as in vitro fertilization and sperm collection and concentraion, there are agents that help a female to ovulate, such as antiestrogens and gonadotropins.
  • osteoporosis The condition in which there is bone matrix and mineral loss is termed osteoporosis.
  • the loss of both of these components in bone results in the reduction of strength, and increased incidence of fractures and is characterized by a net excess loss of bone reso ⁇ tion over bone formation.
  • involutional osteoporosis which is associated with advancing age and menopause.
  • Osteoporosis can also occur as a result of long periods of immobilization, space flight, parathyroid hormone and vitamin D deficiency, as well as in patients with excess glucocorticoids (Cushing's syndrome, or adminstration of glucocortiocids for the therapy of autoimmune disease, transplantation, inflammatory diseases, arthiritis, asthma, Crohn's disease, atherosclerosis, or infections with potent inflammatory responses such as hepatitis).
  • Estrogens inhibit the secretion of IL-1, IL-6, and TNF ⁇ . These cytokines enhance the production of osteoclasts, and in addition, estrogen inhibits the production of TGF- ⁇ which is thought to mediate the apoptotic signal within osteoclasts.
  • estrogen can reverse bone loss in patients with osteoporosis, the doses of estrogen required are associated with higher risk of myocardial infarctions, stroke, breast and endometrial cancers. However, as described above (under Contraception), estrogen in lower doses and given with progestins can be of therapeutic benefit for osteoporosis and have a reduced toxicity profile.
  • Table 53 lists the cunent candidate therapeutic interventions that are in development for osteoporosis.
  • Aggravating factors such as oil-based cosmetics, and certain dmgs (androgenic hormones, antiepileptics, progestins (as in oral contraceptives), systemic corticosteroids, and iodide and bromide containing agents.
  • dmgs androgenic hormones, antiepileptics, progestins (as in oral contraceptives), systemic corticosteroids, and iodide and bromide containing agents.
  • dmgs androgenic hormones, antiepileptics, progestins (as in oral contraceptives), systemic corticosteroids, and iodide and bromide containing agents.
  • dmgs androgenic hormones, antiepileptics, progestins (as in oral contraceptives), systemic corticosteroids, and iodide and bromide containing agents.
  • endocrine conditions whereby there is a hypersecretion
  • Treatment of acne is aimed at one or more of these three causes: topical agents that remove the comedomes such as benzoyl peroxide, topical vitamin A preparations enhancing flow of sebum to the surface, and oral 13-c/s-retinoic acid can decrease sebaceous gland secretion and gland size.
  • topical agents that remove the comedomes such as benzoyl peroxide
  • topical vitamin A preparations enhancing flow of sebum to the surface and oral 13-c/s-retinoic acid can decrease sebaceous gland secretion and gland size.
  • Oral vitamin A preparations are known teratogens and should be avoided in patients who are or plan to become pregnant.
  • Table 54 lists some cunent candidate therapeutic interventions in development for the treatment of acne and related skin disorders. I. Alopecia
  • scalp hair grows between 10- 15mm each month. Under normal conditions, 80-85%> of hair follicles are in the growing anagen stage, and 15-20%) are in the dormant or telogen stage. There are multiple factors that affect the transition of the active to dormant stages and vice versa as well as factors that can affect the rate of growth and condition of hair, including physical, chemical, and emotional events. If severe conditions exists, hair growth can completely stop leading to local or wide spread hair loss. There are two types of hair loss, nonscarring (reversible) and scarring (ineversible).
  • Nonscarring or localized hair loss includes alopecia areata, tinea capitis, trichotillomania, androgenic alopecia, or traction alopecia.
  • Localized hair loss is characterized by well-circumscribed, round, or oval patches of nonscarring hair loss which ususally occurs on the scalp, eyelashes, or eyebrows. Patterns and location of hair loss can define whether there is a poor prognosis for return of hair growth.
  • Alopecia areata may be autoimmune disease and is associated with cases of Hashimoto's thyroiditis. and pernicious anemia; alopecia areata is treated with glucocorticoid topical preparations.
  • Tinea capitis is a an infection predominantly with Trichophyton tonsurans and is treated with griseofulvin.
  • Trichotillomania is a disorder referring to traumatic, self-induced alopecia and usually results from persistent twisting, rubbing and pulling resulting in localized hair loss and is treated with emotional or psychiatric therapy.
  • Androgenic alopecia is the familiar male pattern baldness that occurs slowly as a thinning of the hair shafts and eventual loss.
  • Androgenic alopecia is genetically predetermined and is dependent on androgens. Traction alopecia occurs in subjects that over use or abuse hair styling, curling, or other traumatic devices or procedures that damage hair to the extent of hair loss. Hair loss can be further associated with secondary syphillis. Diffuse or generalized hair loss can occur as a result of a dismption of the normal hair growth cycle. In these cases, full loss of scalp hair may be caused by severe psychological or emotional stress, systemic illness, major surgery with general anesthesia, amphetamines, ⁇ -blockers, lithium, probenecid, pregnancy, or discontinuation of oral contraceptives. Dismption of the anagen phase via one or more of these hair growth toxicities may weaken the hair shaft and hair breaks easily.
  • cytotoxic cancer chemotherapeutic agents and radiotherapy to the scalp affect the anagen hair growth phase.
  • Retinoids and hypervitaminosis interferes with the keratinization of the the hair shaft. Diffuse hair loss may occur in cases of hyperthyroidism and nutritional difficiency.
  • scarring alopecia may be the result of systemic lupu erythmatosus, discoid lupus erythmatosus, mo ⁇ hea, and aplasis cutis.
  • removal or cessation of trauma agents or procedures that are damaging to the hair follicles or shafts is the first line of therapy.
  • glucocorticoids topical agents can be used to reduce inflammatory or autoimmune components of the localized or diffuse hair loss.
  • Topical Minoxidil for the treatment of male pattern baldness, has shown to effective in only 30% of the cases.
  • CAG repeats in this region of their androgen receptor for men and women, respectively.
  • men with AGA had 19 + 3 and women with AGA had 17 + 3 CAG repeats.
  • Table 55 lists the cunent agents, dmgs, or candidate therapeutic interventions that are in development of the therapy of alopecia.
  • cortisol glucocorticoids
  • mineralocorticoids aldosterone
  • Cortisol is responsible for the regulation of carbohydrate metabolism, intermediate metabolism, hemodynamic functions, and developmental processes. Excess cortisol is termed Cushing's disease and cortisol deficiency is termed Addison's disease.
  • Aldosterone is a hormone primarily involved in the regulation sodium, potassium, and hydrogen ion balance and secondarily in the regulation of blood pressure. Hyperaldosteronism or hypoaldosteromsm are the terms for excess or deficiency of aldosterone.
  • cortisol and aldosterone there are many other steroids produced in the adrenal cortex; in females the adrenal cortex is the major source of androgens.
  • the biosynthetic steps for the production of steroids compounds in the adrenal cortex proceeds via a series of enzymatic steps, the first molecule to enter the cycle is cholesterol, intermediates steroids (including DHEA sulfate, 17a-OH- progesterone, 1 1-deoxycortisone, testosterone, androstenediones, deoxycortisols, corticosterones), and final products estradiol-17 ⁇ (E 2 ), estrone (Ei), cortisol, and aldosterone. Under normal condtions, cortisol is the major end-product with aldosterone next, and very little estradiol or estrone.
  • Adrenal cortical steroids are secreted in repsonse to adrenocorticotropic hormone that is secreted from the pituitary in response to stimulation by corticotropm releasing hormone secreted by the hypothalamus.
  • cortisol inhibits the secretion of ACTH and CRH at the pituitary and the hypothalamus, as well as somatostatin acting in the same manner as cortisol to attnetuate secretion of the hypothalamus and pituitary hormones.
  • cortisol is approximately 90-93% bound by plasma proteins; albumin and the major protein being corticosteroid binding protein (CBG, transcortin).
  • CBG corticosteroid binding protein
  • CBG has a high affinity for cortisol and is not required for transport, nor cortisol function.
  • CBG is produced in the liver and the concentrations found in plasma is genetically determined and is regulated by hormone levels.
  • CBG levels are increased during certain physiological conditions including pregnancy, hyperthyroidism, diabetes, in excess estrogen, and during the administration of oral contraceptives.
  • CBG levels can be low or deficient during periods of malnutrition, in liver disease, multiple myeloma, obesity, hypothyroidism, and part of the nephrotic syndrome. In cases whereby there is an increase or decrease in the levels of CBG, bound cortisol levels increase or decrease, respectively, however there is a constant level of free cortisol.
  • Mineralocorticoids once secreted, are approximately 60% bound to plasma albumin.
  • any defect or dysfunction in the enzymes involved or in the metabolic rates can result in elevated levels of cortisol or active metabolites.
  • metabolic enzymatic reactions occur to ensure that products are sufficiently different to not elicit a biological effect in the metabolizing organ.
  • the 1 l ⁇ -hydroxyl group of cortisol can be metabolized in the liver to the ketone form which is devoid of cortisol receptor binding activity.
  • cortisol in the kidney can be metabolized to cortisone which prevents cortisol from binding to the mineralocorticoid receptor in the kidney.
  • Cortisol and aldosterone are cleared from the plasma with a half-lifes of 80-120 minutes and 15 minutes, respectively.
  • the changes of metabolic rates can occur via 1) inhibitory influences of plasma binding on clearance rates, 2) enhanced metabolic enzymatic activity.
  • the metabolism of these steroid hormones can be altered by: 1) decreased metabolism, or 2) increased metabolism.
  • Glycyrrhetinic acid, present in licorice, and carbenoxolone block the 1 l ⁇ -hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase activity and thereby prevent the conversion of cortisol to cortisone.
  • alterations as described above can lead to enhanced or decreased adrenal cortical steroid hormone activity and physiologic response.
  • Cushing's syndrome may be caused by adenocortical tumors hypersecreting cortisol, conditions that increase ACTH secretion, and by prolonged administration of corticosteroids. This syndrome is characetized by a moon face, increaased fat pads, red cheeks, pedulous abdomen, abdominal striae, poor muscle development, poor wound healing, and bruisibility with ecchymoses. Therapy of Cushing's syndrome is dependent on the etiology of the disease. Adrenocortical and pituitary tumors can be surgically removed, however in each case dismption of normal glandular function must be avoided.
  • Bilateral removal of adrenal glands can lead to Nelson's syndrome which is thought oto arise due to the loss of cortisol negative feedback on the pituitary gland.
  • dmgs may be used to limit the secretion of ACTH or cortisol thery include: rese ⁇ ine, bromocriptine, cyproheptadine, and valproate sodium can be used to reduce the secretion of ACTH, however only a minority of patients respond.
  • Ketoconazole inhibits cortisol secretion.
  • Cortisol and the many synthetic congeners are the mainstay dmg or therapy for many inflammatory diseases, conditions, or disorders and in the transplantation setting.
  • Corticosteroids affect the immune response by decreasing growth and development of mast cells, inducing apoptosis, suppressing lymphocyte generation of IL-5 and other cytokines, inhibiting some mediator release, inhibiting cytokine production, inhibiting the transcription of cytokines (for example IL-8, TNF- ⁇ , prototypic antiviral chemokine (regulated-on-activation normal T-expressed and secreted, RANTES), and GM-CSF), and inhibiting nitric oxide synthesis.
  • cytokines for example IL-8, TNF- ⁇ , prototypic antiviral chemokine (regulated-on-activation normal T-expressed and secreted, RANTES), and GM-CSF
  • corticosteroids suppress immune function by inhibiting the activation of T cells.
  • Steroids are highly effective in the early in
  • Glucocorticoid associated side effects include increased appetite, weight gain, fluid retention, acne, ecchymosis, development of cushoid facies, hypertension, hyperkalemia, diabetes, hyperglycemia, hyperosmolar state, hyperhpidemia, hepatic steatosis, atherosclerosis, myopathy, aseptic necrosis, osteoporosis, ulcers, pancreatitis, psuedotumor cerebri, pyschosis, glaucoma, cataract formation, vascular necrosis, increased suseptibihty to infection, impairment of the hypothalamus- pituitary axis, decreased thyroid hormone semm binding protiens, and impaired wound healing.
  • Mineralocorticoid hypersecretion occurs due to adrenocortical adenoma, bilateral adrenocortical hype ⁇ lasia, and adrenal carcinoma.
  • the symptoms include hypertension, suppression of plasma renin, hypokalemia and associated disorders or syndromes related to each of these dysfunctions.
  • Therapy for these conditions usually entails uni- or bilateral surgical removal of the adrenal adenoma or hype ⁇ lasia. In these cases, cortisol maintainence therapy is initiated as descrbed above.
  • Mineralocorticoid hyposecretion is treated with supplemental mineralocortiocid therapy.
  • Thyroid dysfunction The thyroid gland secretes thyroxine (3, 5, 3', 5'-tetraiodothyronine, T 4 ) and
  • T 3 5, 3'-triiodothyronme
  • the prinicpal role for these two hormones is to regulate tissue metabolism and, in infants and young children, to regulate growth, development, and maturation of the nervous system and bone and joints.
  • the enzymatic pathway for the generation of T and T 3 as well as the conversion of T 4 to T 3 (within the liver and the kidneys) are known and genes involved in these pathways are listed in Table 5.
  • thyroid hormone secretion is part of the hypothalamus- pituitary axis; by which thyroid releasing hormone (TRH, secreted from the hypothalamus) acts on the pituitary gland to secrete thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) that acts on the thyroid gland to stimulate the secretion of T 4 and T 3 .
  • TRH thyroid releasing hormone
  • TSH thyroid-stimulating hormone
  • Somatostatin, and other neuropeptides or neurotransmitters regulate the thyroid gland secretion activity by inhibiting secretion of TSH at the level of the pituitary gland.
  • T3 can directly suppress the the level of pro TRH mRNA in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus.
  • Circulating thyroid hormones are bound to throxine-binding globulin, transthyretin, or albumin, which are involved in the transport of the thyroid hormones to their target tissues.
  • concentrations of these binding proteins change under various physiologic conditions and can affect the efficacy and tissue distribution of the thyroid hormones.
  • These condidtions include 1) increased semm thyroid hormone binding proteins: pregnancy, exposure to supraphysiologic levels of estrogen, hepatic cinhosis or acute hepatitis, acute intermittent po ⁇ hyria, exposure to heroin or methadone, and clofibrate; 2) decreased semm thyroid hormone binding proteins: protein malnutrition, hepatic failure, chronic illness, nephrotic syndromes, exposure to L-asparaginase, congential abnormality (X-linked) of the binding protein genes, exposure to androgenic steroids of pharmacologic doses of glucocorticoids.
  • T3 and T4 The mechanism of action of T3 and T4 on the target tissues is thought to occur via thryroid hormone intracellular receptors that binds the hormone ligand and via a process of entry into the nuclear compartment, the hormone-receptor complex activates DNA transcription genes having a thyroid receptor response element in the promoter region.
  • Dysfunction of thyroid hormone pathway is clinically expressed as either hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism. In either case, there are multiple levels of possible or potential dusmptions of the thyroid hormone signalling pathway.
  • Hyperthyroidism or Graves' disease is also termed thyroidtoxicosis and may be associated with catecholamine excess, toxic multinodular goiter, toxic adenoma, iodide-induced hyperthyroidism, subacute thyroiditis, factititious (exogenous) thyrotoxicosis, neonatal thyrotoxicosis (mother with Graves' disease), TSH- secreting pituitary tumors, nontumorigenic pituitary-induced hyperthyroidism, choriocarcinoma or hydatiform mole, stmma ovarii, and hyperfunctioning thyroid carcinoma.
  • symptoms include marked opthalmopathy (preorbital swelling, exophthalmos, limitation of extraocular movements, protmding eyes and easy tearing), pretibial mxyedema, tachycardia, elevated systolic blood pressure, and increased inotropic activity in the myocardium.
  • thiourea derivatives for example, propylthiouracil, methimazole, carbimazole.
  • thiourea derivatives for example, propylthiouracil, methimazole, carbimazole.
  • These agents inhibit the organification of iodine within the thyroid gland and suppress the production of the thyroid hormones.
  • Side effects of these thiourea compounds include maculopapular rash, hepatocellular damage, agranulocytosis, and vasculitis.
  • Other compounds used for the acute therapy of hyperthyroidism include lithium, iopanoic acid, and iopadate.
  • hypothyroidism there is impaired secretion of the thyroid hormones.
  • Hypothyroidism may be associated with acquired disease (Hashimoto's thyroiditis, idiopathic myxedema, 131 I radiotherapy, external radiation therapy to the neck area, subacute thyroiditis, cystinosis, impaired function of thyroid gland (iodine deficiency or excess, dmg induced (lithium carbonate, para-aminosalicyclic acid, thiourea dmgs, sulfonamides, phenylbutazone, and others)), congential genetic defects (biosynthetic enzymes for the thyroid hormones, thyroid agenesis, thyroid dysgenesis or ectopy, maternal iodide or antithyroid dmgs), hypothalamic dysfunctions (neoplasms, eosinophilic granuloma, therapeutic irradiation), or pituitary dysfunction (neoplasms, pituitary surgery or inadiation,
  • symptoms include weakness, fatigue, lethargy; dry, coarse skin; swelling of the hands, face and extremities; cold intolerance and decreased sweating; modest weight gain; decreased memory; hearing impairment; arthalgia and paresthesias; constipation; and muscle cramps.
  • hypothyroidism In infants or young children in which hypothyroidism remains unchecked during the first two years of life, ineversible mental retardation as part of a syndrome called cretinism develops.
  • Therapy of hypothyroidism includes the replacement of synthetic thyroid hormones, T 4 and T 3 . In these cases, hormone replacement therapy is sufficient to restore euthyroidism.
  • hypothyroidism for example those individuals with angina and hypothyroidism require special monitoring since the replacement hormones may stimulate the myocardial oxygen demands in a myocardium that can not produce adequate myocardial blood flow.
  • Another special case are patients with severe mxyedema coma, and event that may arise in patients with severe hypothyroidism and are subjected to additional physiologic stresses.
  • Anthithyroid antibodies can be part of an autoimmune thyroid disease, such as Hashimoto's or Graves' disease. Patients may have semm antibodies formed to thyroid peroxidase (common), semm thyroglobulin, or to the TSH receptor.
  • autoimmune thyroid disease such as Hashimoto's or Graves' disease.
  • Patients may have semm antibodies formed to thyroid peroxidase (common), semm thyroglobulin, or to the TSH receptor.
  • Parathyroid hormone is secreted by the parathyroid glands. The hormone is responsible for the regulation of bone reso ⁇ tion and calcium mobilization. In addtion to increasing the the plasma Ca+ levels and depressing the plasma phosphate levels, parathyroid hormone increases the excretion of phosphate in the urine.
  • parathyroid hormone excess usually a result of inordinate administration of parathyroid hormone or a tumor hypersecretion of parathyroid hormone
  • the symptoms include hypercalcemia, hypophosphatemia, and demineralization of the bones, and the formation of calcium containing kidney stones. Removal of the tumor or adjustment of the parathyroid hormone adminstration schedule is the pmdent course of treatment. Secondary hype ⁇ arathyroidism may be the result of chronic renal disease.
  • hypercalcemia in nearly 20% of cancer patients there is marked hypercalcemia as result of bone metastases that produce the hypercalcemia as a result of the eroding bone.
  • the bone erosion may be the result of prostaglandin E and the tumor or cancerous cells.
  • cells hypersecrete 1 ,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol, or another bone related hormones.
  • hypothalamus-pituitary-target gland axes there are other orgasn that have endocrine functions. These include the kidneys, the heart, and the pineal gland.
  • the kidneys regulate blood pressure via the renin-angiotensin system.
  • the kidneys produce and secrete renin (in the juxataglomerular apparatus), an acid protease that acts on angiotensinogen to form angiotensin I.
  • the next enzyme in the pathway is angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE, located in the lungs and eslewhere) which converts angiotensin I to angiotensin II.
  • ACE angiotensin converting enzyme
  • Angiotensin II acts directly on vascular smooth muscle to to arteriolar constriction and leads to an increase in blood pressure, on the adrenal cortex to stimulate secretion of aldsoterone, and in the cerebral cortex to decrease the baroreflex potentiation g the pressor effects.
  • Angiotensin II is metabolized by various peptidases (aminopeptidase) and is sequestered in vascular beds of tissues by as yet unknown molecule trapping mechanism.
  • ACE angiotensin and renin receptors
  • regulation of renin secretion have proven excellent candidate targets for dmg intervention for the treatment of hypertension and other cardiovascular disease.
  • Other likely candidates for the therapuetic intervention of the renin-angiotensin system are listed in Table 5 and
  • erythropoietin is produced by the intersitial cells in the p ⁇ ritubular capillary bed of the kidneys and the perivenous hepatocytes in the liver.
  • Erythropoietin regulates the production of erythrocytes by stimultatmg the munber of erythropoetin-sensitive committed stem cells in the bone manow that are converted to precursors and ultimately to mature erythrocytes.
  • erythropoietin levels are low, erythroid stem cells show DNA cleavage followed by programmed cell death (apoptosis).
  • Erythropoeitin reduces the DNA cleavage and stimulates the cells to survive.
  • the resultant reduction in the production of erythropoietin, and the inability of the liver production to compensate for this reduction leads to marked anemia.
  • Synthetic or recombinant erythropoietin has proven to be the ⁇ auetically improtant to those individuals in end-stage renal disease and other anemic conditions such as cancer, trauma, surgery, and others.
  • Other genes involved in the eryth ⁇ oeitin pathway are listed in Table 5.
  • the myocardium produces and secretes atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP).
  • ANP produces natriuresis, in part by stimulating an increase in glomular filtration rate, promotes tubule secretion of sodium, and lowers blood pressure by acting directly on the vascular smooth muscle cells and descreasin rhe responsiveness to pressor substances.
  • ANP actions are opposite of those directed by angiotensin II.
  • ANP is metabolized by neutral endopeptidase (inhibited by thio ⁇ han) and has a short half-life.
  • the other endocrine hormone involved in natmiresis is produced and secreted form the adrenal glands and is termed the Na+/K+ ATPase inhibiting factor. This factor produces natmireses by inhibiting the Na+/K+ ATPase and produces an increase in bloo pressure.
  • the pineal gland produces and secretes melatonin.
  • melatonin is produced and secreted during the dark periods of the day and is maintained at lower concentrations during the daylight hours.
  • Melatonin has been implicated in inducing and maintaining sleep.
  • Melatonin is synthesized from serotonin via two enzymes found in the pineal paremchymal cells.
  • Melatonin is secreted via a neural stimulation to the pineal gland.
  • ⁇ -Adrenergic stimulation to the pineal gland results in increased stimulation of the porduction and screretino of melatonin. Metabolism of melatonin occurs via 6-hydorxylation followed by conjugation in the liver and is predominantly excreted in the urine.
  • Anemia is a condition in which the number of red blood cells per cubic mm, the amount of hemoglobin in 100 ml of blood, and the volume of packed red cells per 100 ml of blood are less than normal values.
  • Anemia may be clinically manifested as pallor of the skin and mucus membranes, shortness of breath, palpitations of the heart, soft systolic murmurs, shortness of breath, lethargy, and fatigability or other signs and symptoms.
  • Anemia can be caused by three broad defects 1) bone marrow failure, 2) acute blood loss, and 3) hemolysis, however, anemia may be the result of one or more of these three.
  • Anemia is a common manifestation of many different chronic or acute diseases, toxins, therapeutic dmgs, nutritional status, endocrine disorders, congenital conditions, autoimmune conditions, alcohol, dmg, or substance abuse, trauma, surgery, or any other condition that affects the function or status of the bone manow, blood volume, or erythrocytes.
  • anemia develops, there are compensatory physiological mechanisms that are available to attempt to restore tissue oxygenation including increases in the erythrocyte glycolytic intermediate 2,3-diphosphoglycerate (2,3- DPG; binds to hemoglobin and decreases the oxygen binding affinity) in erythrocytes, increased peripheral dilation, increased cardiac stroke volume, decrease in blood pressure, or other mechanisms.
  • Anemia may be due to dmg toxicities.
  • Aplastic anemia or hematologic blood disorders may also be due to a proliferative defect and related bone manow failure syndromes.
  • Anemia due to bone manow failure usually results in changes in mean cell volume (MCV) can be categorized as normocytic, microcytic, and macrocytic anemia.
  • Normocytic bone manow failure can be the result of iron deficiency, chronic disease, renal failure, liver disease, endocrine disorders, aplasia, myelodysplasias, myelofibrosis, hematologic or solid tumors, granulomas, human immunodeficiency vims (HIV) infection, and others.
  • Microcytic bone manow failure can be the result of iron deficiency, chronic disease, thalassemias, aluminum toxicity, thyrotoxicosis, hereditary sideroblastic conditions and others.
  • Macrocytic bone manow failure can be the result of megaloblastic conditions (cobalamin and folate deficiencies, and congenital disorders), alcoholism, dmgs, liver disease, aplasia, myelodysplasias, myelofibrosis, hematologica or solid tumors, granulomas, human immunodeficiency vims (HIV) infection, hypothyroidism, splenectomy, and others.
  • megaloblastic conditions cobalamin and folate deficiencies, and congenital disorders
  • alcoholism dmgs
  • liver disease aplasia
  • myelodysplasias myelofibrosis
  • hematologica or solid tumors granulomas
  • human immunodeficiency vims (HIV) infection hypothyroidism, splenectomy, and others.
  • Hemolytic anemia primarily due to the destmction of red cells can be the result of congenital conditions (enzyme deficiency, membrane skeletal protein abnormalities, hemoglobinopathies) or acquired conditions (antibody-induced, mechanical fragmentation, and membrane protein anchoring abnormalities).
  • congenital conditions enzyme deficiency, membrane skeletal protein abnormalities, hemoglobinopathies
  • acquired conditions antibody-induced, mechanical fragmentation, and membrane protein anchoring abnormalities.
  • Acute blood loss occurring in trauma, surgery, or acute or chronic disease can lead to excessive blood loss.
  • Dmgs or other agents known to cause anemia include cancer chemotherapeutic agents (antimetabolites, alkylating agents, hydroxyurea, cytosine arabinoside and others), anti-inflammatory agents (aspirin, non-steroid anti- inflammatory agents, phenylbutazone, gold compounds), antibiotics
  • chloramphenicol, penicillin, cephalosporins, sulfonamides and others anticonvulsants (phenytoin and others), dihydrofolate reductase inhibitors (methotrexate, pyrimethamine, trimethoprim, triamterene, pentamidene, and others), antiviral agents (zidovudine and others), immunosuppressive agents (azathioprim and others), antianhythmic agents (procainamide, quinidine and others), antihypertensive agents (alpha-methyldopa), antimalarials (primaquine and others), and the anticoagulants (warfarin and heparin and others).
  • dihydrofolate reductase inhibitors metalhotrexate, pyrimethamine, trimethoprim, triamterene, pentamidene, and others
  • antiviral agents zidovudine and others
  • immunosuppressive agents azathioprim and others
  • Therapy of anemia includes blood transfusion, removal of the agent or toxin causing the anemia, or treating the underlying cause of the anemia.
  • erythropoeitin can be used to stimulate the erythrocyte precursor cells in the bone manow cells to produce mature erythrocytes.
  • a gene, genes, or gene pathway involved in the etiology of anemia or associated disorders or potential sites for targeted dmg therapy of anemia are depicted in Table 1 1 with the specific gene list in Table 6.
  • Cunent candidate therapeutic interventions in development for the treatment of anemia are listed in Table 57.
  • Angina pectoris is a common clinical manifestation of coronary artery disease.
  • Angina is a clinical syndrome including chest pain or discomfort brought on by exertional or anxiety, typically lasting several minutes. Patients with angina are at increased risk of myocardial infarction heart failure and death.
  • Angina is a symptom of myocardial ischemia that is the result of myocardial oxygen demand not met by myocardial oxygen supply (for more details see below under Ischemia). Although the most common cause of myocardial ischemia is atherosclerotic coronary artery disease, there are other factors that may lead to this clinical syndrome, including thromboembolic disease and vasospasm.
  • Unstable angina refers to angina of which occurs at rest or without a specific (exertional or environmental) trigger. Stable angina refers to predictable, event-induced chest pain. Unstable angina has been conelated with progression to acute myocardial infarction in 20% of the cases.
  • More than 50% of the patients with unstable angina have multi-vessel disease with eccentric, inegular, or ulcerated atherosclerotic lesions associated with endothelial dismption and adherent thrombus.
  • angina is variant angina which is characterized by chest pain accompanied by a transient ST-segment changes (either ST elevation or depression) and ventricular anhythmias.
  • Angina can often be controlled by nitrates, ⁇ -adrenergic blockers, calcium channel blockers, antiplatelet and antithrombin therapy, or combination thereof.
  • Cardiac anhythmias occur as a result of abnormalities of impulse generation, impulse conduction, and combined abnormalities of impulse generation and conduction. Some cardiac anythmias may lead to asymptomatic conditions, others lead to clinical symptoms and may be life-threatening.
  • Abnormalities of impulse generation includes abnormal automaticity (abnormal pacemakers), triggered activity as a result of early or delayed after-depolarizations. In both alterations of automaticity and triggered activity, generation of impulses in fibers that are normally incapable of normal automaticity, e.g. atrial and ventricular tissue, ensues. Within the myocardium the conduction system can become a cardiac pacemaker.
  • AV atrioventricular node
  • reentry Abnormalities of impulse conduction occurs via a process called reentry.
  • reentry there occurs an area or region that is slow or unable to conduct electrical signals.
  • This defect in conduction permits a wave of excitation to propagate continuously within a closed circuit.
  • the sunounding tissue is not at the same pace as the sunounding tissue and the electrical impulse passes through the normal tissue and can spread in a multi -directional manner which leads to marked asynchrony.
  • Heart block is the condition whereby the conduction from the atria to the ventricles is intermpted. Myocardial disease may decrease or stop conduction in one or more regions. Heart block may be complete, incomplete, include a right- or left bundle branch block, hemiblock or fascicular blocks.
  • Ectopic foci of excitation occurs when there is myocardial disease that renders the His-Purkinje fibers or other fibers to discharge electrical activity spontaneously. This condition leads to increased automaticity, potentially leading to extrasystole, premature beats, atrial or ventricular or nodal paroxysmal tachycardia, or atrial flutter.
  • Arrhythmias may also be localized to the atrial or ventricular regions.
  • Atrial anhythmias include atrial tachycardia, or paroxysmal atrial tachycardia with block, atrial flutter, or atrial fibrillation.
  • Ventricular anhythmias can include all of the previous described types of anhythmias but also include paroxysmal ventricular tachyarrhythmia as well and ventricular fibrillation.
  • Accelerated AV conduction (Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome) or the Lown-Ganong-Levine syndrome are examples or other anhythmias that are characterized by specific electrocardiogram abnormalities.
  • Cunent antianhythmic dmgs can be classified as the following broad categories: Na+ channel blockers, K+ channel blockers, Ca+ channel blockers, ⁇ - adrenergic blockers, and digitalis. In each of these categories, there is a blockade of the activity of the specific ion channel or receptor mediated activation of the myocardial activity. Digitalis is the exception, having multiple pharmacologic effects including Ca+ cunent inhibition, stimulation of vagal tone to the myocardium, and a reduction in the K+ cunents within the atrium.
  • a gene, genes, or gene pathway involved in the etiology of anhythmia or associated disorders or potential sites for targeted dmg therapy of anhythmia are depicted in Table 1 1 with the specific gene list in Table 6.
  • Cunent candidate therapeutic interventions in development for the treatment of anhythmias are listed in Table 59.
  • Hypertension is the clinical syndrome in which there is sustained elevation of systemic arterial pressure. There may be conditions of specific arterial hypertension to specific organs, including pulmonary, renal, hepatic arterial hypertension.
  • Systemic hypertension is a common abnormality that can be the result of a variety of conditions including: adrenocortical disease ( Conn's syndrome, aldosteronism, hypersecretion of glucocorticoids, hypersecretion of mineralocorticoids, and psuedohyperaldosteronism), pheochromocytoma, justaglomerular carcinoma, renal hypertension, renal disease (glomerulonephritis, pyleonephritis, polycystic disease, Liddle's syndrome, hypokalemic nephropathy, low-renin hypotension), Nanowing of the aorta, oral contraceptives, neurovascular compression of the rostral ventrolateral medulla. However, in most cases, the etiology is unknown (termed essential hypertension).
  • Therapy of hypertension includes ⁇ - or ⁇ -adrenergic blockers, inhibition of the renin -angiotension system, or converting enzyme, and calcium channel blockers.
  • the primary condition is treated with ancillary antihypertensive added. Further, reduction in the intake of sodium in the diet has been shown to assist the reduction of systemic arterial pressure.
  • Hypotension is the condition of subnormal blood pressure. Hypotension may be the result of orthostatic hypotension, anemic conditions, fulminant menigococcemica or other infections, blood transfusions, trauma, traumatic brain injury, hepatic or renal failure, and dmg induced.
  • hypotension is cunently treated with methoamine, peripheral sympathomimetics, and vasopressin.
  • a gene, genes, or gene pathway involved in the etiology of hypotension or associated disorders or potential sites for targeted dmg therapy of hypotension are depicted in Table 1 1 with the specific gene list in Table 6.
  • Cunent candidate therapeutic interventions in development for the treatment of hypotension are listed in Table 61.
  • Myocardial ischemia develops when the metabolic demands exceed oxygen delivery to the myocardium.
  • Factors that influence the myocardial oxygen supply include the oxygen capacity of the blood, coronary blood flow and vascular resistance.
  • Factors that affect myocardial oxygen demand are heart rate, contractility, and systolic wall tension. Any agent or physiologic factor that decreases myocardial oxygen supply or increases myocardial oxygen demand may potentially lead to myocardial ischemia.
  • myocardial ischemia There are conditions that lead to myocardial ischemia including hypertension, anhythmias, coronary artery disease, rheumatic fever, congenital heart defects, heart failure, and myocardial infarction.
  • Heart failure is a syndrome in ventricular dysfunction if accompanied by reduced exercise capacity. Heart failure is the final condition from a variety of cardiovascular disorders including coronary heart disease, long-standing hypertension, valve deformities or valvular heart disease, rheumatic heart disease, nutritional cardiac disease and cardiomyopathies.
  • diseases or conditions associated with heart failure include infections (systemic or cardiac specific (myocarditis), infiltrative disorders (amyloidosis, hemochromatosis, sarcoidosis), electrolyte disorders, myocardial specific toxins (substances of abuse, cancer chemotherapeutic agents), lupus erythmatosus, rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes mellitus, thyroid disease, hypoparathyroidism, pheochromocytoma, and sustained or prolonged tachycardia.
  • infections systemic or cardiac specific (myocarditis), infiltrative disorders (amyloidosis, hemochromatosis, sarcoidosis), electrolyte disorders, myocardial specific toxins (substances of abuse, cancer chemotherapeutic agents), lupus erythmatosus, rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes mellitus, thyroid disease, hypoparathyroidism, pheochromocytoma, and sustained
  • inotropic action is compromised and the resultant loss in cardiac output renders the myocardium unable to meet the systemic and peripheral metabolic demands leading to various clinical symptoms including cardiac enlargement, weakness, edema, prolonged circulation time, hepatic enlargement, shortness of breath, sensation of suffocation, and distention of peripheral veins.
  • Dyspnea on exertion is a prominent symptom, leading to paroxysmal, and in severe cases, frank pulmonary edema.
  • Physiological compensatory mechanisms of heart failure can be broadly described as increased heart rate, increased preload and afterload, and cardiac hypertrophy. Each of these physiological changes are attempts to increase cardiac output which is dependent on heart rate, blood pressure and contractility.
  • the cunent therapies include a combination of antihypertensives (ACE inhibitors), diuretics, and positive inotropic agents. Refractory cases of LV failure, additional diuretics, vasodilators, and ⁇ -adrenergic blockers are added to the regimen. In diastolic dysfunction leading to failure Ca++ channel blockers are the first line of therapy with ACE inhibitors and ⁇ -adrenergic blockers added in refractory cases.
  • Heart failure is further associated with a variety of co-morbidities that can worsen the condition and prognosis including septicemia, hypo-osmolarity, primary thrombocytopenia, renal hypertension disorder, myocardial infarction, pulmonary embolism, anhythmias, intracerebral or subdural hemonhage, cerebral thrombosis, hypotension, pneumonia, chronic renal failure, and decubitus ulcers.
  • a gene, genes, or gene pathway involved in the etiology of heart failure or associated disorders or potential sites for targeted dmg therapy of heart failure are depicted in Table 1 1 with the specific gene list in Table 6.
  • Cunent candidate therapeutic interventions in development for the treatment of heart failure are listed in Table 1 1 and complications associated with heart failure in Tables 59, 60, 62, and 64.
  • Thrombosis is the formation of a blood clot in a blood vessel. If the thrombotic clot is large enough it may occlude the vessel and create tissue hypoxia. If unchecked, thrombosis can be a major medical problem and is associated with vessels that have sluggish blood flow, including in veins of extremities after surgery or delivery, conditions of reduced cardiac output, or in coronary or cerebral arteries where the intima is damaged by atherosclerotic plaques (see below) or damage to the endocardium. Areas of thrombi have a tendency to break off from a vessel wall and can travel to distant sites, termed emboli, and create damage to other organs.
  • thrombin binds to thrombomodulin
  • thrombin has anticoagulant activity by first activating protein C.
  • Activated protein C then inactivates an inhibitor of tissue plasminogen activator and conversion of plasminogen to plasmin occurs.
  • Plasminogen is converted to active plasmin when tissue plasminogen activator hydrolyzes the bond between arg560 and val561. Plasmin is responsible for the enzymatic breakdown of clots.
  • Atherosclerosis is a complex combination of hyperhpidemia, injury to the endothelium, and inflammation. The interaction of these multiple processes in association with local genetic and hemodynamic influences may promote the formation of atheromatous plaques as a reparative response of the arterial wall.
  • Atherosclerotic plaques are composed of thrombogenic lipid-rich core protected by a fibrous cap comprising smooth muscle cells and inflammatory cells.
  • the inflammatory cells are predominantly macrophages.
  • the stenosis created by the plaques may be a part of the resulting ischemic event.
  • less obstmctive but more vulnerable plaques occur which are characterized by a thinned fibrous cap, marked lipid accumulation, a large number of macrophages, and a smaller amount of smooth muscle cells.
  • thrombosis is stimulated.
  • Advanced atherosclerotic lesions are caused by a series of cellular and molecular events involving replication of smooth muscle cells and macrophages on the vessel wall.
  • T lymphocytes The interaction of these cells with the T lymphocytes can lead to a fibroproliferative response.
  • Large amounts of connective tissue produced by these smooth muscle cells consist of macrophages, T lymphocytes, smooth muscle cells, connective tissue, necrotic residues, and varying amounts of lipids and lipoproteins.
  • Endothelial cells maintain the vessel surface in a non-thrombogenic state, preventing platelet and leukocyte adhesion, and act in maintaining the vascular tonus by releasing nitric oxide, prostaglandin, and endothelin. These cells also produce growth factors, cytokines, and chemokines to maintain the integrity of the collagen- and proteoglycan-rich basement membrane. Changes in some of these functions may trigger cell interactions with monocytes, platelets, smooth muscle cells, and lymphocytes. Hyperhpidemia and hypercholesterolemia are sufficient to induce dysfunction of the endothelial modulation of the vasoactive reactions and arteriolar tonus.
  • Anticlotting therapy includes heparin, strepotokinase, urokinase-type plasminogen activator, and tissue-plasminogen activator.
  • Coumarin derivatives such as dicumarol and warfarin can also be effective anticogulants. These compounds inhibit the action of vitamin K which is a necessary cofactor for the enzyme that converts glutamic acid residues to g-carboxyglutamic acid residues. This mechanism affects the clotting factors II, VII, IX, and X, as well as protein C and protein S.
  • a gene, genes, or gene pathway involved in the etiology of thrombosis or associated disorders or potential sites for targeted dmg therapy of thrombosis are depicted in Table 1 1 with the specific gene list in Table 6.
  • Cunent candidate therapeutic interventions in development for the treatment of thrombosis are listed in Table 64.
  • kidneys are primarily involved in regulating body fluid volume and composition by forming urine.
  • the pu ⁇ ose of urine excretion composed of ionic solutes, is to remove or eliminate metabolic end-products and maintain fluid volume and composition for the sustenance of physiologic function of the rest of the body.
  • Urine formation and composition is affected by dietary intake of solutes and water as well as endogenous and exogenous carbohydrates, proteins, and nucleic acids.
  • the kidneys also provide the mechanism to excrete dmgs, toxins, and other exogenous substances.
  • Urine formation occurs via a sequence of five steps: 1) the glomerulus filters extracellular fluid across the glomerulus capillaries and the visceral epithelium of Bowman's capsule; the driving force is mean arterial blood pressure; 2) the proximal tubule isotonically reabsorbs approximately two-thirds of the glomerular filtrate; 3) the loop of Henle dissociates the abso ⁇ tion of sodium and water; 4) the distal convoluted tubule primarily absorbs sodium under the influence of aldosterone and secretes protons, ammonia, and potassium; and lastly, 5) the collecting duct system regulates the osmolarity of urine under the influence of antidiuretic hormone.
  • the kidney can also serve as an endocrine organ producing and secreting prostaglandins, kallikreinin-kinins, erythropoeitin, and renin
  • the kidney also has a function and role in metabolism.
  • the kidney is a target organ for many hormones including parathyroid hormone, aldosterone, and antidiuretic hormone.
  • Renal dysfunction or disorders often are clinically nonspecific and are characterized by hematuria, azotemia, hypertension, and metabolic acidiosis.
  • kidney dysfunction can be categorized as unde ⁇ erfusion syndromes, renal parenchymal syndromes, and post-renal syndromes.
  • Renal unde ⁇ erfusion syndromes include reduced effective circulating volume (including circulatory collapse, congestive heart failure, and cinhosis of the liver), occlusive renal artery disease (including renal artery atherosclerosis, fibromuscular hype ⁇ lasia), and vasoconstriction of renal microvasculature (including acute transplant rejection, cyclosporin nephrotoxicity, and amophtericin B nephrotoxicity).
  • Renal parenchymal syndromes include acute hypertensive nephropathy, analgesic nephropathy, hemolytic-uremic syndrome, hypercalcemic nephropathy, interstitial nephritis, lupus nephritis, multiple myeloma, oxalate nephropathy, pyelonephritis, glomerulonephritis, renal vein thrombosis, Wegener' s granolumatosis.
  • Renal failure or the uremic syndrome, occurs when the functional renal mass is sufficiently reduced such that the kidney is longer able to conduct normal functions.
  • the clinical hallmarks of this disease are related to the loss of urine formation, excretion, and abenant composition of body fluids as well as loss of erythropoeitin and renin and may be treated separately.
  • These related disorders include electrolyte disorders (accumulation of potassium, sodium, phosphate, magnesium and aluminum and hypocalcemia), cardiovascular abnormalities
  • endocrine and metabolic disorders including accelerated atherosclerosis, hypertension, pericarditis, myocardial dysfunction, hematologic dysfunction (including anemia, leukocyte dysfunction, hemonhagic diathesis), gastrointestinal disorders (including anorexia, nausea, vomiting, gastroparesis, gastrointesinal bleeding), disorders of taste, renal osteodystrophy (including osteomalacia, osteitis fibrosa, osteosclerosis, osteoporosis), neurologic abnornmalities (including insomnia, fatigue, psychological symptoms, asterixis, peripheral neuropathies), myopathy, impaired carbohydrate intolerance (peripheral resistance to insulin)), endocrine and metabolic disorders
  • the loss of renal function may be associated with adaptive functional changes in an attempt to restore renal function.
  • adaptive processes include increased glomemlar filtration rate of the intact nephrons, and increased phosphate excretion.
  • these adaptive processes may ultimately create more damage than restore function.
  • vascular volume depletion (as a result of diuretics, gastrointesinal fluid losses, dehydration, low cardiac output, renal hypoperfusion, atheroembolic disease, ascites, nephrotic syndrome), dmgs (including aminoglycosides, prostaglandin synthesis inhibitors, diuretics), obstmctions (including tubule obstmction via uric acid or Bence Jones protein or posttubular obstmction via prostatic hypertrophy, necrotic papillae, or uretal stones), infections, toxins (including radiographic contract materials), hypertensive crisis, and hypercalcemia or hype ⁇ hosphatemia.
  • vascular volume depletion as a result of diuretics, gastrointesinal fluid losses, dehydration, low cardiac output, renal hypoperfusion, atheroembolic disease, ascites, nephrotic syndrome
  • dmgs including aminoglycosides, prostaglandin synthesis inhibitors, diuretics

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