Minimizing Infection in Arthritis Treatment

A team of researchers from the University of Utah (U of U) have found a way of treating inflammation that just may minimize the risk for infection, something that is a side effect of current medications. The research was funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and published Sunday, November 11, 2012 in Nature online.

These findings provide a new roadmap for making powerful anti-inflammatory medicines that will be safer not only for arthritis patients but also for millions of others with inflammation-associated diseases, such as diabetes, traumatic brain injury, and inflammatory bowel disease, according to cardiologist Dean Y. Li, M.D., Ph.D., the U of U School of Medicine vice dean for research and HA and Edna Benning endowed professor of medicine who led the study.

“This can change the way medication is made. If we can find a way to replace our most powerful drugs for arthritis, we might be able to develop another way to treat inflammation in other diseases that we’ve been unable to touch because of the danger of suppressing people’s immune systems, ” said Dr. Li in the November 12, 2012 news release.

“We can selectively block inflammation without making the patient immunosuppressed, ” Dr. Li says. “This rewrites the strategy for today’s medicines. We focused the work on arthritis given this is a proven market for drugs that reduce damage from inflammation and fibrosis, but we suspect that many other diseases ranging from fibrosis following heart attacks to inflammatory bowel disease may benefit from such an approach.”

Before a new generation of anti-inflammation drugs can be made, researchers must screen for molecules of chemical compounds that can be turned in pharmaceutical-grade drugs, something the University can and should do, according to Dr. Li. This can be accomplished either through collaboration with pharmaceutical companies outside of the state or with sources inside Utah, such as the USTAR (Utah Science Technology and Research) initiative.

This situation is unique in that it provides the university the opportunity to explore commercializing the technology either through collaboration outside of the state with pharmaceutical companies or within the state via initiatives such as USTAR. The Utah Legislature established USTAR initiative in 2006 to promote economic growth and high paying jobs through research at the U of U and Utah State University.