A research group led by Professor Kinji Ohno of Nagoya University has revealed that zonisamide, which is used as an antiepileptic drug and an antiparkinsonian disease drug, has a prolongation-promoting effect on nerve cells in mice.It is expected to be effective in treating neuropathy caused by the foreign phase.
Drug repositioning is the process of finding out if a drug that has an effect on one disease has an effective effect on another disease.Actions that were not known or were originally known as side effects may be effective for other diseases depending on how they are used.For example, thalidomide, which was once used as a morning sickness drug for pregnant women, was discontinued because it induces disability, but subsequent studies have confirmed that it is effective for complications of leprosy.Considering new ways to use drugs that are no longer used or that are already in use is attracting attention in order to reduce the cost of developing new drugs.
Zonisamide, which is used as an antiepileptic drug and an antiparkinsonian disease drug, has been used as an antiepileptic drug since 1989. In 2001, it was found to be effective against Parkinson's disease, and in 2009, its application to the disease was approved.Furthermore, in this study, we confirmed that it has the effect of promoting the growth of processes in mouse neurons.It is said that it can be expected to have a therapeutic effect on peripheral nerves damaged by trauma.The drug efficacy in humans will be confirmed using nerve cells prepared from iPS cells in the future.
Zonisamide has the advantage of being confirmed to be safe, as it has already been used in many cases for other diseases.Thus, drug repositioning has the advantage of being able to pass part of the process required to develop a new drug from scratch.I hope that new medicinal effects will be found more and more in other medicines in the future.
