15/05/2013
Queen's Develops Treatment For Acute Lung Injury
Researchers at Queen's University in Belfast have devised a new medicine being described as a 'magic bullet', which could become the first effective treatment for Acute Lung Injury or ALI.
There are 15,000 cases of ALI every year in the UK; the main causes being road traffic accidents and infections.
Many with the condition die as a result of lung failure.
Sufferers can become critically ill and develop problems with breathing, as their lungs become inflamed and filled with liquid.
Now a joint collaboration between the School of Pharmacy and Centre for Infection and Immunity at Queen’s has developed a new drug that could lead to effective treatment of the condition.
The new drug is a nanoparticle, measuring around one billionth of a metre. The patient inhales it, taking the drug directly into the lungs and to the point of inflammation.
Speaking about the development, Professor Chris Scott from the School of Pharmacy, who is leading the research, said: "Nanoparticles are perhaps one of the most exciting new approaches to drug development. Most research in the area focuses on how the delivery of drugs to the disease site can be improved in these minute carriers. Our own research in this area focuses on how nanoparticles interact with cells and how this can be exploited to produce therapeutic effects both in respiratory disease and cancer."
The new nanoparticle can recognise and bind to immune cells called macrophages in the lungs. This induces a rapid reduction in the inflammation and has the potential to prevent the damaging effects of ALI.
The project is currently sponsored by a £505,000 grant for two years from the Medical Research Council Developmental Pathway Funding Scheme.
Professor Danny McAuley from the Centre for Infection and Immunity, a partner in developing the new nanomedicine, said: "This funding allows us to evaluate a completely novel therapeutic approach to the treatment of ALI and if successful, this nanomedicine could also have application in other common lung disorders such as COPD and Cystic Fibrosis."
(IT/CD)
There are 15,000 cases of ALI every year in the UK; the main causes being road traffic accidents and infections.
Many with the condition die as a result of lung failure.
Sufferers can become critically ill and develop problems with breathing, as their lungs become inflamed and filled with liquid.
Now a joint collaboration between the School of Pharmacy and Centre for Infection and Immunity at Queen’s has developed a new drug that could lead to effective treatment of the condition.
The new drug is a nanoparticle, measuring around one billionth of a metre. The patient inhales it, taking the drug directly into the lungs and to the point of inflammation.
Speaking about the development, Professor Chris Scott from the School of Pharmacy, who is leading the research, said: "Nanoparticles are perhaps one of the most exciting new approaches to drug development. Most research in the area focuses on how the delivery of drugs to the disease site can be improved in these minute carriers. Our own research in this area focuses on how nanoparticles interact with cells and how this can be exploited to produce therapeutic effects both in respiratory disease and cancer."
The new nanoparticle can recognise and bind to immune cells called macrophages in the lungs. This induces a rapid reduction in the inflammation and has the potential to prevent the damaging effects of ALI.
The project is currently sponsored by a £505,000 grant for two years from the Medical Research Council Developmental Pathway Funding Scheme.
Professor Danny McAuley from the Centre for Infection and Immunity, a partner in developing the new nanomedicine, said: "This funding allows us to evaluate a completely novel therapeutic approach to the treatment of ALI and if successful, this nanomedicine could also have application in other common lung disorders such as COPD and Cystic Fibrosis."
(IT/CD)
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Northern Ireland WeatherToday:A sunny but frosty start for many. However cloud increases by midday with a few showers reaching the north coast, these mostly light but spreading inland this afternoon. Chilly. Maximum temperature 8 °C.Tonight:A rather cloudy evening with scattered showers. Becoming drier through the night with some good clear spells developing and a patchy frost away from coasts. Minimum temperature 0 °C.
