An enzyme inhibitor found by U.S. scientists looking for biological pest controls may lead to pain relief for sufferers of arthritis and other diseases.
The finding by scientists at the University of California-Davis has been hailed by a noted inflammatory disease expert "as the most important discovery in inflammation in more than a decade." It might also reduce side effects associated with the painkiller, Vioxx.
Lead author Kara Schmelzer, a post-doctoral researcher in principal investigator Bruce Hammock's lab, tested the novel compounds on rodents and found them to be as potent at a low-dose as Vioxx and Celebrex, but without the changes in blood chemistry linked to heart attacks.
Vioxx and Celebrex belong to a class of drugs known as Cox-2 inhibitors. The enzyme targeted by the newly discovered inhibitors is also found in humans.
"The reason this is so exciting is that this is a novel way to reduce inflammation, with a combination therapy," Schmelzer said. "We're going after a new enzyme target, not going after the Cox-2 inhibitors."
The research is reported in the current edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
