Emerging Treatments Flashcards
What is the largest group of genetic diseases?
Inborn errors of metabolism
What causes inborn errors of metabolism?
Defects of single genes that code for enzymes that facilitate conversion of substrates into products
What is the main problems with the inborn errors of metabolism?
There is an accumulation of substances that are not converted into products that may be toxic or interfere with normal function
What are four examples of diseases caused by inform errors of metabolism?
Maple syrup urine disease
MCAD Deficiency
Phenylketonuria (PKU)
Homocystinuria
What pathways do inborn errors of metabolism effect?
carbohydrates
fatty acids
proteins
What happens in phenylketonuria?
There is no phenylalanine hydroxylase meaning phenylalanine is no longer converted into tyrosine and is converted into phenylketones instead
What can untreated PKU lead to?
Major cognitive impairement
Behavioural difficulties
Lack of melanin so fairer skin and hair
Recurrent vomiting
What is used to treat PKU?
Tyrosine supplements in diet
Why are patients with PKU advised to keep a low protein diet?
Phenylalanine is an amino acid found in protein, so given PKU patients are advised to have a low protein diet to avoid unnecessary buildup as they struggle to degrade it
What are some symptoms of Haemophillia?
Controlled bleeding
Bleeding into joints and brain
Internal bleeding
How is haemophillia treated?
By replacing the missing clotting factors isolated from human blood serum, 8 and/or 9
What is important to know before trying to treat through diet and replacement?
The biochemistry behind the condition as the treatment is not mutation specific
What are four other conditions which can be treated by replacement?
Growth hormone deficiency
Fabry disease
Pompe disease
What are the four general stages of drug development?
- Discovery/preclinical
- Lab based testing
- Clinical testing - in 3 phases
- Approval by the regulatory bodies
What happens in phase 1 of clinical testing?
Tested on healthy volunteers, with a sample size of <100
What happens in phase 2 of clinical testing?
The drug is tested to check the therapeutic effect on patients with the condition, 100-300 people
What happens in phase 3 of clinical testing?
Large scale therapeutic trials with 2000-3000 patients
Who tests and approves drugs in England?
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence
What is the purpose of protein-targeting therapies?
They try to normalise the function of mutant proteins
What is a pharmacological chaperone?
A drug which serves as molecular scaffolding in order to stabilize mutant proteins and cause them to fold correctly
What condition is migalastat used to treat?
Fabry disease
What are pharmacological modulators?
They are receptor agonists / antagonists which can act as ion channel activators and blockers