Posted by JohnX2 on October 31, 2001, at 0:15:26
In reply to Re: smart-bomb drugs, posted by Noa on October 29, 2001, at 17:43:37
Well unfortunately I don't think I can quite answer
your question.I'm trying to understand the bio-chemistry involved,
but this is new territory for me. I have a background
in electrical engineering, which gives me some insight
into the neural network circuitry in the head, but
I got stuck not having a good chemistry/biology background.
I have been reading up in these areas to better
understand the meds in the pipeline and my own issues.Anyways, I did some more research and
the patent I read was from a company called
Arena Pharmaceutical. They basically are an
IP company and they are trying to genotype the
various receptors in the brain (all that GATCATGC,
crap) and either develop novel meds that somehow
use this information or sell the IP to larger
pharmaceutical firms like Eli-Lilly.The patent I looked at disclosed a method for
a class of medications that would be inverse
agonists at the 5ht-2a sights. An inverse agonist
is defined as a chemical that is active at the
site, but less so than the normal chemical (in
this case serotonin). So its sort of a
antagonist.Anyways, I don't quite understand how they come
up with the chemical compounds that somehow
use the dna genotyping, but with the genotyping
information they can think directly at how to
target a ligand directly instead of using a scatter bomb
approach of testing meds and their binding affinities.I'll let you know if I learn more to better answer
your question. Unfortunately I think that meds that
could use this technology are many years away.regards,
-john> I heard about these tiny "robot" pills that target specific genes/dna (not in the hereditary/permanent sense, just in the activation) to turn on and off certain genes in the cells. Is this what you are talking about?
>
> I personally am hoping the medicines get a lot "smarter" soon, because although I am grateful to have a med combo that works, and usually feel the side effects are a minor nuisance, sometimes I get impatient with them.
poster:JohnX2
thread:82437
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20011025/msgs/82725.html