According to a story from pharmavoice.com, the pharmaceutical company Cadent Therapeutics has announced the beginning of the Phase I clinical study for its drug candidate CAD-1883. The therapy is a first of its kind, a positive allosteric modulator. Cadent Therapeutics specializes in the development of highly innovative medical products that designed from the beginning to bring back cognitive and movement ability in patients with neurological or psychiatric diseases.
CAD-1883 is in development for the treatment of spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA), a term that encompasses several genetic, progressively degenerative diseases. Currently, spinocerebellar ataxia has no effective treatments available and is fatal in many cases. Some symptoms associated with these conditions include a gradual loss of gait coordination (which ultimately can cause the patient to lose their walking ability), poor hand and speech coordination, and loss of eye movement control. However, it is worth noting that symptoms vary depending on the subtype and the individual. Most people with cerebellar ataxia do not experience any loss of their mental ability; symptoms are restricted to physical movement.
Current treatment practices focus on alleviating the severity of symptoms, but these eventually lose their effectiveness as the condition progresses. To learn more about spinocerebellar ataxia, click here.
If CAD-1883 successfully completes clinical trials, it will be the first drug developed for the treatment of SCA. People with movement disorders like SCA experience their symptoms because the activation of neuron behavior has become disorganized, which is why patients begin to lose control. As a positive allosteric modulator, CAD-1883 acts on the potassium channel, which is activated by calcium. The treatment modifies the sensitivity of these potassium channels to calcium, which allows the pathway to function with a reduced concentration of calcium. The result should be normal regulation of neuron activity, improving symptoms.
