Date:9/2/2011

n, Distinguished University Professor, and Dr. Patricia J. McLaughlin, Professor, along with Dr. Renee N. Donahue, in the Department of Neural & Behavioral Sciences. Drs. Zagon and McLaughlin not only discovered the phenomenon of LDN, and subsequently the OGF-OGFr axis, but have been at the forefront of translating their findings of LDN - and OGF - from the bench to the bedside. LDN has proven successful in Phase I and II clinical trials in the treatment of Crohn's disease, and OGF has been reported to be safe and efficacious for the treatment of advanced pancreatic cancer. Co-author Dr. McLaughlin states: "Now that we know LDN uses the OGF-OGFr axis as the pathway to control the cell cycle, this expands our arsenal of biological-based treatment modalities to bring about a change in disease states reliant on cell proliferation that not only includes LDN, but exogenous OGF and the imidazoquinoline, imiquimod. This information also provides the basis for a rational approach to the design of diagnostic tools and measures of therapeutic efficacy." Dr. Donahue, who has devoted a concentrated effort on improving the health of women through research explains: "This study joins a series of other investigations (Amer. J. Physiol. 296:R1716-1725, 2009; ibid, 297:R1154-R1161, 2009; Gynecol. Oncol. 122:382-388, 2011; J. Cancer Therapy 2:110-124, 2011; Exp. Biol. Med., in press, 2011) demonstrating that both LDN and OGF offer powerful treatments to combat a devastating cancer that strikes over 20,000 women in the U.S. each year and stands as the 5th leading cause of cancer-related deaths in females. Thus, one should not lose sight that the OGF-OGFr axis is a new frontier in understanding the pathogenesis and treatment of a cancer that has been, up to now, recalcitrant to conventional therapies." Dr. Zagon adds that "The exciting results that the mechanism of LDN uses the OGF-OGFr axis, brings together two very important opioid-based treatment modalities under one umbrella.
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Contact: Dr. Ian Zagon isz1@psu.edu 717-531-6409 Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine Source:Eurekalert

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