Treating chronic pain, migraine & muscle spasticity through inhibition of neurotransmitter...(e therapies. Alan J. Tuchman M.D. C...)

Dr. Tuchman will present information about glutamate receptors in the spinal cord as a target for muscle spasticity. He has served as Vice Chairman of the Department of Neurology at New York Medical College as well as Vice Dean of Clinical Affairs, which involved the development and management of clinical care and medical education policy for 29 affiliated hospitals. In addition, he was President of the Epilepsy Society of Southern New York. Dr. Tuchman is a frequent speaker about neuroscience topics at academic meetings.

"There's a growing body of scientific and clinical evidence that supports the further development of drugs that block the glutamate cascade," said Dr. Kurtz. "As the American Headache Society prepares to kick off its 50th Annual Scientific Meeting, we want to provide patients as well as the medical community with industry experts' perspectives as to what is clearly a promising approach for the treatment of migraine and other conditions."

TorreyPines Therapeutics' lead compound, tezampanel is the first AMPA/kainate-type glutamate receptor antagonist to be studied in clinical trials for chronic pain. Glutamate receptors mediate the functioning of glutamate, an important excitatory neurotransmitter. While normal glutamate production is essential, excess glutamate production, either through injury or disease, can have a range of pathological effects. By acting at both the AMPA and kainate receptor site to competitively block the binding of glutamate, tezampanel and its oral prodrug, NGX426, have the potential to treat a number of diseases and disorders. These include migraine and other forms of chronic pain such as neuropathic pain as well as muscle spasticity and rigidity secondary to spinal cord trau
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