Methotrexate has been used against cancer, some autoimmune disorders, even abortion!
[![][1]][2]
Methotrexate, as of 1947…
This is a very potent drug, the NIH 's drive for this clinical trial [1] is to find out if attacking the cardiovascular inflammation will help heart disease.
Quoting NIH News:
"…[The]..Cardiovascular Inflammation Reduction Trial (CIRT) will determine whether treatment with a drug specifically targeting inflammation reduces rates of cardiovascular events among adults who have had a heart attack within the past five years and who also have type 2 diabetes or metabolic syndrome "
_**However, when consulting the Pubmed library, we found out that many entries on Methotrexate were devoted to its toxicity. Indeed, the NIH itself isuues the following warning [2]:**_
"…Methotrexate may cause very serious side effects. Some side effects of methotrexate may cause death. You should only take methotrexate to treat life-threatening cancer, or certain other conditions that are very severe and that cannot be treated with other medications. Talk to your doctor about the risks of taking methotrexate for your condition…"
To be sure, inflammation has been shown to be a main component of cardiovascular disease, as we discussed in a previous post [3]. The link between inflammation and heart disease is not much of a question anymore, as is shown in an article of Cardiobrief [4].
Methotrexate has been shown to be anti inflammatory in study on mice [5]. But so did another drug called Dexamethasone. One of the striking concluding remarks of the Arthritis Rearch journal was that "inflammatory diseases of some organs but not of other organs respond to methotrexate therapy."
This a good goal except that the trial of methotrexate involves substantial risks, including death!
_**What else could be attempted against cardiovascular inflammation? **_The question is what treatment is appropriate to slow down or halt the inflammatory process. We discussed precisely that in [3], but putting the accent on nutraceuticals such as vitamin K.
The problem is that nutraceuticals are to pass the digestive process and also not very targeted. so they are good for prevention or the early stages of a disease. For severe cases the more energetic (and therefore dangerous) approach of pharmaceuticals could be required.
Unless, we found a more direct path to deliver the active element of the nutraceutical. Take the study in biochemical pharmacology [6], which proposes to use nanotechnology to vector the goods to the diseased target. We published [7] on the use of nanoparticles for drug delivery. These nanoparticles can be based on bacteria's liposome, they can be polymer molecules, the field is wide open.
_**But the delivery of nutrients by nanoparticle to various organs is still in its infancy compared to the brute force of a drug like Methotrexate.**_
_**Here lies the dilemma.**_
_**Sources:**_
1. [NIHNews][3] ; "NIH Starts Trial for Anti-Inflammatory Treatments to Prevent Cardiovascular Deaths" ; Aug 2012
2. [PubmedHealth ;][4] "Methotrexate" ; 2009
3. [medinewsdigest][5] ; ""IN DEPTH: Is There A Role For Nutraceuticals In Heart Disease?" July 19, 2012
4. [cardiobrief][6] ; "Studies Provide Strongest Evidence To Date For Causative Role of Inflammation in Heart Disease" ; March 2012
5. [arthritis research therapy][7]; "Suppression of inflammation by low-dose methotrexate is mediated by adenosine A2A receptor but not A3 receptor activation in thioglycollate-induced peritonitis" ; 2006
6. [biochemical pharmacology][8] ; "Delivery of antiinflammatory nutraceuticals by nanoparticles for the prevention and treatment of cancer." ; Dec 2010
7. [medinewsdigest][9] ; "New Drug Delivery: Nanoparticles Remotely Activated To Release Protein Producing DNA To Fight Disease" ; July 2012
[1]: http://www.medinewsdigest.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/800px-Nci-vol-1831-300_Methotrexate-e1345787069212.jpg (800px-Nci-vol-1831-300_Methotrexate)
[2]: http://www.medinewsdigest.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/800px-Nci-vol-1831-300_Methotrexate.jpg
[3]: http://www.nih.gov/news/health/aug2012/nhlbi-22.htm
[4]: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0000547/
[5]: http://www.medinewsdigest.com/?p=4965
[6]: http://cardiobrief.org/2012/03/15/studies-provide-strongest-evidence-to-date-for-causative-role-of-inflammation-in-heart-disease/
[7]: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1526598/
[8]: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20654584
[9]: http://www.medinewsdigest.com/?p=4789
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