Easing The Pain Of Diabetes - Dying A Depression Drug For Common Nerve Condition

Main Category: Diabetes
Also Included In: Depression
Article Date: 16 Jul 2008 - 3:00 PDT

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To ease pain and numbness associated with diabetes, NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell physician-scientists are studying a drug previously used for depression to treat peripheral neuropathy. Diabetics often suffer from this condition because of high blood sugar levels that damage nerve cells. Those with peripheral neuropathy often endure chronic pain, cramping and sleepless nights that prevent them from living a normal lifestyle.

But now, scientists believe that a drug called reboxetine may alleviate their symptoms. The compound works by boosting the level of the neurotransmitter norepinephrine between nerve cells. But it also works by inhibiting the neurotransmitter's degradation within the nerve, where it is stored within the cell for later use.

Dr. Bassem Masri -- a cardiologist and diabetes specialist at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell and Helen and Robert Appel Clinical Scholar and assistant professor of clinical medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College -- is studying the drug's effectiveness in a Phase II trial in subjects who have been diagnosed with diabetes for at least one-year and who have peripheral neuropathy.

NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center

NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, located in New York City, is one of the leading academic medical centers in the world, comprising the teaching hospital NewYork-Presbyterian and Weill Cornell Medical College, the medical school of Cornell University. NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell provides state-of-the-art inpatient, ambulatory and preventive care in all areas of medicine, and is committed to excellence in patient care, education, research and community service. Weill Cornell physician-scientists have been responsible for many medical advances -- from the development of the Pap test for cervical cancer to the synthesis of penicillin, the first successful embryo-biopsy pregnancy and birth in the U.S., the first clinical trial for gene therapy for Parkinson's disease, the first indication of bone marrow's critical role in tumor growth, and, most recently, the world's first successful use of deep brain stimulation to treat a minimally-conscious brain-injured patient. NewYork-Presbyterian, which is ranked sixth on the U.S.News & World Report list of top hospitals, also comprises NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center, Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital of NewYork-Presbyterian, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Westchester Division and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/The Allen Pavilion. Weill Cornell Medical College is the first U.S. medical college to offer a medical degree oversees and maintains a strong global presence in Austria, Brazil, Haiti, Tanzania, Turkey and Qatar. For more information, visit http://www.nyp.org and http://www.med.cornell.edu.

To read Science Briefs on the Web, please visit: http://med.cornell.edu/science.

Weill Cornell Medical College