Old Drugs, New Tricks

Jian-Dong Li outside of his lab in GSU's Parker H. Petit Science Center.

Like a weapon wielded in battle, inflammation is the body's natural way of fighting off foreign invaders like viruses or bacteria. But when this weapon goes unchecked, the results can be debilitating.

For example, chronic inflammation is the cause of rheumatoid arthritis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder and chronic ear infections, which in children may impact speech development.

Jian-Dong Li, director of the new Center for Inflammation, Immunity and Infection at Georgia State, is always searching for better ways to reduce the suffering associated with chronic inflammation, and now he thinks he's found one.

The new Georgia State researcher has discovered that a medication called Vinpocetine - used for decades in Europe and Japan to treat cerebrovascular disorders and to improve memory - can turn off the inflammation that can make life miserable.

"It will definitely help to improve the quality of life, and definitely attenuate the symptoms," said Li, who brings his work on inflammation from the University of Rochester Medical Center.

Better yet, the drug - based on chemicals found in the periwinkle plant - has fewer side effects than do steroids, the more common treatment.

"Steroids are potent in their anti-inflammatory effects, but you can't use them for too long," explained Li, who was recently named a Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar. "If you do, you will cause serious side effects, like reduced immunity and liver damage."

Li's exploration into Vinpocetine uses a plan of attack called drug repositioning strategy. Researchers take an existing drug and, using the same dosage as what's been approved for clinical use by regulatory bodies, perform experiments to see if it can be used for other purposes.

The process of developing medications can take billions of dollars and decades of research. In the U.S., there is a period of in-lab experimentation, then three clinical phases, where at any point the drug could fail if scientists are not able to prove it is safe and effective. During the preliminary in-lab phase, data is provided to the Food and Drug Administration, which will grant, or deny, permission to start clinical trials.

In this case, since much of the work has already been done, regulatory agencies are able to move more quickly to either deny or approve a medication's use for a new indication.

Ultimately, Li's new center will help get at the cellular and molecular roots of inflammation, which are not fully understood.

"The best way to say it is that it's a lot like love," Li said. "Everybody talks about it, but nobody fully understands it."