Innovation Anthology #425:

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Opiates like morphine control pain. But for some patients, the drugs can also cause their breathing to stop, so they have to be ventilated.

But the chance finding of physiologist and Alberta Heritage Scientist Dr. John Greer may change that. A drug called Ampikine initially developed to treat memory and sleep deprivation can also overcome the breathing problem.

DR JOHN GREER: I went and read about ampikines because I was working on AMPA receptors and it clicked that these ampikines would juice up the normal activity that’s going on in this critical part of the brain for breathing. So I hypothesized that, okay, if this part of the brain is being suppressed by opiates and also by anaesthetics, what if we gave the ampikine to bring it back up to a level where it keeps going? So I tried this and indeed it worked beautifully. So clinically, the importance here is that we can now be very aggressive with pain killers without worrying so much that the breathing is going to get suppressed.

Dr. Greer’s team is now collaborating with Cortex Pharmaceuticals of California to launch a large scale clinical trial for this new application of Ampikine.

Thanks today to Alberta Innovates Health Solutions

FOR INNOVATION ANTHOLOGY I’M CHERYL CROUCHER

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Sponsor

Alberta Innovates Health Solutions

Alberta Innovates (formerly Alberta Innovates – Health Solutions)

As the newly formed Alberta Innovates corporation, we still fund top quality, internationally competitive health research and innovation activities to improve the health and wellbeing of Albertans. We provide leadership for Alberta’s health research and innovation enterprise by directing, coordinating, reviewing, funding and supporting research and innovation.

Working with our many partners  in the health system, we ensure that research achieves innovation in care, policy and practice, and that the needs of patients and clinicians influence research.

Our background

Alberta Innovates consolidation was launched November 1, 2016.

Alberta Innovates – Health Solutions

Alberta Innovates – Health Solutions was established as part of the Alberta Innovates system by an Act of Legislation of the Government of Alberta. It is a agency  of the Government of Alberta. We receive a yearly allocation from the Ministry of Health and report through the ministry to the people of Alberta.

Our Mandate and Roles document reflects our role and responsibilities and outlines the government statues and regulations with which we comply.

Alberta’s Health Research and Innovation Strategy (AHRIS) sets out Alberta’s health research agenda for the coming decade to ensure our considerable investments in research align with our priority—to improve the health of Albertans.

 

 

Program Date: 2011-09-15