14 mayo 2019
#AANAM – High-dose Biotin Capsule Shows Promise in X-ALD
by Patricia Inacio, PhD
MD1003, a high-dose biotin, rescued locomotor (movement) activity and halted axon (nerve fiber) degeneration in two mouse models of X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD), including one with more severe and early disease onset, a study shows.
The results were presented at the 2019 American Academy of Neurology (AAN) Annual Meeting (May 4-10), by Stéphane Fourcade, researcher at IDIBELL, Barcelona, Spain, in a poster titled “Beneficial Effects of High-dose Biotin (MD1003) in Models of X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy.”
Biotin is a form of vitamin B, and it plays an important role in energy production within cells. MD1003 is a highly concentrated oral formulation of biotin that acts on neurons’ metabolism to minimize the loss and promote the repair of myelin — the protective, fat-rich substance that wraps around axons. Myelin is progressively destroyed in diseases such as multiple sclerosis and ALD, causing disability.
In the study, researchers at IDIBELL and Medday Pharmaceuticals used two mouse models of X-ALD to investigate whether MD1003 can halt axon degeneration and locomotor deficits. The team also investigated the molecular mechanisms by which MD1003 may exert its effects.
Researchers used a mouse model generated by deleting the ABCD1 gene, which is the cause of X-ALD when mutated. ABCD2 is another gene with a very similar function to ABCD1 that, upon absence of ABCD1, may try to compensate for its effects.
As a result, to analyze the effects of MD1003 on locomotor behavior and axonal degeneration, researchers used another mouse model that was genetically modified to lack both ABCD1 and ABCD2 genes, called a double knockout (KO) mouse, known to have a more severe disease and earlier onset than the single ABCD1 KO mice.
