This is it! This is a big deal, the only drug specifically for CFS. Rintatolimod was trialled for CFS but didn't work. We're all watching this one. Put your experience in the comments below or email me to be notified of site updates
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page 17 CFS > ALLOPATHIC MEDICINES > CORTICOTROPIN RELEASING FACTOR RECEPTOR TYPE 2 AGONIST CT38
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Clinical trial provides preliminary evidence of a cure for myalgic encephalomyelitis / chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) and Long Covid
BURLINGAME, CA, September 1, 2021
Cortene Inc. announces publication of its InTiME clinical trial in which a short subcutaneous infusion of its experimental drug, CT38, achieved sustained symptom improvement in ME/CFS. The company intends to test CT38 in Long Covid, the post-acute stage of COVID-19 infection, which is considered by many to be the latest trigger for ME/CFS.
Cortene believes the CRFR2 pathway is upregulated and therefore overactive, leading to the wide variety of symptoms in ME/CFS. “The conventional approach would be to block the overactive pathway,” said Sanjay Chanda, PhD, Cortene’s Chief Development Officer. “Instead, our counterintuitive approach seeks to overstimulate CRFR2, causing it to downregulate, without the need for chronic treatment.”
CT38 was subcutaneously infused at one of four infusion rates for a maximum of 10.5 hours, in 14 ME/CFS patients. CT38 treatment was safe and generally well-tolerated. It was associated with significant reduction in mean 28-day, total daily symptom score (TDSS), which aggregated 13 patient-reported, daily symptom scores. At an infusion rate of 0.03 μg/kg/h, mean TDSS improved by 26% (p < 0.01, n = 7).
“Infusing CT38 is known to cause temporary cardiovascular changes and InTiME revealed that patients were significantly more sensitive to these changes than healthy subjects from a previous safety study”, said Hunter Gillies, MD, InTiME’s medical monitor. “These data support there being a pathological hypersensitivity in the CRFR2 pathway. Given that InTiME showed i) dose-dependent improvements in TDSS; and ii) additional infusions provide additional benefit, the next trial should test CT38 using longer or additional infusions. While infusion rates are somewhat limited by tolerability, it is total exposure at low rates that appears to drive symptom improvement.”
“The persistent improvement in symptoms over weeks using a limited exposure is encouraging. Many patients are still showing signs of improvement almost 2 years after treatment,” said Lucinda Bateman, MD, founder and Medical Director of the Bateman Horne Center, scientific advisor to Cortene, and the Principal Investigator of the InTiME study. “In fact, a few patients expressed a desire for ‘just a little bit more drug’.”
Full details of the trial have been peer reviewed and published in Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience, Acute corticotropin-releasing factor receptor type 2 agonism results in sustained symptom improvement in myalgic encephalomyelitis / chronic fatigue syndrome. The publication explains how the CRFR2 pathway controls homeostasis (maintaining biological system stability), how this pathway can become disrupted at the neuronal level leading to the individual symptoms of ME/CFS and how these same symptoms manifest in many other chronic diseases. Cortene plans to conduct additional trials in patients with ME/CFS and other diseases with similar symptoms using well-tolerated infusion rates and greater total exposure.
Article Reference: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnsys.2021.698240/full
About ME/CFS
ME/CFS is an unexplained, life-long disease, usually triggered by infection, physical/mental trauma, or chemical exposure. Symptoms include diminished physical capacity, pain, sleep issues, cognitive impairment, orthostatic intolerance, among many others, which worsen with innocuous stimulation (referred to as post-exertional malaise) and are not improved by sleep. ME/CFS afflicts 3 million Americans. There are no approved therapeutics and quality of life is worse than in most chronic diseases.
About InTiME
InTiME was a proof-of-concept, single-site, open-label interventional trial, with patients blind as to dose, to investigate the safety and efficacy of CT38 in ME/CFS patients. Efficacy was assessed by a variety of endpoints, including patient-reported daily symptoms scores for each of 13 symptoms, general health (via SF-36), and continuous FitbitTM monitoring. The primary endpoint was the change in the mean total daily symptom score over the 28-day periods immediately prior to the first treatment (pre-treatment) and immediately prior to exit from the trial (post-treatment).
About CT38
A proprietary peptide agonist, selective/specific for Corticotropin-Releasing Factor Receptor Type 2 (CRFR2
Acute Corticotropin-Releasing Factor Receptor Type 2 Agonism Results in Sustained Symptom Improvement in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnsys.2021.698240/full
Results: ME/CFS patients were significantly more sensitive to the transient hemodynamic effects of CRFR2 stimulation than healthy subjects in a prior trial, supporting the hypothesized CRFR2 upregulation. Adverse events were generally mild, resolved without intervention, and difficult to distinguish from ME/CFS symptoms, supporting a CRFR2 role in the disease. The acute dose of CT38s was associated with an improvement in mean TDSS that was sustained (over at least 28 days post-treatment) and correlated with both total exposure and pre-treatment symptom severity. At an infusion rate of 0.03 μg/kg/h, mean TDSS improved by −7.5 ± 1.9 (or −25.7%, p = 0.009), with all monitored symptoms improving.
Conclusion: The trial supports the hypothesis that CRFR2 is upregulated in ME/CFS, and that acute CRFR2 agonism may be a viable treatment approach warranting further study
Clinical Trial to Investigate CT38 in the Treatment of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03613129
Myalgic Encephalomyelitis / Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) is a complex disorder that may be triggered by infection or other stressors (e.g., emotional or physical trauma, immune activation, chemical exposures). Its hallmark is a reduced capacity for physical and mental activity manifest as profound fatigue along with a cascade of debilitating symptoms (including pain, cognitive dysfunction, orthostatic intolerance, sensitivities, and irregularities of the autonomic, immune and metabolic systems) that worsen with activity (referred to as post-exertional malaise or PEM), are not improved by sleep, and can persist for years. Patients are often unable to handle the activities of daily living and experience a loss of career and a very poor quality of life. There are no established diagnostic tests or approved therapeutics for ME/CFS.
The cause of ME/CFS is not known. It has been postulated that ME/CFS could arise from the up-regulation of a specific receptor (CRF2) in those parts of the brain that govern the sensitivity of the stress response. This configuration would invoke a major response to a minor stimulus, ultimately leading to neuroendocrine, autonomic, immune and metabolic abnormalities that are commonly observed. There is no animal model of ME/CFS, but overstimulating CRF2 in healthy rats, induces signs and symptoms consistent with the disease in humans; while down-regulating it, via CT38 (an experimental peptide), eliminates the ability to stimulate these signs and symptoms. Hypothesis: Utilize CT38 to down-regulate CRF2 to restore a normal stress response, and potentially eliminate disease signs and symptoms
At an infusion rate of 0.03 μg/kg/h, mean TDSS improved by −7.5 ± 1.9 (or −25.7%, p = 0.009), with all monitored symptoms improving
Clinical trial provides preliminary evidence of a cure for myalgic encephalomyelitis / chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) and Long Covid
AXA1125 ct38 New “Long Covid” Treatment Looks to Improve Patient Feeling and Function
Phase I trial was successfull, we're waiting on the results from the phase II trial
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