Extra remedy for sickle cell

Glutathione is produced naturally by the liver, but also found in fruits, vegetables and meats. It has been used in treatment of diseases that weaken the body’s defence system—hepatitis, AIDS—preventing aging and treating alcoholism.Its use in preventing damage to important cellular components is why researchers are interested in the protein for use in sickle cell […]

Glutathione is produced naturally by the liver, but also found in fruits, vegetables and meats. It has been used in treatment of diseases that weaken the body’s defence system—hepatitis, AIDS—preventing aging and treating alcoholism.
Its use in preventing damage to important cellular components is why researchers are interested in the protein for use in sickle cell anaemia.
SCA patients face regular depletion of glutathione. Effort to modulate glutathione content has been in research for more than 30 years across the world. Sickle cell anaemia results when normal red blood cells become deformed into “sickle” shape, reducing their ability to transport oxygen.
“But glutathione reduces the trend of cells becoming sickled, and that is better health,” says Lawrence Olagungu, PhD, doctor of immunotherapy. His Canada-based firm has researched the substance and come out in with pro-drug Immunocal, which he has presented to the National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development for further studies.
Glutathione helps reduction in the production of dense cells, he says. “When this happens, you improve the clinical status of the patient, because you are reducing vaso-occlusion, which is what causes crisis [in sickle cell anaemia patients]. Without crisis, they will not have organ failure or the complication that results from crisis. Glutathione is central to that.”
Glutathione modulation is achieved through precursors—delivering precursors that the body eventually uses to re-from glutathione. It has been on the market for about 15 years, but not in Africa until now.
“In the last five years, we are having different products offering glutathione modulation coming on the market. Only in the last 30 years have we understood how to influence glutathione. It is a very complex molecule,” says Olagunju.
Only a phytomedicine extracted from Ghana Pepper (kananfari) has been in use for treating SCA in Nigeria. Developed for large scale use by NIPRD, commercial production of Niprisan has been shut down for years, but health authorities backed continued social production of the drug.
SCA is “looked at as the black man’s disease, so it is actually our thing,” says NIPRD director-general Karniyus Gamaniel.
Niprisan works by stabilizing membrances and reverses or prevents sickling, he explains.
A normal immune system gets a trigger that there is an intruder, and body organs become excited to fight. The fight is to destroy sickled cells that have become sticky—and that’s what leads to crisis.
Niprisan stabilizes membranes and reverses or prevents sickling.
“With Niprisan in the blood, there will be no triggering of immune cells to start destroying [sickled cells],” says Gamaniel. “Glutathione mops up the oxygen radicals and the cells regenerates. They are complementary.”
 “We are going to look at the clinical evidence, benefits of manipulating the dosage and monitoring it to interpret whether they support each other.
“There are people on [sickle cell] drugs and we do read their parameters. We will do a study to see if there is an influence in enhancing or reducing dosage over period of time.”
The drug Immunocal, developed by Olagunju’s firm, has undergone clinical studies before its introduction in Nigeria.
“We are here encouraging more of those types of studies to be done. It is actually ready for human consumption, because the studies have been done, but we are encouraging local studies to be done to see how it is applicable in sub-Saharan Africa.”
NIPRD insists the period of study cannot be less than a year from approval.