News
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2010-06-22
Bättre livskvalitet med ny orphan drug för Addisons sjukdom
Helsingborg - Det svenska l&...
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2010-06-21
Better quality of life with new orphan drug for Addison´s disease
Helsingborg / San Diego - Duo...
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2010-06-16
DuoCort ansöker om europeiskt marknadsgodkännande för sin orphan drug
Helsingborg - Det svenska l&au...
| Medical Need |
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Ongoing research indicates that chronic adrenal insufficiency patients are suffering higher than expected mortality, as well as other long-term side effects. This is probably due to the highly un-physiological glucocorticoid replacement therapies currently available. DuoCort, a Swedish start-up founded by researchers at Gothenburg and Uppsala Universities, is developing a novel product that will simplify and considerably improve glucocorticoid replacement therapy for adrenal insufficiency patients. Chronic adrenal insufficiency affects patients who are in their active years and, because it is a chronic condition, require life-long therapy. Treatment of adrenal insufficiency involves replacing, or substituting, the hormones that the adrenal glands are not making. Cortisol is replaced with hydrocortisone, the synthetic form of cortisol and sometimes with other corticosteroids. Adrenal insufficiency also commonly occurs as a temporary condition caused by adrenal suppression from high-dose and prolonged steroid therapy in patients with pulmonary diseases, autoimmune- and inflammatory diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, ulcerative colitis and various cancers. The steroids used to treat these diseases cause a down regulation of the pituitary-adrenal axis which as a result fails to secrete sufficient cortisol. The time to full recovery is highly individual but often requires 6 to 9 months. During the initial phase of recovery, replacement therapy may be needed. |