UAMS First in Nation to Offer Groundbreaking Therapy for Treatment-Resistant Depression

By Tim Taylor

LITTLE ROCK — The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) is the first medical facility in the United States to provide an innovative therapeutic treatment for major depressive disorder (MDD).

The SAINT® neuromodulation system, developed by Magnus Medical, Inc., has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat adults with depression who have not achieved improvement in their condition from the use of antidepressant medications. SAINT works by leveraging structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans to inform a proprietary algorithm that pinpoints the optimal anatomical target for precise neurostimulation in individuals with major depression.

The treatment is performed on an accelerated, five-day timeline, reducing the patient’s treatment time from weeks to days. In previous clinical trials, treatment with SAINT for MDD resulted in a significant reduction in depressive symptoms at four weeks post-treatment following the five-day treatment protocol. Currently, SAINT can only be provided to patients who are being treated as inpatients.

UAMS First in Nation to Offer Groundbreaking Therapy for Treatment-Resistant Depression

The SAINT neuromodulation system utilizes transcranial magnetic stimulation to treat major depressive disorder.

Experts Share New Treatments, Solutions for Parkinson’s Patients, Caregivers

By Linda Satter

New treatments for Parkinson’s disease, including drugs that researchers at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) have been working on for years, will finally become available in pharmacies this year, Rohit Dhall, M.D., predicted at the recent Ninth Annual Parkinson’s Symposium at UAMS.

Dhall, who is also the medical director of the UAMS Clinical Trials Innovation Unit, said most of the novel therapies are designed to help patients control motor symptoms although UAMS neurologists are continuing research trials to slow the progression of the disease.

Addressing live and virtual audiences from a stage at the UAMS Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute, he provided an update on a randomized clinical trial for which UAMS was a site, designed to test the effectiveness of the diabetes drug exenatide as a potential disease-modifying drug in Parkinson’s patients. Despite some initially positive signs, the trial did not show improved course of Parkinson’s disease after 48 weeks of receiving drug compared to those who received a placebo.

Experts Share New Treatments, Solutions for Parkinson’s Patients, Caregivers

Rohit Dhall, M.D., chair of the UAMS Department of Neurology, discusses Parkinson's disease. Neurosurgeon Erika Petersen, M.D., who founded the annual Parkinson's Symposium, is in the background.

NIH Awards $13.8 Million to Test UAMS-Discovered Drug for Methamphetamine Use Disorder Treatment

By David Robinson

LITTLE ROCK — A drug discovered at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) to counter the effects of methamphetamine will be tested in a phase 2 clinical trial as the only potential treatment of its kind for methamphetamine use disorder.

The study is led by UAMS startup biopharmaceutical company InterveXion Therapeutics LLC and is funded by a three-year, $13.8 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).

The drug, IXT-m200, could be the first monoclonal antibody treatment for methamphetamine use disorder and overdose. It received the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Fast Track Designation in 2016 for treatment of methamphetamine use disorder. FDA Fast Track Designation facilitates the development and speeds the review of drugs to treat serious conditions and fill an unmet medical need.

UAMS’ Brooks Gentry, M.D., is leading the study of what could become the first monoclonal antibody treatment for methamphetamine use disorder and overdose.

AG Rutledge Announces $216 Million Allocation of Opioid Settlement Money with Cities, Counties

by Talk Business & Politics staff (staff2@talkbusiness.net)

Attorney General Leslie Rutledge announced Thursday (Oct. 7) that Arkansas’ allocation of a $216 million opioid settlement will be split evenly between cities, counties and the state.

A signed Arkansas Opioids Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) clarifies the settlement being paid by opioid manufacturers and distributors.

“By bringing the cities, counties and state together, all Arkansas communities will have access to funds for the prevention, education, and treatment of opioid use,” said Rutledge. “Far too many Arkansans have felt the impact of the opioid epidemic. Our MOU will help save lives through education and treatment of those battling addiction across Arkansas.”

https://talkbusiness.net/2021/10/ag-rutledge-announces-216-million-allocation-of-opioid-settlement-money-with-cities-counties/