Imatinib shows potential in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH)

Phase II data presented at the European Respiratory Society show Imatinib to demonstrate efficacy in the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH).

Gleevec receives priority review in US for GIST after surgery

Gleevec (imatinib) has been granted priority review status by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as the first therapy to be reviewed for use after surgery in kit-positive gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST).

Imatinib in connective tissue diseases

Three papers in this months Arthritis and Rheumatism discuss Imatinib in connective tissue diseases:

Treatment of pulmonary fibrosis for twenty weeks with imatinib mesylate in a patient with mixed connective tissue disease
Imatinib mesylate treatment of nephrogenic systemic fibrosis
Is imatinib mesylate a promising drug in systemic sclerosis?

Retrospective study shows imatinib treatment induces hypogammaglobulinemia

A retrospective study of 72 chronic myeloid leukemia and 15 gastrointestinal stromal tumor patients has shown that patients developed a significant reduction of gammaglobulin and immunoglobulin serum levels.

Kinase Domain Mutation detection indicates risk of disease progression

Researchers from Imperial College London have published data showing that screening of patients for bcr-abl mutations following imatinib treatment can indicate a patient’s risk of disease progression

Resistance to imatinib (Gleevec) caused by LYN kinase

Data published in this weeks Journal of the National Cancer Institute shows that activation of LYN kinase is associated with resistance to imatinib (Gleevec) in patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML)

Imatinib increases thrombolytic therapeutic window in stroke

Researchers from the University of Michigan and the Karolinska Institute have found that imatinib (Gleevec) extends the three-hour thrombolytic therapeutic window for ischemic stroke in a mouse model. The drug was found to reduce edema associated with ischemic stroke and improvethe response to tissue plasminogenactivator.

Rhabdomyolysis – possible adverse effect of Imatinib

In a letter to the New England Journal of Medicine French doctors have reported a case of severerhabdomyolysis following treatment with Gleevec (imatinib). The patient was taking imatinib as part of a clinical trial for the treatment of aggressive fibromatosis.

High initial dose of Gleevec results in better early responses in CML

New phase III data shows that when Gleevec is administered at a high initial dose (800 mg/day) there is a faster achievement of clinical milestones. The study did not however, meet its primary endpoint at 1 year

Imatinib modulates synovial fibroblasts in arthritis model

Data presented at EULAR shows that PDGFR kinase inhibitors can modulate synovial fibroblast activity in a mouse collagen induced arthritis (CIA) model. Drugs tested included imatinib mesylate (Gleevec) and SU9518