CALIFORNIA IN BRIEF : STANFORD : Drug May Prevent Rejection of Organs
From Times staff and wire reports
A drug used for more than a decade to treat psoriasis is preventing and halting the rejection of transplanted organs in animals, a Stanford University researcher said. The compound will be tested on human transplant patients pending approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, said Dr. Randall Morris, director of Stanford’s laboratory for transplant immunology. The drug mycophenolic acid inhibits the formation of DNA, critical in the growth of skin lesions common to psoriasis. Researchers altered mycophenolic acid to make it more easily absorbed by the body. In its altered form, it defuses the DNA process required for white blood cells to attack transplanted organs, Morris said.
