Prof. Tzounopoulos (University of Pittsburgh)

[attheedgeofscience]

For those interested in potassium channel modulator research...

A second area of our research focuses on tinnitus and its underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms. Based on our recent findings on the molecular mechanisms underlying the induction of tinnitus and in collaboration with the medicinal chemist Dr. Peter Wipf of the University of Pittsburgh, we are developing and testing novel specific Kv7.2/3 agonists for preventing the triggering of tinnitus. Moreover, our current tinnitus-related studies are aimed towards understanding the neuronal mechanisms that underlie the maintenance of tinnitus.

Source: http://www.audres.pitt.edu/people/tzounopoulos.php

 

[dan]

So just interested in tinnitus prevention?

 

[valeri]

Yes, what about treating existing hell?

 

[James White]

Yes, what about treating existing hell?

he is studying Trobalt, that's what led people here to try it and get some interesting results for some

 

[undecided]

Yes, what about treating existing hell?

I believe this part:

Moreover, our current tinnitus-related studies are aimed towards understanding the neuronal mechanisms that underlie the maintenance of tinnitus.

pretty much says that they are also looking into treatments for people with existing t.
Plus I don't really see why they would develop a drug that would only 'prevent' tinnitus. I mean, they don't really expect people to start taking a drug in expectation of t someday in their lifetime...

 

[nills]

no but you could take after having hearing damage to bring the neurons back to normal sate or prevent them from exciting. My T appeared weeks after the damage was done. First days it was there than it left and suddenly reappeared.

anyway. here are some videos and his website

http://www.audres.pitt.edu/people/tzounopoulos.php



- this is the most positive one

 

[Mark662]

At 2:32 in the second video, he states;

"Our approach that if we understand the cellular molecular mechanisms of this disorder we should be able to provide a cure"

The race is on for the ultimate potassium channel drug.

....and some positive human feedback out of Autifony's trial, before all the science gets carried away on rodent experiences with potassium channels.

 

[Martin69]

This sounds all promising. Gives hope seeing people working on this.
Video is from 2013, so it is time now for calming down the neurons to its normal state.
Also we know (from the trialees here) that RTG has a positive effect on T.
The Autifony thread is unfortunately very quiet.

 

[Zimichael]

For clarification re those following Tzounopoulos's work...
The article that came out in the Journal of Neuroscience a few weeks ago (Feb. 18th 2015): Cell-Specific Activity-Dependent Fractionation of Layer 2/3¡5B Excitatory Signaling in Mouse Auditory Cortex... is not the one we are waiting for re Kv7's and so forth. This one has not been approved for publication yet, but when it is will no doubt be posted once made public. Should be soon I hope.

best, Zimichael

 

[valeri]

TT is not a bad looking dr at all
Bonus

 

[cqman]

Any news about his modified RTG version?

 

[lapidus]

Any news about his modified RTG version?

No, the latest news we have is what @DebInAustralia posted in the Retigabine thread.

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/thread...—-general-discussion.5074/page-139#post-97879

The study will hopefully be published soon.

 

[attheedgeofscience]

Any news about his modified RTG version?

I know @Zimichael had a phone call with Prof. Tzounopoulos this past Monday - still no news on the publication of the paper. The professor will let us know when it has been approved for publication (thanks to @Zimichael on this thorough follow-up).

In a separate development, another researcher (a professor of pharmacology) I have indirectly been in contact with offered her informal opinion about potassium modulators in relation to CNS pathologies in general - basically stating that a "dirty drug" (= wide spectrum MoA) such as Trobalt may be more effective than selective ones (e.g. "2nd generation" Trobalt). Of course there are also more side effects with a dirty drug (generally) - which is the main problem with Trobalt (for longer duration treatment protocols).

Still... Prof. Tzounopoulos has indicated he suspects/knows his compound to be superior to Trobalt (for both epilepsy and tinnitus) - according to animal models, at least.

attheedgeofscience
08/MAR/2015.

 

[Zimichael]

P.S. As ATEOS has mentioned above, I have been in touch with Prof. Tzounopoulos a number of times, and you can assume I will release the new info. the moment I am able to unless there is some 'copyright' or 'timing ref. official publication' issue.
I guess what I am saying too is, maybe a whole bunch of individual TT folks should not hassle him for info. We are on it re Team Trobalt already.
The info will be made available when it's available. Until then, patience please.

Thanks, Zimichael

 

[valeri]

P.S. As ATEOS has mentioned above, I have been in touch with Prof. Tzounopoulos a number of times, and you can assume I will release the new info. the moment I am able to unless there is some 'copyright' or 'timing ref. official publication' issue
Thanks, Zimichael

So what exactly "issuing a publication" means?
We are not talking starting clinical trails here?

 

[erik]

So what exactly "issuing a publication" means?
We are not talking starting clinical trails here?

No, I believe he means when it has been official released in a online publication or citation such as those which show up in http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed

 

[valeri]

No, I believe he means when it has been official released in a online publication or citation such as those which show up in http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed

So another one million years away!
Great

 

[Zimichael]

So another one million years away!
Great

Valeri... Patience. (Hey I have been waiting nearly 59 years, so I am not over-thrilled about long wait times, so understand the frustration).
However, if you recall, Tzounopoulos is working on a 'modification' of Kv7's and there is a possibility...just a possibility OK...that whatever comes out of this can "piggy-back" onto Ezogabine/Retigabine - which is already approved and in use. If it can be accepted as an 'Ezogabine derivative', then it may be able to by-pass the long list of phased clinical trials, and move much faster.
HOWEVER, THIS IS PURE SPECULATION AT THIS POINT! Do not jump up an light matches of hope all over the place.

Team Trobalt will be seeing how to take advantage of any avenues that may 'speed up' any process that could be of use to us...if feasible and possible. That includes working with other parties with a stake in tinnitus help, cures, whatever. Yeah, like the Department of Defense/VA and so forth.

We need to wait and see what his actual report comes up with and then take it from there. Even if something super comes out of the chemistry box, there is much work, and of course time, to take that to a place where it can be 'made' and 'used'.

Best, Zimichael

 

[valeri]

@Zimichael

Thank you kindly for your response!
Patience has never been my strong point and these days it's getting tested very seriously

Anyway, what I wanted to ask is the purpose of this report from dr TT.
I'm not very familiar with how these things work or the steps that something like this needs to pass, so can you please explain what's the importance of this report?

Is this something that needs to be approved by someone, if so, how long before it can proceed into clinical trials, etc...?

Kind regards!

 

[Zimichael]

Is this something that needs to be approved by someone, if so, how long before it can proceed into clinical trials, etc...?

Ummmmm...Please note above theme in my posts on this:

We need to wait and see what his actual report comes up with and then take it from there. Even if something super comes out of the chemistry box, there is much work, and of course time, to take that to a place where it can be 'made' and 'used'.

Before Neil Armstrong put his feet on the moon, it was potentially made out of "cheese". After his giant step for 'mankind' all mining plans for "Lunar Lactose" were cancelled.

First we have to know if TT's report is cheese, or wine, or non of the above. Personally I am not investing in anything until I know what it is....just keeping an eye on it with my telescope.

Best, Zimichael

 

[marqualler]

@Zimichael Thanks for your incredible work on this. Some day when there is a clinically theraputic treatment for tinnitus, I will tell the world that Zimichael was there walking around on that moon made of cheese first!

 

[kmohoruk]

@Zimichael Thanks for your incredible work on this. Some day when there is a clinically theraputic treatment for tinnitus, I will tell the world that Zimichael was there walking around on that moon made of cheese first!

Mmmmmmmm cheese!

 

[valeri]

@Zimichael Thanks for your incredible work on this. Some day when there is a clinically theraputic treatment for tinnitus, I will tell the world that Zimichael was there walking around on that moon made of cheese first!

Moon made of Retigabine sounds better

 

[Dutchy]

It's good to see this level of development when it concerns medicine to cope with it.

 

[NiNyu]

I don't believe it until I see it.

 

[valeri]

Has this drug been tested on animals yet?

 

[locoyeti]

is there anyway we can organize an AMA or questions list for Dr Tz? I would like to ask him about thalamocortical dysrythmia, which seems to be what he thinks T really is. I emailed him but received no response.

 

[preslys]

@locoyeti

I have also some questions for him I think @Markku can do it

 

[attheedgeofscience]

is there anyway we can organize an AMA or questions list for Dr Tz? I would like to ask him about thalamocortical dysrythmia, which seems to be what he thinks T really is. I emailed him but received no response.

Team Trobalt will pick up on the topic, but do see these posts (for comparison purposes)...

www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/new-upcoming-treatment-hifu-high-intensity-focused-ultrasound-surgery.276/page-8#post-75063

www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/new-upcoming-treatment-hifu-high-intensity-focused-ultrasound-surgery.276/page-8#post-75246

...the implication being that tinnitus can be - and is - present for "other reasons" than TCD.

Note: diagnosis image #1, above, shows abnormal brain-waves (to some degree), whereas link #2 shows a "classical case" of TCD across the entire power spectrum.

 

[Zimichael]

Please Note!

I am the one who has been talking most with Dr. Tzounopoulos c/o Team Trobalt. Indeed things have been quiet on that for for a while as we wait for the "new Kv7 whatevers" report to be published. I will hear about it from him when it is, I hope, or we will see it in the Journal of Neuroscience perhaps.

Meanwhile I believe it is best to leave him at peace from anyone in TT especially about anything that smacks of "medical" inference. He has made it plain to me on each occasion that I have conversed with him that he knows "nothing, absolutely nothing" about anything medical; drugs; how they may impact actual people; and so on. He works with labs stuff and mice. He is totally a "lab guy". He's thrilled his research may help people but has no idea how that will happen in the chain of events beyond what he sees and does in the lab. That's up to others.
I can almost guarantee that he will say he does not even know what thalamocortical dysrythmia is, or at least have any opinion about it. It's out of his field of experience, etc., etc.
He did not even want to delve into Kv3's with me, or details of what Autifony was doing (or even where they were at with their trial, etc.), and that is the Kv back yard!

Am I making myself clear? I'm not trying to stop anyone from contacting him directly, especially if on some specific lab procedure he is working on, or may be keen to know about, etc.... but anything with a whiff of "medical". No, forget it.
And it may just piss him off if associated with TT, as we already have a sort of 'handshake agreement' that we will be patient with him and let him get on with his mice.

best, Zimichael