Title:Drug Repurposing: Promises of Edaravone Target Drug in Traumatic Brain Injury
Volume: 28
Issue: 12
Author(s): Zaynab Shakkour, Hawraa Issa, Helene Ismail, Ohanes Ashekyan, Karl John Habashy, Leila Nasrallah, Hussam Jourdi, Eva Hamade, Stefania Mondello, Mirna Sabra*, Kazem Zibara*Firas Kobeissy*
Affiliation:
- Faculty of Medicine, Lebanese University, Neuroscience Research Center (NRC), Beirut,Lebanon
- PRASE and Biology Department, Faculty of Sciences - I, Lebanese University, Beirut,Lebanon
- American University of Beirut, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Beirut,Lebanon
Keywords:
Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), drug repurposing, edaravone, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, stroke, neurological
disorders.
Abstract: Edaravone is a potent free-radical scavenger that has been in the market for more than
30 years. It was originally developed in Japan to treat strokes and has been used there since 2001.
Aside from its anti-oxidative effects, edaravone demonstrated beneficial effects on proinflammatory
responses, nitric oxide production, and apoptotic cell death. Interestingly, edaravone
has shown neuroprotective effects in several animal models of diseases other than stroke. In particular,
edaravone administration was found to be effective in halting amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
(ALS) progression during the early stages. Accordingly, after its success in Phase III clinical studies,
edaravone has been approved by the FDA as a treatment for ALS patients. Considering its
promises in neurological disorders and its safety in patients, edaravone is a drug of interest that can
be repurposed for traumatic brain injury (TBI) treatment. Drug repurposing is a novel approach in
drug development that identifies drugs for purposes other than their original indication. This review
presents the biochemical properties of edaravone along with its effects on several
neurological disorders in the hope that it can be adopted for treating TBI patients.