STEVENSON, Wash., Aug. 16, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Total Nutraceutical Solutions, Inc. (TNS) (OTCBB:TNUS) announced today that it has entered into a research agreement with Dr. Jack Rogers, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Neuroscience at Harvard Medical School and Director of the Neurochemistry Laboratory at Massachusetts General Hospital, to evaluate the therapeutic and prophylactic potential of Ergo-D2™ as a dietary therapy or as a palliative therapy for Parkinson's disease patients.
Parkinson's disease (PD) is a chronic progressive movement disorder characterized by shaking and difficulty with walking, movement and coordination and affects over one million people in the United States. The cause is unknown and there is presently no cure. PD involves the malfunction and death of vital nerve cells in the brain that produce dopamine, a chemical that sends messages to the part of the brain that controls movement and coordination. The amount of dopamine in the brain decreases with the progression of PD until a person is unable to control normal movement.
One of the hallmark signs of this debilitating disease is an aggregation of the protein alpha-synuclein which is found not only in the mid-brain but also in the brain stem and the olfactory bulb. These areas of the brain correlate to non-motor functions such as sense of smell and sleep regulation which could explain the non-motor symptoms experienced by some people with PD before any motor signs of the disease appear. Alpha-synuclein has been identified as a genetic risk factor for PD and is a logical target for therapies such as the TNS dietary supplement Ergo-D2™, that have the potential to inhibit synthesis and accumulation as well as lower the toxicity of this protein.
Dr. Rogers will be working with Dr. Catherine Cahill, Ph.D to measure in vivo the efficacy of Ergo-D2™ in repressing alpha-synuclein translation and promoting the survival and viability of dopaminergic neurons using the transgenic mouse model for PD. "The potential ability of the potent antioxidant Ergo-D2™ to target and control alpha-synuclein is most exciting," stated Dr. Jack Rogers. "There is a definite scarcity of available therapies for PD and my lab is pleased to be part of this important solution."
Ergo-D2™ is a mushroom-based functional food ingredient containing L-Ergothioneine and Vitamin D2. L-Ergothioneine (Ergo) is made in few organisms, notably filamentous fungi, and is an amino acid whose chemistry differs from conventional sulfur-containing antioxidants such as glutathione and lipoic acid. Although L-Ergothioneine cannot be made in human cells, it is a powerful antioxidant that is present in some tissues at high levels and can only be absorbed from the diet. In humans, Ergo is taken up from the gut and concentrated in tissues by a specific genetically encoded transport protein called The Ergothioneine Transporter. TNS announced on March 10, 2010 that the company acquired the exclusive world-wide rights to this transporter from the University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany. The license comprises the patent application entitled "Identification of Ergothioneine Transporter and Therapeutic Uses Thereof." TNS has also filed a series of provisional use patents covering the application of L-Ergothioneine, Vitamin D2 and/or Ergo-D2™ in neuroinflammatory disease states associated with free radicals and oxidative stress, such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression and other comorbid chronic inflammatory conditions.
About Total Nutraceutical Solutions, Inc.
TNS is a global leader in whole food biotechnology that identifies, scientifically validates, and commercializes functional ingredients and other products that address multi-billion dollar markets for organic health, beauty and agriculture. The company's growing portfolio of intellectual property includes extraction, enhancement, and uses for some of the most powerful anti-oxidants and bionutrients occurring in nature.
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Any statements contained in this press release that relate to future plans, events or performance are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to, the risks associated with the transaction described in this press release, and other risks identified in the filings by Total Nutraceutical Solutions (TNS), Inc. with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Further information on risks faced by TNS are detailed in the Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010 and in its subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. These filings are or will become available on a website maintained by the Securities and Exchange Commission at http://www.sec.gov. The information contained in this press release is accurate as of the date indicated. Actual results, events or performance may differ materially. TNS does not undertake any obligation to publicly release the result of any revision to these forward- looking statements that may be made to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
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