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Leading Scottish life sciences firm TauRx Therapeutics Management Ltd. is to feature alongside acclaimed documentary maker and former Strictly Come Dancing winner Stacey Dooley to examine one of the latest viral wellness trends in Clickbait Clinic with Stacey Dooley.
Professor Claude Wischik, TauRx Co-Founder and Chairman, and Medical Director Dr Sonya Miller travelled to Cambridge to film scenes for Clickbait Clinic with Stacey Dooley, which sets to air on BBC One on Monday, as well as being available now on iPlayer.
Along with respected doctors and health content creators Dr Alex George and Dr Nighat Arif, Stacey examines several viral wellness trends taking over social media feeds.
One of those is methylene blue, an old synthetic dye with legitimate medical uses which some people claim, when self-administered, improves cognition, prevents ageing or treats neurological disease.
TauRx’s potential oral treatment for Alzheimer’s disease, which is currently undergoing review by the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), is related to methylene blue. Strictly 2018 winner Stacey gauged the expert opinions of Prof Wischik and Dr Miller on its suitability.
Prof Wischik, who first discovered the Alzheimer tangle was made up of tau proteins clumped together while a PhD student at Cambridge in 1988, said: “Documentaries like Clickbait Clinic are more important than ever, particularly when it comes to health. With so much misinformation out there, we should all be programmed to maintain a healthy level of scepticism.
“Only after spending many years studying the effect of methylene blue, as well as undertaking rigorous lab tests and clinical trials under strict safety protocols, have we been able to see the impact it has on the brain.
“Through such work, we have established that while it plays a part in cognitive function temporarily, the effect in Alzheimer’s only happens with the new form of the drug.
“The drug we have submitted to the MHRA has undergone stringent tests, and we believe the evidence available reinforces our belief it has the potential to offer an accessible oral treatment option which could be delivered safely and with minimal patient/physician burden.”
Professor Claude Wischik pictured with Stacey Dooley.
As well as interviewing Prof Wischik and Dr Miller, Stacey also visits a patient who was first diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2013.
Dr Miller added: “The documentary is extremely important in dispelling potentially dangerous online health myths. What people must realise is that you have medicines to treat the disease state of an illness and make you feel better – but if you are already well, taking the same medicine won’t necessarily improve your health further.
“As a physician, I would not encourage anyone to take medical health advice from social media. If people are concerned, the first port of call should always be their GP.”
As well as methylene blue, the series – which has been produced by Nutopia – also examines extreme leg-lengthening surgery, NAD+ drips and the carnivore diet to testosterone and dog deworming tablets that some believe can cure cancer.
Speaking when the programme was announced, Stacey said: “Social feeds are full of health and wellness tips, but it's impossible to know which ones to believe. I can't wait to find out what the experts think and to meet the people behind the biggest online health trends.”
Peer-reviewed publications report that TauRx’s drug targeting the tau protein – a key hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease – halted progression of neurodegeneration, and that participants with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) who received 16 mg/day experienced statistically significant cognitive improvement over 18 months.
Participants also displayed no evidence of statistically significant cognitive or functional decline over a period of two years. Trials also confirmed the drug has a benign safety profile, with headache (1.5%) and diarrhoea (1.2%) reported as the most frequent adverse effects at the 16 mg/day dose. A decision on the company’s MHRA application is expected in the coming months.
The methylene blue episode of Clickbait Clinic With Stacey Dooley will air on Monday, October 19 at 8.30pm on BBC One and can be viewed on BBC iPlayer here.
TauRx 携手《舞动奇迹》冠军，澄清网络药物使用热潮中的误区
苏格兰知名生命科学企业TauRx Therapeutics Management Ltd.将与备受赞誉的纪录片制作人、英国舞蹈竞技节目Strictly Come Dancing前冠军斯泰茜·杜利（Stacey Dooley）一同亮相Clickbait Clinic with Stacey Dooley，共同探讨近期在网络上走红的一种健康养生潮流。
TauRx联合创始人兼董事长克劳德·维希克（Claude Wischik）教授与医学总监索尼娅·米勒（Sonya Miller）医生前往剑桥，参与拍摄纪录片系列Clickbait Clinic With Stacey Dooley。相关一集将于周一在BBC One播出，目前已可通过BBC iPlayer观看。
在节目中，斯泰茜与医生兼健康科普内容创作者亚历克斯·乔治（Alex George）和尼加特·阿里夫（Nighat Arif）共同调查了多种在社交媒体上迅速走红的健康养生潮流。
其中之一是亚甲蓝（methylene blue）。这种合成染料由来已久，其医疗用途已获认可，但有人声称，自行使用亚甲蓝可以改善认知功能、延缓衰老，甚至治疗神经系统疾病。
TauRx正在研发一种与亚甲蓝相关的阿尔茨海默病口服候选药物，目前正由英国药品和医疗产品监管局（Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency，MHRA）审评。2018年Strictly Come Dancing冠军斯泰茜就亚甲蓝的适用性征询了维希克教授和米勒医生的专业意见。
维希克教授于1988年在剑桥攻读博士学位期间，首次发现阿尔茨海默病患者脑内的神经原纤维缠结由聚集在一起的tau蛋白构成。他表示：“Clickbait Clinic With Stacey Dooley这样的纪录片如今比以往任何时候都更加重要，尤其是在健康领域。面对大量错误信息，我们都应保持适度的质疑精神。
“只有经过多年对亚甲蓝作用的研究，并严格遵循安全规范开展严谨的实验室研究和临床试验，我们才能逐步了解它对大脑的影响。
“通过这些研究，我们发现，虽然亚甲蓝能够对认知功能产生短暂影响，但要对阿尔茨海默病产生作用，则需要采用这种药物的新型制剂。
“我们向MHRA提交审评的药物已经过严格测试。我们认为，现有证据进一步支持了我们的判断：该药物有望成为一种更易获得的口服治疗选择，在保障用药安全的同时，尽可能减轻患者和医务人员的负担。” 除采访维希克教授和米勒医生外，斯泰茜还探访了一位于2013年首次确诊阿尔茨海默病的患者。
米勒医生补充道：“这部纪录片对于澄清网络上可能危害健康的错误观念具有重要意义。公众需要明白，药物可以用来治疗疾病、缓解症状，但对于原本健康的人而言，服用同一种药物并不一定会让身体变得更加健康。
“作为医生，我不建议人们仅凭社交媒体上的信息寻求医疗建议。如果对自身健康存在疑虑，首先应咨询全科医生（GP)。”
除了亚甲蓝，由Nutopia制作的这部系列节目还探讨了极端的断骨增高手术、NAD+静脉输液、纯肉饮食、睾酮，以及一些人认为可以治愈癌症的犬用驱虫药片。
在节目官宣时，斯泰茜曾表示：“社交媒体上充斥着各种健康和养生建议，却很难判断哪些值得相信。我迫不及待地想听听专家们的意见，也想见见那些热门网络健康潮流背后的人。”
经同行评审的研究论文报告称，TauRx研发的这款靶向tau蛋白的药物可阻止神经退行性病变的进展。tau蛋白相关病理改变是阿尔茨海默病的重要特征之一。研究还报告，每日接受16毫克剂量治疗的轻度认知障碍（MCI）受试者，在18个月内的认知功能改善具有统计学显著性。
此外，在为期两年的观察中，受试者的认知功能或日常功能均未出现具有统计学显著性的下降。临床试验还显示，该药物总体安全性特征良好：在每日16毫克的给药剂量下，最常报告的不良反应为头痛（1.5%）和腹泻（1.2%）。预计MHRA将在未来几个月内对该公司的申请作出决定。
Clickbait Clinic With Stacey Dooley 聚焦亚甲蓝的一集将于10月19日（星期一）晚8时30分在BBC One播出，目前也可通过BBC iPlayer观看。
