University of Virginia Health System

U.VA. RESEARCHERS RECEIVE MORE THAN $1.5 MILLION FROM FALK TRUST

Researchers at the University of Virginia School of Medicine have received more than $1.5 million to further the study on an adenosine analog (A2A) and its effects on inflammation in heart disease, spinal cord injury, kidney transplant and other conditions. The gift is from the Chicago-based Dr. Ralph and Marian Falk Medical Research Trust, which funds medical research into diseases for which there is no cure.

This gift of $1,575,000 from the Falk Trust will help catapult our outstanding adenosine research program into useful treatment of cardiovascular and inflammatory diseases. The School of Medicine is indebted to Roderick and Melanie Vere Nicoll for their help in securing this most important gift, said Dr. Robert M. Carey, dean of the U.Va. School of Medicine.

The application of A2A to spinal cord injury may reduce spinal cord paralysis that occurs as a result of trauma or blood loss during certain vascular surgeries, such as repair of an aortic aneurysm. Findings of this research were recently presented at the 15th Annual Scientific Meeting of the Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma in Orlando, Fla. on Jan. 17, and at the 38th Annual Meeting of The Society of Thoracic Surgeons in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. on Jan. 28.

The team of researchers discovered that adenosine analogs protect the spinal cords of animals from injury resulting from either a temporary loss of blood flow to the spine (ischemia) that occurs in certain types of vascular surgery or from traumatic injury. The results of the study suggest that ischemic or traumatic spinal cord injuries gradually worsen due to inflammation. Treatment with the adenosine compound suppresses that inflammatory response and protects tissues from these injuries.

The findings focus on the use of an adenosine analog (A2A), a compound designed by Joel Linden, professor of medicine, and synthesized by Timothy Macdonald , professor of chemistry, both faculty members at U.Va. The compound was licensed to Adenosine Therapeutics, LLC, a Charlottesville-based biotechnology company that is seeking to develop the compound for future use. Dr. John Kern, assistant professor of surgery, is conducting the research on the application of A2A to spinal cord injury.

Adenosine has been a focus of interest at U.Va. for several decades. The late Dr. Robert Berne, U.Va. professor of physiology, first recognized it as an important regulator of coronary blood flow and cardiac output in the early 1960s. He introduced adenosine as a therapeutic agent in the treatment of certain heart arrhythmias that led to the development of a new cardiac drug, Adenocard, now used in ambulances and emergency rooms across the country.

The research findings were presented for funding to the Falk Trust by Charlottesville native Roderick Vere Nicoll, son of the late Dr. E. D. Vere Nicoll, an orthopedic surgeon at U.Va. Roderick Vere Nicoll's wife, Melanie, is the granddaughter of the Trust's founding donor, Dr. Ralph Falk.

When Dr. Ivan Crosby, a longtime family friend and heart surgeon who cared for my father at U.Va., brought the proposal to our attention, we were interested, especially with the application of the research in spinal cord injury, says Roderick Vere Nicoll.

The Vere Nicolls have a strong interest in spinal cord injuries, stemming from a lifelong interest in equestrian sports. According to a report published by the American Medical Equestrian Association in Dec. 2001, equestrian sports have the largest percent of injuries and have had a continuous increase during the last 10 years. Horseback riding carries a higher injury rate than motorcycle riding. Some injuries, such as an injury to the spinal region, can leave permanent impairment, possibly resulting in paralysis.

My mother first met my father because of a riding accident. She broke her back and he was the orthopedic surgeon who cared for her, Roderick Vere Nicoll says. I've been around horses all my life, as an active Polo player, and I know many people who have been severely injured or paralyzed in accidents. My wife and I are delighted that the research funded by the Falk Trust could result in a breakthrough treatment for something that has hit so close to home.

This is the second time the Falk Trust has made a gift to the University. In October 1999, with the help of the Roderick and Melanie Vere Nicoll, the Falk Trust made a gift of $660,000 to the Beirne B. Carter Center for Immunology Research to fund the development of new treatments and vaccines for hepatitis C.

February 14, 2002