Targeting Peritoneal Adhesions

In about 4% of patients that have had an abdominal surgery ranging from a C-section, to appendectomy, to removal of the gall bladder, they will develop bands of scar tissue that can cause extreme pain and/or life-threatening complications such as bowel obstruction which requires emergency operation. The only temporary cure is a second operation which usually only provides temporary relief. No therapeutic is available to prevent adhesion formation. We have the technology to look inside the belly and see these adhesions form and we discovered how this happens. We can also see whether any drugs can prevent the adhesions from forming and at least in mice we were able to discover a new drug. We wish to develop a test tube system (so we can begin to use human systems) to determine whether the same molecules work in humans as mice. While we have a core molecule that blocks the adhesions, we hope to make better versions of the molecule so that it has less side effects and blocks adhesion formation better. Our goal is to develop a drug that could be given at the end of a surgical operation to all patients to ensure none develop adhesions.

Faculty Supervisor:

Paul Kubes

Student:

Partner:

Medhesions Inc.

Discipline:

Life Sciences

Sector:

Professional, scientific and technical services

University:

University of Calgary

Program: