Publications by authors named "Rivka Schwartz"
Article Synopsis
- Glatiramer Acetate (GA) has been a safe and effective treatment for multiple sclerosis (MS) for 20 years, acting as an antigen, although its exact action mechanism is still unclear.
- Genome-wide expression studies on the THP-1 cell line showed that GA increases anti-inflammatory markers and affects various immune pathways, but there are notable differences between branded GA and Probioglat, a potential generic version.
- Important genes involved in inflammation were significantly activated by Probioglat compared to branded GA, suggesting that these two treatments have different biological effects and need further study.
For decades, policies regarding generic medicines have sought to provide patients with economical access to safe and effective drugs, while encouraging the development of new therapies. This balance is becoming more challenging for physicians and regulators as biologics and non-biological complex drugs (NBCDs) such as glatiramer acetate demonstrate remarkable efficacy, because generics for these medicines are more difficult to assess. We sought to develop computational methods that use transcriptional profiles to compare branded medicines to generics, robustly characterizing differences in biological impact.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGlatiramer acetate (GA) is a complex heterogenous mixture of polypeptides with immunomodulatory activity approved for treatment of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. GA is the first, and was until recently, the only member of the glatiramoids, a family of synthetic copolymer mixtures comprising the four amino acids, L-glutamic acid, L-alanine, L-lysine and L-tyrosine, in a defined molar ratio. Another glatiramoid, protiramer, was recently evaluated in preclinical studies and in two small Phase II clinical trials with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Symptomatic hypogammaglobulinemia in infancy and childhood (SHIC), may be an early manifestation of a primary immunodeficiency or a maturational delay in the normal production of immunoglobulins (Ig). We aimed to evaluate the natural course of SHIC and correlate in vitro lymphoproliferative and secretory responses with recovery of immunoglobulin values and clinical resolution.
Methods: Children, older than 1 year of age, referred to our specialist clinic because of recurrent infections and serum immunoglobulin (Ig) levels 2 SD below the mean for age, were followed for a period of 8 years.