Brown University

The Uab Research Foundation (the University of Alabama at Birmingham)

Research Corporation Technologies, Inc.

Mahmoud H El Kouni

Jean-Pierre Sommadossi

Fardos N Naguib

Sungman Cha

Paul Calabresi

Ming Y Chu

Shih H Chu

Raymond Panzica

Vincent Guarcello

Pharmaceutical compositions comprising a pharmaceutical composition comprising a compound which is an .alpha. or .beta. anomer, a D(+) or L(-) enantiomer of the following structural formula: ##STR1## wherein, R.sub.1 is a halogen, OR.sub.6, SR.sub.6, SeR.sub.6 or CH.sub.2 R.sub.6 and R.sub.6 is alkyl, alkene, arylalkyl, or aryl; ##STR2## X is CH.sub.2, O or S; R.sub.3 is H, OH, or a halogen;

Treatment of toxoplasmosis

Methods and pharmaceutical compositions effective to increase intracellular and plasma uridine concentrations are disclosed. Certain compositions and methods of using such compositions have been found to be effective to inhibit uridine secretion in a subject, thus increasing uridine concentration. Treatments that increase uridine concentrations are useful to combat many treatments and can also be effective in protecting or rescuing uninfected and normal cells that are subject to toxic side effects induced by the administration of certain chemotherapeutic compounds.

Methods and compositions for inhibiting uridine secretion

A method of increasing intracellular and plasma uridine levels comprising the coadministration or sequential administration of a compound from at least two of the following groups:

Methods for increasing uridine levels with L-nucleosides

5-benzyl barbiturate compounds for use as water-soluble uridine phosphorylase inhibitors are disclosed. These compounds are useful for reducing the toxicity and anemia induced by antiviral drugs such as AZT, as well as for potentiating anticancer drugs and combatting their host-toxicity.

5-benzyl barbiturate derivatives

Treatments for viral infections are disclosed based on the finding that uridine can selectively protect and/or rescue uninfected cells, particularly human bone marrow progenitor cells, from the toxicity of pyrimidine nucleoside analogues during the treatment of retroviral diseases, such as AIDS, and that uridine phophorylase inhibitors are particularly effective in maintaining the necessary levels of uridine within such cells. A treatment for AIDS-type diseases is disclosed in which a pyrimidine nucleoside analogue and a uridine phosphorylase inhibitor are co-administered either simultaneously or sequentially to treat the viral infections and protect or rescue uninfected cells in the afflicted subject. This combination therapy also can be supplemented by direct administration of uridine.

Treatment of viral infections

A compound of the Formula (I): ##STR1## where X is a benzyl group or a benzyloxybenzyl group and pharmaceutical preparations containing the same.

Growing community of inventors

Birmingham, AL, United States of America

Mahmoud H El Kouni