UMD scientists design blood-loss drug

Research on hibernating ground squirrels has helped University of Minnesota Duluth scientist Matt Andrews and two colleagues design a therapy that could increase the survival rates of soldiers who suffer severe blood loss on the battlefield.

By: Andy Greder, Duluth News Tribune

University of Minnesota Duluth researchers Les Drewes (left) and Matt Andrews sit in the lab where their team tested a fluid that may increase the survival chances for people who have lost large volumes of blood. The researchers' team tested the fluid by performing surgical procedures on rats under the microscopes in front of Drewes and Andrews. (Steve Kuchera / skuchera@duluthnews.com)

Research on hibernating ground squirrels has helped University of Minnesota Duluth scientist Matt Andrews and two colleagues design a therapy that could increase the survival rates of soldiers who suffer severe blood loss on the battlefield.

Andrews, head of the UMD biology department, has used his knowledge of how animals such as ground squirrels change during winter months to develop a small dose of physiological "fuel" to help human organs and tissues survive hemorrhagic shock.

"You have to find the right organism in the right place to solve the right problem," said Andrews, who has 16 years of experience researching hibernation. "It's as simple as aspirin, which was found on the bark of a willow tree. It's out there, but basic research, basic science, will have to find it."

During hibernation, animals "have to have some sort of remodeling in their physiology for low blood flow and oxygen delivery," Andrews said. "This is trying to harness what those adaptations are."

The liquid therapy called Tamiasyn has been successfully tested with intravenous injection on rats and pigs, and human testing could begin as soon as next year.

If it eventually receives clinical testing approval, the therapy might help save lives by extending the "golden hour," a crucial period when trauma care is most important to a patient's survival.

"In field situations, it could be very beneficial to patients," said Jim Stauber, a risk manager for Mayo Clinic Medical Transportation. Emergency medical services "would be very interested in what the procedure would be to provide better care for patients that suffer from trauma."

Andrews, fellow UMD scientist Les Drewes and two UMD students received a U.S. Department of Defense grant in 2005 to help find a medical solution for soldiers dying from gunshot wounds or improvised explosive devices in combat.

In 2006, the UMD therapy was successful in keeping rats subjected to 60 percent blood loss alive for three hours. Without the treatment, the rats would have died in less than 10 minutes. The scientists were then successful in providing blood transfusions back into the rats.

Gregory Beilman, a University of Minnesota scientist, then had successful results using pigs more than a year ago.

The critical next step: human testing.

"There has got to be something significant about what the brain is using" in hibernation, said Drewes, head of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of Minnesota Medical School-Duluth. "If we can translate that to humans, that would be a great advancement."

Tamiasyn received favorable reviews of its marketability from the University of Minnesota's Venture Center, according to Jeff Williams, then-chief executive officer in residence for the center.

"It's filling an unmet need," Williams said. "There is nothing in critical care need from time of the accident to the hospital that can keep organs and tissues alive. They keep some sort of fluids in, but nothing that is biologically active."

After the favorable reviews, the university asked Williams to become the exclusive licensee for Tamiasyn in May 2008. Williams founded VitalMedix, a startup company in Minneapolis, soon after and has been raising private capital to support the project in hopes of bringing it to market for use by military medics, first responders and trauma center surgeons.

Andrews and Drewes said their findings in collaboration with graduate student Amanda Klein and undergraduate student Scott Wendroth will be published in a scientific journal soon. The scientists believe Tamiasyn could also be used to prolong the life of organs slated for transplantation and are in the process of writing applications for additional studies.

"We're interested in ways to improve," Drewes said. "This isn't the end all and be all."