CaDi introduces Lycobrain™, a first-in-class nutraceutical targeting tissue oxygenation, with supporting point-of-care diagnostic blood test

CAMBRIDGE, United Kingdom, July 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Cambridge Diagnostic Imaging, CaDi, launches Lycobrain™, a first-in class nutraceutical to reboot and support brain functions, together with the development of a companion point-of-care diagnostic blood test for the assessment of tissue oxygenation.

CaDi is a biotech company based in Cambridge UK with a main mission to develop products to support tissue respiration and its oxygen supply in health and diseases. Oxygen deficiency in tissues, even on a sub-clinical level, leads to a reduction in their energy production, organ functions and defense, making our body more susceptible to different pathologies.

During 1997 – 1998 a group of researchers from Cambridge University and Royal Papworth Hospital in the UK, led by Dr Ivan M Petyaev, discovered that blood plasma lipoproteins could be a significant carrier of molecular oxygen beyond the capillary wall to tissues where red blood cells with haemoglobin bound O₂ cannot go (link).

The importance of the oxygen carrying capacity of lipoproteins, OCCL, and its role in supporting tissue oxygenation and its link with tissue hypoxia has been validated in extensive clinical studies published in scientific and medical peer-reviewed journals. It was demonstrated that the reduction of this parameter could be caused by or linked to inflammatory processes. Ageing or development of different pathologies may further impair OCCL and tissue oxygenation, which may progress even in asymptomatic forms.

In addition, after a number of years of laboratory screening and clinical studies, an international multi-disciplinary team of medical researchers led by Dr Petyaev's R&D team at Lycotec was able to identify a number of therapeutic candidates, which are able to control and increase OCCL. After optimisation of their pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamic trials demonstrated that this boost in lipoprotein oxygen supply was translated into improvement of tissue oxygenation and respiration, reduction of markers of inflammation and hypoxia.

Earlier this year CaDi initiated a project to develop a point-of-care OCCL test kit. Alexey Shulepov, the CEO of the company, said: "This is the first time that anybody who wants to know the level of the parameter linked to tissue oxygenation would be able to do it at home. It will be a simple test, requiring just a finger prick blood drop and a smart phone App, without the need to send this sample to a clinical laboratory or use expensive equipment.

This test would help many people to assess and monitor their health, to pick up any earlier negative changes in their health, monitor and optimise their correction and prevent or reduce susceptibility to the development of hypoxic conditions."

In parallel to the test development, CaDi is launching this year a range of clinically validated first-in-class nutraceuticals able to support OCCL and tissue oxygenation. The first of them is Lycobrain™, which supports the brain, the most oxygen demanding organ in our body, in its ageing and in stress, when it needs to reboot and recover, during and after challenging times and diseases.

Tissue hypoxia is one of the main complications of COVID-19, the consequences of which may affect people even after their recovery from this infection. For example, cognitive, neurological and psychological disorders or traumas were reported in a third or even a half of these patients for several months during their post-COVID time. To address these issues CaDi is launching Lycobrain™ a daily supplement which would be available in three different strengths.

Response to infectious diseases or to vaccine agents, which are much safer but still "foreign" to the immune system, is always a challenge, albeit at a very different level, to our homeostasis. The key organ which controls it is the hypothalamus, a part of the brain which not only regulates critical body functions such as hormone balance and temperature control, but also is the most sensitive to oxygen deprivation. Therefore, supporting brain tissue oxygenation is one of the key strategies to help our homeostasis adaptability.

In addition, last month at the International Conference Dr Petyaev presented data on the ability of carotenoids, the key components of Lycobrain™, to be effective thermo-regulators in biological systems and help them to adapt to different challenges.

Alexey Shulepov said: "The strategic objective of CaDi is to give people the opportunity to look after their own health with personalised test-based supplementation or treatment. Since the point-of-care kit for an OCCL test is still under development, we decided, on ethical grounds, to make Lycobrain™ available, to help to support brain functions in groups of people with a health risk, particular those recovering from or getting vaccinated against COVID-19".

About CaDi and Lycobrain™:
cadifamily.com – CaDi official website, online store for Lycobrain™
lycotec.com – medical research company, developer of Lycobrain™ technologies
Clinical trials: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9505864/

For any questions please contact: [email protected]

SOURCE Cambridge Diagnostic Imaging (CaDi)