Selective cyclo-oxygenase-2 (CQX-2) inhibitor, VIOXX (rofecoxib), wasvoluntarily withdrawn worldwide from drugstores by its maker Merck & Co., Inc. on September 30,2004, for its potential lethal side effects of heart attack or stroke, The Merck' s decision wasbased on new, three-year data from a prospective, multi-center, randomized, placebo-controlled,double-blind clinical trial of VIOXX with an unrelated study, the APPROVe (Adenomatous PolypPrevention on VIOXX) trial. The trial has been enrolling 2 600 patients and comparing 156 weeks(three years) of treatment with VIOXX 25 mg to placebo since 2000.
Brain injuries are frequently resulting in physical disabilities due to inadequate axonal regeneration.This review discusses the role of calcium binding proteins in axonal regeneration,and elucidates the potential usage of novel invertebrate calcium binding proteins in promoting axonal regeneration of mammalian central neurons.
