System and methods for evaluating efficacy of appetite-affecting drugs

• US 8,977,517 B2
• Filed: 06/04/2007
• Issued: 03/10/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 06/05/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Creighton University
• Original Assignee: Creighton University
• Inventors: Reidelberger, Roger D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Skibinsky, Anna
• Application Number:
  US11/809,948
• Publication Number:
  US 20070280887A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,836 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 702/179
• CPC Class Codes: A61K 49/0008 Screening agents using (non-human) animal models or transgenic animal models or chimeric hosts, e.g. Alzheimer disease animal model, transgenic model for heart failure
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 33/5088 of vertebrates

Abstract

System and methods to evaluate and administer drugs. The present invention instantaneously identifies the effects that drugs, including appetite-affecting agents, have on animals. Data is collected automatically and analyzed and further organized to identify feeding patterns and the effect an appetite-affecting agent has on those feeding patterns. The present invention includes a system for data management, including a program with a data acquisition phase and a data analyzing phase to determine the feeding patterns of animals to aid in the evaluation of appetite-affecting drug efficacy.

Claims

1. A system for determining the efficacy of drugs on an animal, comprising:

a plurality of cage scale assemblies, each cage scale assembly including a cage, a food source, and a scale, wherein said cage scale assembly is configured to wirelessly send cage scale assembly data to and wirelessly receive the cage scale assembly data from a switchbox;

said food source available to the animal;

said scale associated with said food source and in wireless communication with the switchbox;

said cage scale assembly data consisting of poll date, animal ID, current time, previous scale weight and current scale weight;

a drug-delivery device in wireless communication with a control unit, the drug-delivery device including a drug source for delivering a predetermined amount of at least one appetite-affecting agent to the animal,

a control unit configured to;

store study setup data consisting of study ID, date, lights-on time, lights-off time, experiment start time and experiment stop time,

store animal treatment setup data consisting of animal ID, cage scale ID, treatments ID, agent(s) and dose(s),

store pump setup data consisting of pump ID, syringe diameter, infusion rate and infusion periods,

store scale setup data consisting of polling interval and threshold weight change,

collect the cage scale assembly data from said switchbox at a predetermined interval,

determine if the previous scale weight exceeds the current scale weight by an amount greater than the threshold weight change indicating feeding behavior, and if so record the cage scale assembly data, and

analyze the cage scale assembly data to determine feeding patterns of the animal;

send instructions to the drug delivery device to stop delivering the predetermined amount of the at least one appetite-affecting agent upon determining that the previous scale weight exceeds the current scale weight by an amount greater than the threshold.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein said appetite-affecting agent is Peptide YY_3-36.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein said scale is configured to communicate over a network.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein said drug-delivery device is configured to communicate over a network.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein said control unit is configured to communicate over a network.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein said drug-delivery device comprises a plurality of said drug sources.

7. A system for determining the efficacy of drugs on an animal, comprising:

a plurality of drug-delivery devices, each of said drug-delivery devices including a drug source and a pump, wherein said pump initiates delivery of a predetermined amount of at least one appetite-affecting agent from said drug source to the animal, and said each of said drug-delivery devices is configured to wirelessly send drug-delivery device data to and wirelessly receive the drug-delivery device data from a control unit;

a plurality of cage scale assemblies, each of said cage scale assemblies including a cage, a scale and a food source, wherein each of said scales are associated with each of said food source for the animal, wherein said each of said cage scale assemblies is configured to wirelessly send cage scale assembly data to and wirelessly receive cage scale assembly data from a switchbox, the cage scale assembly data consisting of poll date, animal ID, current time, previous scale weight and current scale weight;

a control unit configured to;

store study setup data consisting of study ID, date, lights-on time, lights-off time, experiment start time and experiment stop time,

store animal treatment setup data consisting of animal ID, cage scale ID, treatments ID, agent(s) and dose(s),

store pump setup data consisting of pump ID, syringe diameter, infusion rate and infusion periods,

store scale setup data consisting of polling interval and threshold weight change,

wirelessly receive the cage scale assemblies data from the switchbox and wirelessly receive the drug-delivery device data from at least one of said each of said drug-delivery devices at a predetermined interval, and

determine, for each of said cage scale assemblies, if the previous scale weight exceeds the current scale weight by greater than the threshold weight change and if so, store the cage scale assembly data and the drug-delivery device data,

send instructions to the drug delivery device to stop delivering the predetermined amount of the at least one appetite-affecting agent upon determining that the previous scale weight exceeds the current scale weight by an amount greater than the threshold.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein said each of said scales is configured to determine food weight and transmit food weight data to a processor.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein a storage medium is operatively associated with said control unit.

10. The system of claim 7, wherein said appetite-affecting agent is at least one from the following group of:

Peptide YY_3-36 (PYY), cholecystokinin, amylin, salmon calcitonin, glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), exendin-4, oxyntomodulin, pancreatic polypeptide, gastrin-releasing peptides GRP-27 and GRP-10, enterostatin, apolipoprotein A-IV, leptin, melanocortin receptor 3 and 4 agonists including melanotan II, opioid receptor antagonists including naloxone and naltrexone, and endocanabinoid receptor antagonists AM251 and Rimonabant.

11. A method of determining the efficacy of a drug, the method comprising:

providing a plurality of drug-delivery devices, each of the drug-delivery devices being capable of delivering a predetermined amount of at least one appetite-affecting agent to an animal of a plurality of animals, at least one of the drug-delivery devices being connected to one of the plurality of animals;

providing a control unit configured to;

store study setup data consisting of study ID, date, lights-on time, lights-off time, experiment start time and experiment stop time,

store animal treatment setup data consisting of animal ID, cage scale ID, treatments ID, agent(s) and dose(s),

store pump setup data consisting of pump ID, syringe diameter, infusion rate and infusion periods, and

store scale setup data consisting of a polling interval and a threshold weight change indicating feeding behavior,

administering the at least one appetite-affecting agent to the one of the plurality of animals;

supplying at least one food source available to one of the plurality of animals;

arranging a plurality of scales, at least one of the plurality of scales being in association with the at least one food source, wherein the plurality of scales are in wireless communication with a switchbox;

monitoring food consumption of the animals of the plurality of animals;

determining if the previous scale weight exceeds the current scale weight by greater than the threshold weight change and if so, recording scale data consisting of poll date, animal ID, current time, previous scale weight and current scale weight via the switchbox;

gathering drug-delivery device data wirelessly sent from at least one of the plurality of drug-delivery devices to the control unit, wherein the drug-delivery device data includes an identification number of the animal, a date of the at least one appetite-affecting agent delivered to the animal, a type of the at least one appetite-affecting agent delivered to the animal, a dose of the at least one appetite-affecting agent delivered to the animal, an infusion rate of the at least one appetite-affecting agent delivered to the animal, and at least one time interval of delivery of the at least one appetite-affecting agent delivered to the animal; and

evaluating the scale data and the drug-delivery device data to obtain feeding patterns of the animals of the plurality of animals with respect to the at least one appetite-affecting agent

stopping delivery of the at least one appetite-affecting agent upon determining that the previous scale weight exceeds the current scale weight by greater than the threshold weight change.