Wo 2008/097924 A2
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(12) INTERNATIONAL APPLICATION PUBLISHED UNDER THE PATENT COOPERATION TREATY (PCT) (19) World Intellectual Property Organization International Bureau (43) International Publication Date (10) International Publication Number 14 August 2008 (14.08.2008) PCT WO 2008/097924 A2 (51) International Patent Classification: (81) Designated States (unless otherwise indicated, for every A61K 31/473 (2006.01) kind of national protection available): AE, AG, AL, AM, AO, AT,AU, AZ, BA, BB, BG, BH, BR, BW, BY,BZ, CA, (21) International Application Number: CH, CN, CO, CR, CU, CZ, DE, DK, DM, DO, DZ, EC, EE, PCT/US2008/052949 EG, ES, FI, GB, GD, GE, GH, GM, GT, HN, HR, HU, ID, IL, IN, IS, JP, KE, KG, KM, KN, KP, KR, KZ, LA, LC, (22) International Filing Date: 4 February 2008 (04.02.2008) LK, LR, LS, LT, LU, LY,MA, MD, ME, MG, MK, MN, MW, MX, MY, MZ, NA, NG, NI, NO, NZ, OM, PG, PH, (25) Filing Language: English PL, PT, RO, RS, RU, SC, SD, SE, SG, SK, SL, SM, SV, SY, TJ, TM, TN, TR, TT, TZ, UA, UG, US, UZ, VC, VN, (26) Publication Language: English ZA, ZM, ZW (30) Priority Data: (84) Designated States (unless otherwise indicated, for every 60/899,472 5 February 2007 (05.02.2007) US kind of regional protection available): ARIPO (BW, GH, (71) Applicant (for all designated States except US): AVANIR GM, KE, LS, MW, MZ, NA, SD, SL, SZ, TZ, UG, ZM, PHARMACEUTICALS [US/US]; 101 Enterprise, Suite ZW), Eurasian (AM, AZ, BY, KG, KZ, MD, RU, TJ, TM), 300, Aliso Viejo, CA 92656 (US). European (AT,BE, BG, CH, CY, CZ, DE, DK, EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, HR, HU, IE, IS, IT, LT,LU, LV,MC, MT, NL, (72) Inventors; and NO, PL, PT, RO, SE, SI, SK, TR), OAPI (BF, BJ, CF, CG, (75) Inventors/Applicants (for US only): SIRCAR, Jagadish CI, CM, GA, GN, GQ, GW, ML, MR, NE, SN, TD, TG). [US/US]; 4832 Riding Ridge Road, San Diego, CA 92130 (US). KUMAR, KC, Sunil [NP/US] ; 10504 Clasico Court, Declaration under Rule 4.17: San Diego, CA 27127 (US). — of inventorship (Rule 4.17(iv)) (74) Agent: DELANEY, Karoline, A.; Knobbe, Martens, Ol- Published: son & Bear, LLP, 2040 Main Street, 14th Floor, Irvine, CA — without international search report and to be republished 92614 (US). upon receipt of that report (54) Title: PHARMACEUTICAL COMPOSITIONS COMPRISING DEXTROMETHORPHAN ANALOGS FOR THE TREAT- MENT OF NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS (57) Abstract: Pharmaceutical compositions and methods for treating neurological disorders by administering same are provided. The compositions comprise dextromethorphan analogs. PHARMACEUTICAL COMPOSITIONS COMPRISING DEXTROMETHORPHAN ANALOGS FOR THE TREATMENT OF NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0001] Pharmaceutical compositions and methods for treating neurological disorders are provided. The compositions comprise dextromethorphan analogs. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] Dementia is a neurological disease that results in loss of mental capacity and is associated with widespread reduction in the number of nerve cells and brain tissue shrinkage. Memory is the mental capacity most often affected by dementia. The memory loss may first manifest itself in simple absentmindedness, a tendency to forget or misplace things, or to repeat oneself in conversation. As the dementia progresses, the loss of memory broadens in scope until the patient can no longer remember basic social and survival skills and function independently. Dementia can also result in a decline in the patient's language skills, spatial or temporal orientation, judgment, or other cognitive capacities. Dementia tends to run an insidious and progressive course. [0003] Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a degenerative brain disorder presented clinically by progressive loss of memory, cognition, reasoning, judgment, and emotional stability that gradually leads to profound mental deterioration and ultimately death. Individuals with AD exhibit characteristic beta amyloid deposits in the brain (beta amyloid plaques) and in cerebral blood vessels (beta amyloid angiopathy) as well as neurofibrillary tangles. On autopsy of AD patients, large numbers of these lesions, which are believed to be a causative precursor or factor in the development of disease, are generally found in areas of the human brain important for memory and cognitive function. Smaller numbers are found in the brains of most aged humans not showing clinical symptoms of AD. Beta amyloid plaques and beta amyloid angiopathy also characterize the brains of individuals with Down's syndrome (Trisomy 21) and Hereditary Cerebral Hemorrhage with Beta amyloidosis of the Dutch-Type, and other such disorders. [0004] Vascular Dementia (VaD) is defined as the loss of cognitive function resulting from ischemic, ischemic-hypoxic, or hemorrhagic brain lesions as a result of cardiovascular diseases and cardiovascular pathologic changes. VaD is a chronic disorder and the symptoms of VaD include cognitive loss, headaches, insomnia and memory loss. VaD may be caused by multiple strokes (MID or post-stroke dementia) but also by single strategic strokes, multiple lacunes, and hypoperfusive lesions such as border zone infarcts and ischemic periventricular leukoencephalopathy (Binswanger's disease). [0005] Patients suffering from neurodegenerative diseases, brain damage caused by stroke, dementia, Alzheimer's disease, or head injury often are afflicted with emotional problems associated with the disease or injury. The terms Involuntary Emotional Expression Disorder (IEED), emotional lability, and pseudobulbar affect are used by psychiatrists and neurologists to refer to a set of symptoms that are often observed in patients who have suffered a brain insult such as a head injury, stroke, brain tumor, or encephalitis, or who are suffering from a progressive neurodegenerative disease such as Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS, also called motor neuron disease or Lou Gehrig's disease), Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, or multiple sclerosis (MS). In the great majority of such cases, emotional lability occurs in patients who have bilateral damage (damage which affects both hemispheres of the brain) involving subcortical forebrain structures. [0006] IEED is distinct from clinical forms of reactive or endogenous depression, and is characterized by intermittent spasmodic outbursts of emotion, such as anger, or expressions of irritability or frustration at inappropriate times or in the absence of any particular provocation. The feelings that accompany emotional lability are often described in words such as "disconnectedness," since patients are fully aware that an outburst is not appropriate in a particular situation, but they do not have control over their emotional displays. IEED is also referred to by the terms emotionalism, emotional incontinence, emotional discontrol, excessive emotionalism, and pathological laughing and crying. [0007] Emotional lability or pseudobulbar affect becomes a clinical problem when the inability to control emotional outbursts interferes in a substantial way with the ability to engage in family, personal, or business affairs. For example, a businessman suffering from early-stage ALS or Parkinson's disease might become unable to sit through business meetings, or a patient might become unable to go out in public, such as to a restaurant or movie, due to transient but intense inability to keep from crying or laughing at inappropriate times in front of other people. These symptoms can occur even though the patient still has more than enough energy and stamina to do the physical tasks necessary to interact with other people. Such outbursts, along with the feelings of annoyance, inadequacy, and confusion that they usually generate and the visible effects they have on other people, can severely aggravate the other symptoms of the disease; they lead to feelings of ostracism, alienation, and isolation, and they can render it very difficult for friends and family members to provide tolerant and caring emotional support for the patient. [0008] People with diseases such as Alzheimer's also often have behavior problems in the late afternoon and evening. They may become demanding, suspicious, upset or disoriented, see or hear things that are not there and believe things that aren't true. Or they may pace or wander around the house when others are sleeping. While experts are unsure how or why this behavior occurs, they suspect that the problem of late afternoon confusion, which is sometimes called "sundowning," or "sundown syndrome," may be due to these factors: the person with Alzheimer's can't see well in dim light and becomes confused; the impaired person may have a hormone imbalance or a disturbance in his/her "biological clock"; the person with Alzheimer's gets tired at the end of the day and is less able to cope with stress; the person is involved in activities all day long and grows restless if there's nothing to do in the late afternoon or evening; the caregiver communicates fatigue and stress to the person with Alzheimer's and the person becomes anxious. [0009] Recent estimates indicate that more than 19 million Americans over the age of 18 years experience a depressive illness each year. The American Psychiatric Association recognizes several types of clinical depression, including Mild Depression (Dysthymia), Major Depression, and Bipolar Disorder (Manic-Depression). Depression is defined by a constellation of chronic symptoms that include sleep problems, appetite problems, anhedonia or lack of energy, feelings of worthlessness or hopelessness, difficulty concentrating, suicidal thoughts, mood swings (feelings of sadness, abandonment,