The use of nicotine, analogues thereof, precursors thereof or derivatives thereof in the treatment of various pathological processes capable of improvement with a-MSH administered in prophylactic or therapeutic form
This invention protects the use of nicotine, analogues thereof, precursors thereof or derivates thereof for the treatment of inflammatory, infectious, candidal or degenerative diseases (of the joints and/or of the central nervous system, the kidneys, the lungs or the liver), depression, obesity, bone disease and the like, which can be improved by means of intensification of the actions of α-MSH, given the fact that this hormone has extraordinary properties: e.g. it has an antipyretic potency 20 000 times as great as acetaminophen, its antimicrobial potency is comparable to that of gentamycin, it is the best anti-candidasiac known； it inhibits apoptosis of various cell lines, and significantly modulates immune reactions, and therefore the use of agents that affect its release may have significant therapeutic potential. This patent protects the use of nicotine, analogues thereof, precursors thereof or derivatives thereof for the purposes of increasing and/or reducing the bioavailability of α-MSH in the blood and/or central or peripheral tissue in order to accentuate or diminish the effect of the α-MSH by means of changes in its concentration or its effect on the corresponding receptors of any cell, tissue or organ in the body, administered for therapeutic and/or prophylactic purposes in the short, medium and/or long term.
