PIPages
Labs

Doodipala Samba Reddy

Texas A&M University-College Station, TX·Pharmacology

Organophosphate pesticides and nerve agents can trigger long, uncontrolled seizures that kill brain cells and leave lasting problems with memory, mood and movement. Current treatments, such as benzodiazepine drugs like midazolam, do not fully stop these seizures or prevent the brain damage that follows.

Fields

Pharmacology

Neuroscience

Medicine & Clinical Research

Topics

organophosphate poisoning

nerve agents

status epilepticus

Grants
2 known grants, through May 2028

What they work on

  1. Test whether the glycolysis inhibitor 2-deoxyglucose or newer glycolysis blockers, given with midazolam after DFP exposure, prevent neuron damage and memory, mood and motor deficits over 3 months in male and female rats.
  2. Measure brain penetration, early toxicity and pharmacokinetics (how the drug is absorbed and cleared) of 2-deoxyglucose or another lead glycolysis inhibitor in healthy and DFP-exposed rats.
  3. Determine whether the synthetic neurosteroid ganaxolone stops seizures and limits brain injury caused by DFP and the nerve agent soman in pediatric rats.
  4. Test ganaxolone against DFP- and soman-induced seizures and brain damage in aged rats, and define its pharmacokinetics and safety in young and old animals to prepare a pre-IND application under the FDA Animal Rule.

More about the research

Children and older adults are especially vulnerable and have few protective options. These projects test new drugs, given after exposure, to stop seizures and protect the brain, using rat models of poisoning.

Why it matters

No FDA-approved drug currently prevents the long-term brain damage caused by nerve agent exposure. These projects could provide post-exposure treatments for civilians exposed to nerve agents or organophosphate pesticides. One candidate is repurposed 2-deoxyglucose given with midazolam. Another is ganaxolone, intended as a seizure antidote for children and older adults, who are most vulnerable.

Known grants

From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.

2-Deoxyglucose Therapy for Organophosphate Intoxication

NIH · Jun 2026 – May 2028

Novel pediatric anticonvulsants for nerve agents

NIH · Sep 2020 – Aug 2026

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Detlev Boison

Rutgers University-New Brunswick, NJ·Neuroscience

Test whether blocking adenosine A2A receptors with istradefylline, or activating the astrocyte glutamate transporter GLT-1 with ceftriaxone, prevents epilepsy in the mouse intrahippocampal kainic acid model.

The school

Texas A&M University-College Station: 23 labs on PI Pages, $1.4B a year on research, 768 research doctorates a year.

More about Texas A&M University-College Station

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