Disufenton sodium

Disufenton sodium (NXY-059, Cerovive) is the disulfonyl derivative of the neuroprotective spin trap phenylbutylnitrone or "PBN". It was under development at the drug company AstraZeneca. A 2005 phase-3 clinical trial called "SAINT-1" reported some efficacy in the acute treatment of ischemia injury due to stroke. However, a 2006 attempt to repeat this trial indicated no significant activity. After ruling out other causes, the authors tentatively attributed the positive results in the first trial to "chance". AstraZeneca then terminated the development programme. PBN and its derivatives hydrolyze and oxidize in vitro to form respectively MNP-OH (AKA, NtBHA) and its parent spin-trap MNP.