Pimagedine, also known as aminoguanidine, is an investigational drug

Drug

A drug, broadly speaking, is any substance that, when absorbed into the body of a living organism, alters normal bodily function. There is no single, precise definition, as there are different meanings in drug control law, government regulations, medicine, and colloquial usage.In pharmacology, a...

 for the treatment of diabetic nephropathy

Diabetic nephropathy

Diabetic nephropathy , also known as Kimmelstiel-Wilson syndrome, or nodular diabetic glomerulosclerosis and intercapillary glomerulonephritis, is a progressive kidney disease caused by angiopathy of capillaries in the kidney glomeruli. It is characterized by nephrotic syndrome and diffuse...

. Pimagedine is a diamine oxidase and nitric oxide synthase

Nitric oxide synthase

Nitric oxide synthases are a family of enzymes that catalyze the production of nitric oxide from L-arginine. NO is an important cellular signaling molecule, having a vital role in many biological processes...

 inhibitor

Enzyme inhibitor

An enzyme inhibitor is a molecule that binds to enzymes and decreases their activity. Since blocking an enzyme's activity can kill a pathogen or correct a metabolic imbalance, many drugs are enzyme inhibitors. They are also used as herbicides and pesticides...

. It acts to reduce levels of advanced glycation end products through interacting with 3-deoxyglucosone

3-deoxyglucosone

3-Deoxyglucosone is a dicarbonyl sugar that is synthesized through the Maillard reaction, and is detoxified to 3-deoxyfructose and 2-keto-3-deoxygluconic acid. 3DG is a precursor for the formation of advanced glycation end-products : 3DG rapidly reacts with protein amino groups to form AGEs such...

.

Aminoguanidines and their derivatives are also being developed for energetic material

Energetic material

Energetic materials are a class of material with high amount of stored chemical energy that can be released.Typical classes of energetic materials are e.g. explosives, pyrotechnic compositions, propellants , and fuels ....

 applications. Thorough combustion of aminoguanidines can produce voluminous non-toxic gases, at moderate temperatures, with a minimum of smoke or dust . This characteristic favors application to explosive gas generators for automotive airbags, and solid-rocket propellants that generate high thrust per kilogram, while emitting minimal visible smoke or infrared radiation (useful militarily as well as to reduce environmental impact). Aminoguanidines can also be used as precursors for the synthesis of tetrazole

Tetrazole

Tetrazoles are a class of synthetic organic heterocyclic compound, consisting of a 5-member ring of four nitrogen and one carbon atom . The simplest is tetrazole itself, CN4H2. They are unknown in nature...

-based energetic materials and drugs.