Recent Comments
    Categories

    Archive for the ‘MEDICATIONS’ Category

    SNAKE VENOM FOR CANCER & HEART MEDICINE

    Sunday, August 1st, 2010

    Snake Venom Studies Yield Insights

    for Development of Therapies

    for Heart Disease and Cancer

    Science(July 30, 2010) — Researchers seeking to learn more about stroke by studying how the body responds to toxins in snake venom are releasing new findings that they hope will aid in the development of therapies for heart disease and, surprisingly, cancer.


    The Japanese team is reporting in a Journal of Biological Chemistry “Paper of the Week” that they are optimistic that inhibiting a protein found on the surface of blood cells known as platelets may combat both irregular blood clotting and the spread of certain cancers throughout the body.

    “The finding that platelets not only play a role in blood clotting but also in the development of vessels that allow tumors to flourish was quite unexpected and paves the way for new research on the role or roles of platelets,” says Katsue Suzuki-Inoue, the associate professor at the University of Yamanashi who oversaw the 13-person team’s work in professor Yukio Ozaki’s laboratory.

    About platelets, blood clots and stroke

    Under normal conditions, platelets are activated to become sticky when blood vessels are injured, and their clumping together (aggregation or clotting) naturally stops bleeding. But, irregular platelet aggregation caused by disease can lead to dangerous clots or even stroke if a clot clogs or bursts in a vessel that carries oxygen and nutrients to the brain.

    “When a blood clot, or thrombus, forms during the body’s normal repair process, it’s doing its job,” says Suzuki-Inoue. “But, thrombotic diseases, such as heart attack and stroke, are leading causes of death in developed countries. Understanding and manipulating the underlying chemical reactions could help us save many lives.”

    But what does this have to do with snake venom? It’s sort of a long story.

    How venom can prevent or cause clotting

    “Snake venom contains a vast number of toxins that target proteins in platelets,” says Yonchol Shin, an associate professor at Kogakuin University who specializes in snake toxins. “Some of those toxins prevent platelets from clotting, which can lead to profuse bleeding in snake bite victims. Others, like the one we’ve focused this research on, potently activate platelets, which results in blood clots. Identification of the molecular targets of many of these toxins has made an enormous contribution to our understanding of platelet activation and related diseases.”

    Intrigued by the then-recent discovery that elements in snake venom can promote irregular aggregation of platelets — the kind that leads to clots and stroke — Inoue’s and Ozaki’s team set out in 1997 to understand better the molecular underpinnings of those chemical reactions. They hoped that whatever they learned could be applied to the search for new therapies for irregular blood clotting caused by disease.

    In 2000, another set of investigators came across a protein on the surface of platelets and dubbed it C-type lectin-like receptor 2, or CLEC-2. At the time, it remained unclear how CLEC-2 was produced or what its job was, but the team suspected it was worth further study.

    After six years of research and collaborations with British investigators, the team in 2006 discovered how rhodocytin — a molecule purified from the venom of the Southeast Asia pit viper Calloselasma rhodastoma — binds to the CLEC-2 receptor protein on the platelet surface, spurring the platelet to clot with others like it.

    Then, in another JBC “Paper of the Week” in 2007, Suzuki-Inoue and her colleagues reported how a separate molecule, called podoplanin, binds to the CLEC-2 platelet receptor protein very much like the venom molecule does. Discovered in 1990, podoplanin is a protein expressed on the surface of cancer cells, and, when bound to the CLEC-2 receptor on platelets, it spurs blood clotting, too.

    “To shield themselves from the immune system, cancer cells send out a chemical, podoplanin, which binds to the CLEC-2 receptor protein on platelets, telling the platelets to get together and form a protective barrier around the cancer cells. Once enveloped, the cancer cells are not detected by the immune system and are able to bind to blood vessels’ inner linings and spread, or metastasize, throughout the body,” she explained.

    Using a mouse model, the team in 2008 showed that blocking the tumor protein podoplanin from binding with the platelet receptor protein CLEC-2 could prevent tumors from metastasizing to the lung.

    From snake venom to platelets to tumors

    The recent investigations by the team, published in the JBC online July 4, hinged on the generation and study of genetically engineered mouse embryos that lacked the platelet receptor protein CLEC-2. In the end, the experiments showed that CLEC-2 is not only necessary for blood clotting but also necessary for the development of a different type of vessel, specifically lymphatic vessels that carry fluid away from tissues and prevent swelling, or edema.

    “During fetal development, the CLEC-2 deficiency disturbed the normal process of blood clotting and, in fact, the normal development and differentiation of blood and lymphatic vessels,” says Masanori Hirashima, an associate professor at Kobe University. “They had disorganized and blood-filled lymphatic vessels and severe swelling.”

    Podoplanin, Hirashima explains, is also expressed on the surface of certain types of lymphatic cells and is known to play a role in the development of lymphatic vessels: “These findings suggest that the interaction between CLEC-2 and podoplanin in lymphatic vessels is necessary for the separation between blood vessels and lymphatic vessels.”

    It has been known that tumors generate blood vessels to promote their growth, and it’s possible that the formation of lymphatic vessels also may contribute to the spread of cancer throughout the body, says Osamu Inoue, an assistant professor at the University of Yamanashi.

    “We speculate that the interaction between the platelet’s CLEC-2 protein and the podoplanin molecule in lymphatic cells plays an essential role in the creation of lymphatic vessels, thereby facilitating tumor growth. If this is the case, a drug that blocks that interaction would prevent the spread of tumors through lymphatic vessels,” Inoue said.

    By being deemed a “Paper of the Week,” the team’s work is categorized in the top 1 percent of papers reviewed by the JBC editorial board in terms of significance and overall importance. Other contributors included Guo Ding, Satoshi Nishimura, Kazuya Hokamura, Koji Eto, Hirokazu Kashiwagi, Yoshiaki Tomiyama, Yutaka Yatomi and Kazuo Umemura.

    Sourced & published by Henry Sapiecha

    Share and Enjoy

    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Delicious
    • Digg
    • StumbleUpon
    • Add to favorites
    • Email
    • RSS

    VACCINES & IMMUNIZATIONS ARE A RIPOFF & DEADLY SAYS REPORT

    Thursday, July 22nd, 2010

    Revealing  Health News from Medicine’s Most Notorious Myth-Buster


    5 Vaccinations You Should Never Get

    Pharmaceutical companies haven’t been shy about sticking generations of Americans with round after round of vaccines to prevent even obscure illnesses. Trust me, kids have a better chance of tap dancing on the moon with Elvis than dying from rubella.
    Of course, Big Pharma has decided not to limit their junk vaccines to the children’s market.
    Over the past several years in particular, drug companies have aggressively marketed vaccines for adults, using scare tactics to get otherwise sane people to roll up their sleeves in droves. Many of these vaccines are useless, and some are downright dangerous. These five vaccinations are theworst of the worst.
    1. Human Papillomavirus (HPV)––Gardasil


    One of the biggest designer vaccinations that Big Pharma is shoving down our throats thesedays is the HPV vaccine, Gardasil. This vaccine is needless and, history has shown, dangerous.
    Yet women are paying $360 a pop to be injected with it.
    The most frustrating part of this whole sham is that Gardasil’s manufacturer, Merck, has drawn on the aid of cancer––medicine’s greatest boogeyman––in order to sell its product. Merck would have us believe that by inoculating against HPV, we’ll stop cervical cancer, at which point Gardasil becomes the “cure for cancer.” This is such a load of bull that we’re going to need a backhoe todig our way out.
    According to FDA reports made public through the Freedom of Information Act (that means the government wasn’t volunteering this information, by the way), Gardasil has been linked with a variety of dangerous and even deadly side effects.1 Just since September 2007, the vaccine has been linked to 10 deaths from blood clotting, arrhythmia, and at least one allergic reaction. The vaccine has further been linked to 10 spontaneous abortions and six instances of Guillain-BarreSyndrome, a disease that causes the immune system to attack the nervous system, and which maylead to paralysis.
    The FDA report further included evidence of nearly 150 instances of serious injury that resultedfrom the vaccine, and a multitude of outbreaks of warts on the genitals, face, hands, and feet. Thesewarts are most likely caused by the HPV virus and are a condition that should have been avoided through the use of the vaccine.
    And while these side effects certainly haven’t affected every patient, the effects are so serious that no sane person should want to subject themselves or their children to this injection. This isespecially true when prevention is as simple as keeping your pants on.
    You see, the “dirty” little secret about HPV is that it’s a sexually transmitted disease. Want to avoid HPV?

    Skip the shot and get some condoms.

    2. Shingles––Zostavax


    Another useless vaccine with a major corporate push is the shingles vaccine Zostavax. The only reason more people don’t get it is that many insurance companies won’t cover it. You know why? It costs up to $200 per shot, and it’s an unnecessary preventative for a disease that is completely treatable and not very serious.
    My recommendation is that you boost your immune system with zinc and vitamins C and E, then hang around with some kids in your family when they have the chicken pox (more on that later).
    Merck––which manufactures Zostavax and also brought us Gardasil––has no clue about the long-term effects of the vaccine. The study on long-term effects conducted for FDA approval only lasted 42 days, so there is no real data on negative consequences of Zostavax over periods of several years. If you take the vaccine, understand you’ll be signing yourself up as a guinea pig in a human drug trial.
    The irony here is that the whole shingles “scare” is probably the result of over-fanatical efforts by drug companies to vaccinate children against chicken pox. At least one study has shown that repeated exposure to children with chicken pox increases the immune system’s resistance to shingles.2 Essentially what this means is that by helping our youngsters suffer through their chicken pox, we were building our immunity to shingles.When kids stop getting chicken pox, we start getting shingles.
    So, in a sense, Zostavax is a drug-company cure (and a very unproven one at that) for a problem caused by the drug companies.

    3. Influenza


    Yearly flu shots have become standard operating procedure for people of all ages. The CDC practically mandates an annual inoculation for children aged 6 months to 19 years, adults over 50,and even pregnant women. Each fall, when the colder weather forces us to huddle together for warmth,the CDC passes the warning that your family, friends, and colleagues are all little more than flu incubators. Millions rush to their doctors, hospitals or clinics to get their shots.
    But here’s the big news: the flu vaccine doesn’t work.Year to year, the makers of the flu vaccine make a guess about which flu strains will be the most prevalent and then mix them accordingly.
    There is currently no system in place to track the effectiveness of the vaccine and to use this data to compile the next flu vaccine. The process is arbitrary enough that they might as well stick some sugar water in a syringe and cross their fingers.
    For the elderly and the very young in particular, I can’t recommend exposing potentially weak immune systems to the flu for no net gain.
    As always, I recommend building a more powerful immune system with safe natural methods and staying away from jab-happy MDs when the cold months are upon us.
    4. Whooping cough


    Lately, the mainstream media has been harping on individual cases of pertussis, or whooping cough, as if a global pandemic is waiting around the corner. Big Pharma has their lapdogs pushing out statistics that reveal hundreds of thousands of deaths from whooping cough each year.

    The truth is, this is a global statistic that is accounted for by the prevalence of the disease in third world countries without the medical resources to cure a cold, let alone whooping cough. There are only a handful of deaths attributed to this disease in the United States each year, and most of those are infants––some of whom are too young to get the vaccine.
    So why is the CDC now pushing for every person to be immunized in infancy and then receive five more booster vaccinations as they advance into adulthood and old age? You have almost no chance of getting whooping cough as an infant, and you have even less chance as an adult. At $60 per booster plus the initial cost of childhood vaccination, the CDC wants us to spend $300 over the course of our lifetimes on a useless vaccine.
    We are not living in the barely tamed wilderness of yesteryear.We are living in a modern society with appropriate sanitation, better nutrition, and access to health care that limits the spread of disease and treats diseases like whooping cough with ease. In the modern age, unless you plan on traveling to the third world, there is no need to go injecting yourself with a “weakened” strain of a disease that you may never encounter, and can be easily cured of if you do happen to get it.


    5. Measles, Mumps, Rubella, & Chicken pox––ProQuad


    Now that I’ve taken time to tell you about the dangers of some of Big Pharma’s adult vaccines,
    I am going to sound the alarm for the little ones in your family. If the CDC and pharmaceutical companies have their way, every child born in the United States will get jabbed with enough needles to leave them looking like a voodoo doll; and all this before their second birthdays. The ProQuad vaccine is a cocktail of vaccines that includes the traditional measles, mumps, and rubella, plus a dose of chicken pox that is five times what a child would get in a regular vaccination.
    Time has shown that toddlers given the ProQuad injection were twice as likely to have a seizure as toddlers who received MMR and chicken pox vaccinations separately. The seizure data has even caused a government advisory panel on vaccines to step back from recommending ProQuad as their method of choice.
    These new horrors only add fuel to the fire that should burn down the vaccination regime. This dangerous all-in-one is a prime example of how impersonal assembly line medicine is doing more harm than good.

    Sourced & published by Henry Sapiecha

    Share and Enjoy

    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Delicious
    • Digg
    • StumbleUpon
    • Add to favorites
    • Email
    • RSS

    ANTIDEPRESSANTS CAUSE HIGHER MISCARRIAGES IN PREGNANCIES

    Monday, June 14th, 2010

    Antidepressants, miscarriages linked


    MONTREAL (UPI) — Canadian researchers say the risk of miscarriages is 68 percent higher in women who took antidepressants during pregnancy.

    Researchers from the University of Montreal said they recommend doctors discuss with their patients the risks and benefits of antidepressant therapy during pregnancy.

    The study, published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, involved 5,124 women who were part of a large population-based group of pregnant women who had clinically verified miscarriages and a large sample of women from the same registry who did not have a miscarriage.

    Of those who miscarried, 284, or 5.5 percent, had taken antidepressants during pregnancy.

    Antidepressants known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors — especially paroxetine and also venlafaxine — were associated with increased risk of miscarriage as were higher daily doses of either antidepressant. A combination of different antidepressants doubled the risk of miscarriages.

    “These results, which suggest an overall class effect of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, are highly robust given the large number of users studied,” Dr. Anick Berard, the study’s senior author, said in a statement.

    However, stopping antidepressant medication can result in a depressive relapse that can put mother and baby at risk, Bernard added.

    Copyright 2010 by United Press International

    Sourced and published by Henry Sapiecha

    Share and Enjoy

    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Delicious
    • Digg
    • StumbleUpon
    • Add to favorites
    • Email
    • RSS

    BAD EYESIGHT FIXED WITH BOWEL CANCER DRUG

    Sunday, June 13th, 2010

    The eyes have it.Use cancer drugs to cure bad eyesight

    Science (June 11, 2010) — An inexpensive, but unlicensed drug to help prevent severe sight loss in older people has been shown to be safe and effective, finds a study published online in the British Medical Journal.

    Bevacizumab (Avastin) is licensed as a treatment for bowel cancer, but it is widely used “off label” as a considerably cheaper alternative to the approved drug ranibizumab (Lucentis) to prevent wet age related macular degeneration (AMD) and several large trials comparing the two drugs are now underway.

    Although ranibizumab was not included in this study (it was not licensed for use when the trial began) the researchers support its immediate implementation in healthcare systems whose budgetary limitations prevent patients’ access to ranibizumab. In the majority of countries in the world, where either no treatment or inferior therapies are available to patients with wet AMD, the appropriate use of bevacizumab, a highly cost effective intervention, would have an immediate impact in reducing incident blindness from this condition, they say.

    Wet AMD is the leading cause of visual loss in people over the age of 50 in Europe and North America. Visual loss is a result of progressive loss of light sensitive cells at the back of the eye due to damage from abnormal, leaking blood vessels. Sufferers do not go blind, but find it virtually impossible to read, drive, or do tasks requiring fine, sharp, central vision.

    In 2006, researchers based at three UK eye centres, set out to test whether bevacizumab is an effective and safe treatment for wet AMD compared with standard NHS care available at the time.

    A total of 131 patients aged at least 50 years with wet AMD were randomised to either bevacizumab injections at six week intervals or standard care (one of three different treatments available on the NHS at the start of the study). Visual acuity was measured at the start of the study (baseline) and then monitored over one year (54 weeks).

    At one year, 32% of patients in the bevacizumab group gained 15 or more letters from baseline visual acuity compared with 3% in the standard care group.

    In addition, the proportion of patients who lost fewer than 15 letters of visual acuity from baseline was significantly greater among those receiving bevacizumab treatment (91%) compared with 67% in the standard care group.

    Average visual acuity increased by seven letters in the bevacizumab group with a median of seven injections compared with a decrease of 9.7 letters in the standard care group, and the initial improvement at week 18 was sustained to week 54.

    Bevacizumab treatment was associated with a low rate of serious adverse events.

    These results show that bevacizumab injections given at six weekly intervals for wet AMD is superior to the standard care available at the start of the trial, say the authors. This trial provides level-one evidence for the use of bevacizumab injections for the treatment of wet AMD, they conclude.

    In an accompanying editorial, Professor Usha Chakravarthy from the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast says that, although this trial fills a gap in the evidence base and shows robustly that bevacizumab is better than previously employed treatments, it does not tell us whether the drug is as effective as ranibizumab. And she warns that “the off label use of bevacizumab should not be encouraged until the large randomised trials comparing it with ranibizumab report their findings.”

    Sourced and published by Henry Sapiecha 12th June 2010

    Share and Enjoy

    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Delicious
    • Digg
    • StumbleUpon
    • Add to favorites
    • Email
    • RSS

    PROSTATE CANCER NEW THERAPHY APPROVED

    Tuesday, June 8th, 2010

    FDA OKs advanced prostate cancer therapy


    WASHINGTON (UPI) — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced approval Thursday of a new therapy for certain men suffering advanced prostate cancer.

    The FDA said the drug, Provenge (sipuleucel-T), allows patients to use their own immune system to fight the disease. The drug is indicated for the treatment of asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic prostate cancer that has spread to other parts of the body and is resistant to standard hormone treatment.

    “The availability of Provenge provides a new treatment option for men with advanced prostate cancer, who currently have limited effective therapies available,” said Dr. Karen Midthun, acting director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research.

    Provenge is an autologous cellular immunotherapy, designed to stimulate a patient’s own immune system to respond against the cancer. Each dose of Provenge is manufactured by obtaining a patient’s immune cells from the blood, the FDA said. The immune cells are then exposed to a protein that is found in most prostate cancers, linked to an immune stimulating substance. After that process, the patient’s own cells are returned to the patient to treat the prostate cancer.

    Provenge, administered intravenously in a three-dose schedule given at about two-week intervals, is manufactured by the Dendreon Corp. in Seattle.

    Sourced and published by Henry Sapiecha 8th June 2010

    Share and Enjoy

    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Delicious
    • Digg
    • StumbleUpon
    • Add to favorites
    • Email
    • RSS

    SKIN CANCER TREATED SUCCESSFULLY WITH THIS NEW DRUG

    Monday, June 7th, 2010

    Associated Press

    Drug boosts survival

    in major skin cancer study


    CHICAGO — Researchers have scored the first big win against melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer. An experimental drug significantly improved survival in a major study of people with very advanced disease.

    The results, reported Saturday at a cancer conference, left doctors elated.

    “We have not had any therapy that has prolonged survival” until now, said Dr. Lynn Schuchter of the Abramson Cancer Center at the University of Pennsylvania, a skin cancer specialist with no role in the study or ties to the drug’s maker.

    The drug, ipilimumab, (ip-ee-LIM-uh-mab), works by helping the immune system fight tumors. The federal Food and Drug Administration has pledged a quick review, and doctors think the drug could be available by the end of this year.

    “People are going to have a lot of hope and want this drug, and it’s not on their doctors’ shelves,” although some may be able to get it through special programs directly from its maker, Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. ( BMY news people ), Schuchter said.

    Melanoma is the most serious form of skin cancer. Last year in the United States, there were about 68,720 new cases and 8,650 deaths from the disease. Worldwide, more than 50,000 people die of melanoma each year.

    “The incidence is rising faster than any other cancer,” said one of the study’s leaders, Dr. Stephen Hodi of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. “When it spreads to vital organs, it’s almost always fatal.”

    Doctors also reported Saturday at the conference that an experimental drug for lung cancer patients with a certain gene showed extraordinary promise in early testing. The drug, Pfizer Inc. ( PFE news people )’s crizotinib, (crih-ZAH-tin-ib) targets a gene that promotes tumor growth and is found in about 4 percent of lung cancers, especially among younger, non-smokers.

    Nearly 220,000 new cases of lung cancer are diagnosed each year in the United States alone, and it is the world’s top cancer killer. Two other gene-targeted treatments, Tarceva and Iressa, help about 20,000 lung cancer patients annually in the U.S.

    The skin cancer study involved 676 people around the world with advanced, inoperable melanoma who had already tried other treatments – a very grim situation. They were given one of three treatments: ipilimumab by itself, with another immune-stimulating treatment, or the immune-stimulating treatment alone.

    After two years, 24 percent of those given the drug alone or in combination were alive, versus 14 percent of those given just the immune-stimulating treatment.

    Average survival was 10 months with ipilimumab versus just more than six months for the others, which worked out to a 67 percent improvement in survival for those on the drug, said one of the study’s leaders, Dr. Steven O’Day of the Angeles Clinic and Research Institute in Los Angeles.

    Doctors hope the drug can provide more benefit if given earlier in the course of the disease and to less sick patients.

    Ten percent to 15 percent of patients on ipilimumab had serious side effects related to the drug’s actions on the immune system. Most were treatable with high doses of steroids, but 14 deaths were thought to be related to the treatment. That’s still far fewer than deaths due to the cancer.

    The study was funded by Bristol-Myers and Medarex Inc. ( MEDX news people ), a company that co-developed the drug and was bought by Bristol-Myers last year. A spokeswoman said Bristol-Myers has not yet set a price for the drug, but similar treatments for other cancers cost several thousand dollars a month or more.

    Results were reported at the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s annual conference in Chicago and published online by the New England Journal of Medicine.

    Sourced and published by Henry Sapiecha 7th June 2010

    Share and Enjoy

    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Delicious
    • Digg
    • StumbleUpon
    • Add to favorites
    • Email
    • RSS

    NEW DRUG TARGETS BREAST CANCER CELLS FOR DESTRUCTION

    Thursday, May 6th, 2010

    Herceptin

    Targets Breast Cancer Stem Cells

    Science (July 13, 2008) — A gene that is overexpressed in 20 percent of breast cancers increases the number of cancer stem cells, the cells that fuel a tumor’s growth and spread, according to a new study from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center.


    The gene, HER2, causes cancer stem cells to multiply and spread, explaining why HER2 has been linked to a more aggressive type of breast cancer and to metastatic disease, in which the cancer has spread beyond the breast, the researchers say.

    Further, the drug Herceptin, which is used to treat HER2-positive breast cancer, was found to target and destroy the cancer stem cells. “This work suggests that the reason drugs that target HER2, such as Herceptin and Lapatanib, are so effective in breast cancer is that they target the cancer stem cell population. This finding provides further evidence for the cancer stem cell hypothesis,” says study author Max S. Wicha, M.D., Distinguished Professor of Oncology and director of the U-M Comprehensive Cancer Center.

    The cancer stem cell hypothesis says that tumors originate in a small number of cells, called cancer stem cells, and that these cells are responsible for fueling a tumor’s growth. These cells represent fewer than 5 percent of the cells in a tumor. Wicha’s lab was part of the team that first identified stem cells in human breast cancer in 2003.

    In the current study, researchers found that breast cancer cells overexpressing the HER2 gene had four to five times more cancer stem cells, compared to HER2-negative cancers. In addition, the HER2-positive cells caused the cancer stem cells to invade surrounding tissue, suggesting that HER2 is driving the invasiveness and spread of cancer.

    The researchers then looked at the drug Herceptin, which is used to treat HER2-positive breast cancer. They found Herceptin reduced the number of cancer stem cells in the HER2-positive breast cancer cell lines by 80 percent, dropping it to the same levels seen in HER2-negative cell lines.

    When HER2 was not overexpressed in the cell cultures, the researchers found, the cancer stem cell population did not increase. Nor did Herceptin have any effect on the HER2-negative cells, which is consistent with how Herceptin is used in the clinic.

    “We are now studying what pathways are activated by HER2 overexpression. Our hope is that we could develop inhibitors of these pathways that might be effective in targeting cancer stem cells in women whose tumors do not overexpress HER2 or those who are resistant to Herceptin,” says study author Hasan Korkaya, Ph.D., a U-M research fellow in internal medicine.

    Breast cancer statistics: 184,450 Americans will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year and 40,930 will die from the disease, according to the American Cancer Society. About 20 percent of breast cancers are considered HER2-positive.

    Additional authors: Amanda K. Paulson, a U-M undergraduate student, and Flora Iovino, a U-M research fellow in internal medicine.

    Funding: National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute, A. Alfred Taubman Medical Research Institute at the U-M Medical School.

    Sourced and published by Henry Sapiecha 6th May 2010

    Share and Enjoy

    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Delicious
    • Digg
    • StumbleUpon
    • Add to favorites
    • Email
    • RSS

    PINEAPPLE IS A WONDER FOOD AND MEDICINE

    Friday, April 30th, 2010

    The pineapple plant (Ananas comosus) is a very popular fruit of a tropical plant.

    It is a bromeliad, native to parts of Brazil & Paraguay. The native people of Brazil and Paraguay who first cultivated it called it “anana,” or “excellent fruit”. Highly regarded for its intense sweetness, the pineapple fruit was a staple food for the feasts and rites of these native peoples.

    Pineapple fruit health benefit is very useful for any condition involving inflammation except for people who are allergic to it. This fruit is one of the richest natural sources of bromelain, a protein-dissolving enzyme. Bromelain breaks up the fibres that hold areas of inflammation in place.

    Very rarely bromeliads produce edible fruit, but pineapple is a unique fruit that is an edible bromeliad with multi vitamins. Benefits of pineapple assist to promote the digestion as its bromelain content aids to break & absorb the proteins and thereby giving relief to stomach upset problems. This also alleviates chest burns or any acidity symptoms. Bromelain consists of proteolytic enzymes, which breaks down the proteins to digest them faster.

    Bone weakness or brittle bones due to old age will be taken care of by pineapple juice when people suffering from such issues consume it @ the trate of two cups twice a day. The reason is that this delicious fruit has manganese that assists in treating the mentioned health problems.

    Bromelain present in the pineapple fruit is also known for its anti-inflammatory characteristics. Having this as a fresh fruit or juice on a daily basis will relieve pain in the joints, which is very common in osteoarthritis.

    Bromelain is used in post-injury treatment because it reduces swelling and inflammation. Pineapple due to its extremely rich bromelain content ably reduces the  mucus associated with colds an flu. It is suggested that for the people who suffer from regular colds, this fruit can be consumed to have quick relief. Pineapple is also helpful to prevent sinus and allergies due to colds.

    The fresh juice of pineapple discourages plaque growth and promotes a healthy oral condition. Pineapples are an excellent source of vitamin C giving certain protection against free radicals and encouraging healthier cells.

    Studies have revealed that this fruit juice is effective in reducing mucus in tuberculosis patients. It destroys the bacteria in the stomach and intestines.

    Some other important health benefits of pineapple & its bromelain power:

    Pineapple acts as an important support diet during any antibiotic therapy. Bromelain helps your body to absorb antibiotics and reduces gastrointestinal side effects. Though you have to make sure that your body is not allergic to the antibiotic therapy that you are undergoing in the first place.

    Pineapple is great for people suffering from Gout. Bromelain interacts with quercetin (found in almost all fresh fruits and vegetables) to help break up the uric acid crystals that are the focus of the pain.

    It is a very handy food  for people reeling under knee pain, especially after  knee surgery. Bromelain and other proteolytic enzymes reduce swelling and improve mobility. Bromelain (like papain, found in papaya) interferes with the enzyme system that protects the worms from digestive acids and deals with the parasites.

    Bromelain enhances relief from Wobenzym, and a couple of servings of pineapple a day may help relieve swelling. Pineapple also becomes a good help to people having pelvic adhesions after epistiotomy or hysterectomy

    One caution note is that people who are affected with Hemophilia or  diseases related to the kidneys and liver should avoid using this fruit without consulting an appropriately qualified health worker.

    Sourced and published by Henry Sapiecha 30th April 2010

    Share and Enjoy

    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Delicious
    • Digg
    • StumbleUpon
    • Add to favorites
    • Email
    • RSS

    BITTER MELON – MEDICINE OR FOOD? BOTH. READ ON>

    Friday, April 30th, 2010

    Benefits Of Bitter Melon –

    An Awesome Natural Medicine

    Bitter Melon is the common name of Momordica charantia. Bitter Melon is also known by the name Bitter gourd. Bitter Melon grows mainly in tropical areas, where it is used as a food and a medicine. It has a very bitter taste.  The fruit of the bitter melon plant is the safest and most prevalent part of the plant that is used medicinally.

    Bitter melon juice is great for curing diabetesBitter melon juice is great for curing diabetes

    Bitter Melon is reported to help in the treatment of diabetes and psoriasis. It has also been reported that Bitter Melon may help in the treatment of HIV.

    This bitter melon vegetable has many effective benefits of which one is that it helps to improve diabetic and toxemia conditions. It consists of the vitamins B1, B2, B3 and C. In addition to this it has rich mineral content values like magnesium, phosphorus, zinc, manganese and also rich in iron.

    It contains folic acid twice the beta-carotene content of broccoli, twice the calcium of spinach and twice the potassium present in banana.

    It exhibits a unique property in polypeptide-P, which acts as an insulin-like compound and is medically recommended as a replacement for insulin in some diabetic treatments. Another unique property of bitter melon is the presence of phytoconstituent called charantin that is confirmed to have hypoglycemic effects.

    Bitter Melon For Diabetes

    Bitter melon is highly beneficial in lowering sugar levels in blood and urine because it has hypoglycemic compounds, insulin from the plant. Bitter gourd juice has to be taken to promote glucose tolerance and to control levels of insulin.

    Bitter Melon For Cholera

    Two teaspoons of bitter gourd leaves juice mixed with two teaspoons of white onion juice & one teaspoonful of limejuice can be consumed to treat early stages of cholera. This has to be taken as a frequent dosage daily till the body condition returns to normal.

    For Treating Blood Disorders

    Problems such as blood boils and itching due to toxemia can be treated by sipping 50mg of bitter gourd juice mixed with a teaspoonful of limejuice. This dosage may be taken on an empty stomach gradually daily to gain improvement in the health status.

    Bitter Gourd For Eye Problems

    The beta-carotene properties present in the bitter melon vegetable help to keep the eye problems in check and assists to improve the eyesight.

    Other Health Problems Treated By Bitter Melon

    To improve the body energy and stamina, bitter gourd juice may be consumed regularly. This also helps to stabilize the sleeping patterns. Bitter melon juice also cleanses, repairs and nourishes liver upsets due to excessive consumption of alcohol, because it has alcohol intoxication properties.

    The leaves of the bitter melon plant can be made into a juice and mixed with one glass of buttermilk to be consumed on an empty stomach. This gives significant relief when suffering from piles. If the paste of the roots of bitter melon is applied over the piles affected external region, the healing will be faster.

    Around 60gms of fresh bitter melon juice mixed with a measure cup of honey and water acts as perfect medicine for asthma, bronchitis and pharyngitis when taken daily.

    Read an earlier posting in this site re using bitter melon for cancer treatment

    Yes-You can acquire some semi dried bitter melon for $5 plus shipping

    Enquire here admin@acbocallcentre.com

    Published by Henry Sapiecha 30th April 2010

    Share and Enjoy

    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Delicious
    • Digg
    • StumbleUpon
    • Add to favorites
    • Email
    • RSS

    GOATS, SPIDERS AND MEDICINAL MILK

    Monday, March 22nd, 2010

    Goats Make Drugs, World Doesn’t Change

    Goats can now make medicine in their milk. But they can’t make money…yet.

    Yesterday the Food and Drug Administration approved Atryn, from GTC Biotherapeutics, a medicine to treat a hereditary deficiency of the clot-preventing chemical antithrombin. It will be the first medicine made in transgenic animals to be sold. Investors shrugged. Shares in the tiny company are worth only 75 cents and the stock market puts the company’s value at a measly $75 million. (In fairness, that is up seven-fold from the stock’s 52-week low.)

    To get a full sense of how dramatic this is you have to remember what a big deal the idea of making drugs in goats or plants was eight years ago. GTC, then called Genzyme Transgenics, was just one of several companies that planned to use animals as production plants.

    One outfit, Nexia Biotechnologies, was going to use spider silk produced in the milk of genetically engineered goats to make incredibly resilient fabric for use in surgery or in bullet-proof vests. It’s now part of another company, Pharmathene. A Dutch firm, Pharming, is hoping to sell a drug made in the milk of transgenic rabbits.

    Years later, the goat breakthrough finally happens and it is worth less than a buck a share. In biotech, most things fail and the ones that don’t just fail to make money. Several other companies are working on drugs from designer animals, but if this is a big trend it looks to be a long time coming. Even this small taste of success though, is enough to rile some consumer and animal rights groups, who see an environmental danger or a form of goat abuse.

    With scientists discovering new ways of making ever more complicated genetic enhancements to organisms of all types, its worth noting how rarely such efforts result in a big payoff. Still, for the sake of patients with hereditary antithrombin deficiency, lets hope GTC can turn Atryn into  a successful product.

    Sourced and published by Henry Sapiecha 23rd March 2010

    Share and Enjoy

    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Delicious
    • Digg
    • StumbleUpon
    • Add to favorites
    • Email
    • RSS
    Bookmarks
    Sponsors