An animal discovery reported in the Student BMJ looks at how a chemical called Squalamine, found in shark livers could potentially be used to treat dengue fever, yellow fever, hepatitis B, C and D. The researchers became interested in the potential use of sharks after it was found they have more resistance to viruses than expected.
Squalamine can be easily produced synthetically and has already seen positive effects (with no major side effects) when used on patients in clinical trials to stop blood vessel growth in cancers.
It is thought that the chemical disrupts the membrane interactions required in viral replication. The inhibition of infection to blood vessel cells by dengue virus and human liver cells by hepatitis B and D has shown to be effect in tissue cultures.
This story can also be found on http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-14974605.
Another research article including animals looks at cancer. According to an article, sniffer dogs can now be trained to detect lung cancer. Three sets of volunteers were used; those who were healthy, those with lung cancer and those with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. They we asked to exhale into a glass tube with fleece in. The dogs were presented with 5 glasses at a time (one 1 was cancerous) and were trained to touch the one containing lung cancer with their noses. They correctly identified 71/100 cancer samples and 372/400 non cancerous samples.
At the weekend I read an article on the BBC website which was also looking at lung cancer. A vaccine used alongside the chemotherapy treatment appears to slow the cancer's progression.
Vaccines for cancer work on the same ideas as vaccines against infection. They strengthen the body's immune system by producing memory cells so the individuals can tackle the infection themselves. However instead of protecting against invading pathogens, they train the body to attack tumours. As a cell divides uncontrollably and becomes cancerous, the surface proteins change shape. In theory this therefore allows the immune system to recognise the cell as foreign and destroy it.
Researchers in Strasbourg have conducted trials with 149 patients which had advanced lung cancer. Half were given a pox virus, which had been genetically modified to make a cancerous surface protein. All of the patients received standard chemotherapy treatment. 43% of those who received the vaccine experienced 6 months of 'progression free survival' and 35% of those who were in the control group.
Although the early stage study has indicated some success, we are still uncertain to the degree of the benefits.
This BBC article has come from a report in The Lancet Oncology; a trusted peer reviewed medical journal. (http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanonc/article/PIIS1470-2045(11)70259-5/abstract)
(http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-15401739)
No comments:
Post a Comment