Deathstalker Scorpion Venom

Could Improve Gene Therapy

for Brain Cancer

Science (Aug. 11, 2010) — An ingredient in the venom of the “deathstalker” scorpion could help gene therapy become an effective treatment for brain cancer, scientists are reporting. The substance allows therapeutic genes — genes that treat disease — to reach more brain cancer cells than current approaches, according to the study in ACS Nano.

Miqin Zhang and colleagues note that gene therapy — the delivery of therapeutic genes into diseased cells — shows promise for fighting glioma, the most common and most serious form of brain cancer. But difficulties in getting genes to enter cancer cells and concerns over the safety and potential side effects of substances used to transport these genes have kept the approach from helping patients.

The scientists describe a new approach that could solve these problems. Key ingredients of their gene-delivery system are chlorotoxin, the substance in deathstalker scorpion venom that can slow the spread of brain cancer, and nanoparticles of iron oxide. Each nanoparticle is about 1/50,000th the width of a human hair. In tests on lab mice, the scientists demonstrated that their venom-based nanoparticles can induce nearly twice the amount of gene expression in brain cancer cells as nanoparticles that do not contain the venom ingredient. “These results indicate that this targeted gene delivery system may potentially improve treatment outcome of gene therapy for glioma and other deadly cancers,” the article notes.

Sourced & published by Henry Sapiecha

Gumbi Gumbi & the cancer sure claim

Gumbi Gumbi: Rare member of family Pittosporaceae

Gumbi Gumbi is a medium to large tree, native to certain areas of Australia only, and very sparsely found. Because of its scarcity, but similarity in appearance to other species, it is often confused with trees more widely found.

Many people believe there to be as many as six varieties with only one having medicinal properties and another being toxic. Our investigations and experimentation with propagation suggests this is not the case at all. We believe there is only one true Gumbi Gumbi.

Currently Gumbi Gumbi is extremely rare, as only one tree is found growing naturally in an average of 400 sq/km (250 sq/miles) and it is not being farmed to any large extent. One significant reason for its rarity is that Gumbi Gumbi saplings and young trees are commonly ravaged by wildlife and roaming farm stock, such as Kangaroos and cattle, prior to reaching maturity. Animals instinctively know what is good for them, as did the early indigenous people. We modern people, on the other hand, are only now beginning to understand.

Gumbi Gumbi trees are by nature very slow growing and difficult to propagate. In order to ensure the required properties are inherent within trees grown in other than their naturally occurring environment; certain conditions have to be met. Mature trees develop a taproot to 60 feet in natural conditions. Many people have attempted to grow Gumbi Gumbi from seeds and saplings and failed to attain mature trees.

Scientific Analysis

Tests undertaken using Leaf and Leaf Extract from Gumbi Gumbi Natural plantation (Central Queensland, Australia)

Summary
Gumbi Gumbi contains significant amounts of elements known to aid in benefiting health.

Further testing has also shown Gumbi Gumbi to be very high in Saponins. This assists with the delivery of the inherent benefits of Gumbi Gumbi Leaf when used as a tea as per our brewing instructions.
TEST REPORT — Chemical Analysis
Gumbi Leaf: 5 July 2006

TEST REPORT — Chemical Analysis
Gumbi Tea: 21 September 2006

Note:
Concentrations in ppm are equivalent to mg/Kg or mg/L
N.D. = Not Detected

Constituent Summary of extracts of Pittosporum Angustifolium (gumbi gumbi)

Saponins:

The major constituent of gumbi gumbi extract was found to be saponin (a sulphonated di- or tri- terpene). Saponins are natural detergents found in plants (that is, they contain water soluble and fat soluble components and dissolve in water to form a stable soapy froth).

Saponins have commercial uses in a number of applications such as in beverages such as root beer and slurpies (to provide the foamy “head”). Saponins have also found application as emulsifiers for photographic film preparations and cosmetics (such as shampoos and lipsticks) and as industrial frothers for ore separation. Saponins also have anti bacterial and anti-fungal properties1. Saponins decrease blood lipids, lower blood glucose response, and as an antidote to acute lead poisoning2.

Extracts containing saponins currently have a wide application. For example, they are used in animal livestock production facilities for ammonia and odour control as well as in gut bacteria control. Certain saponins form strong insoluble complexes with cholesterol which has application in cholesterol lowering in humans. Bile acids metabolised by bacteria in the colon form secondary bile acids, some of which are known promoters of colon cancer. The feeding of saponins to laboratory mice has shown a reduction in the formation of preneoplastic colon lesions1. This has a potential in the prevention and treatment of colon cancer in humans. Saponins also have application as use for adjuvants in vaccines (adjuvants increase immune-stimulation, by using saponins their emulsifying properties can also be utilised).

Saponins are highly toxic to cold blooded animals and some have been identified in snake venom, starfish, and sea cucumber. Some are toxic to humans.

Tannins:

The term tannins is widely applied to large polyphenolic compounds that contains sufficient hydroxyl and/or carboxyl groups to form complexes with proteins and other large molecules. Tannins are classified into two groups — notable hydrolysable tannins, and condensed tannins. The term tannin refers to the use of tannins in tanning animals hides.

Tannins are almost ubiquitous in the plant kingdom. They are astringent and bitter in taste. Their astringency causes the dry and puckery feeling in the mouth following consumption of red wine, strong tea or un-ripened fruit.

They are also predominantly responsible for the colour of the above and hydrolysable tannins have long-term antioxidant properties (the reaction of hydrolysable tannins in red wine is attributable to the “maturing” of the wine). Tannins are found in fruits, berries, smoked foods, beer and wines (more tannin is found in red wines than in white), citrus juices, condiments (such a cloves, tarragon, vanilla and cinnamon), legumes, and chocolate3. Tannins have shown potential antiviral, antibacterial, and anti parasitic properties. They have also been studied for their effects on the treatment of cancers and their inhibitory effect on HIV.

Alkaloids:

Alkaloids are naturally occurring chemical compounds containing basic nitrogen functionality.

There are three main types of alkaloids — true alkaloids, proto alkaloids, and pseudo alkaloids. Both true alkaloids and proto alkaloids are derived from amino acids, while pseudo alkaloids are not derived from amino acids.

Alkaloids are alkaline and they are reactive compounds that have pharmacological effects at low doses and are used as medications and recreational drugs. Cocaine, caffeine, nicotine, and Quinine are all examples of alkaloids. Alkaloids form water soluble salts and may exist in the free-state, as salts, or as N-oxides — depending on pH or physiological conditions. These properties make them have enormous application as medications.

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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

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

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

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

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

Associated Press

Drug boosts survival

in major skin cancer study

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

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