Metal
implants hold promise for cancer patients
London:
In a ray of hope for cancer patients, harmless metal implants at the cancer
site can reduce side effects from chemotherapy.
The
discovery could make treatment more targeted than existing therapies, avoiding
unwanted side effects - such as hair loss, tiredness and nausea.
These
occur when chemotherapy drugs carried in the blood kill healthy cells as well
as cancer cells.
"We
are hopeful that this approach would lead to better tolerated cancer therapies
in the future,” said Asier Unciti-Broceta from Edinburgh Cancer Research UK
Centre, who led the study.
The
scientists found that they could alter the chemical composition of commonly
used chemotherapy drugs so that they only become active when they come into
contact with a metal called palladium.
By
implanting small devices coated with palladium into patients' tumours, the
drugs would become activated only where they are needed, causing minimal damage
to the rest of the body.
The
research, led by scientists from the Edinburgh Cancer Research UK Centre at the
MRC Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh, was
published in the journal Nature Communications.
14.02.2014
Pill made from rose-hip extract can
cut arthritis pain in sufferers by 90pc
London:
A new pill made from rose-hip extract has been found to reduce the agony of
osteoarthritis sufferers by an astonishing 90 percent.
Human
trials suggest a wonder supplement called Gopo - named after a key ingredient
of the plant - could provide a breakthrough for six million Britons whose lives
are blighted by joint pain.
Pills
containing the supplement are now available in the UK for the first time - for
just 15 pence each.
Scientists
said that they have proved the herbal remedy possesses special properties which
can alleviate the condition in the hand especially.
Danish
researchers found the specially cultivated compound reduced nagging pain in
nine out of 10 of the 30 people who took part in clinical trials.
Debilitating
stiffness in finger and thumb joints - the calling card of osteoarthritis - can
make tasks like opening jars, holding cutlery and tying shoelaces near to
impossible.
The
results of investigations carried out at Frederiksberg University in Copenhagen
show the natural extract could offer the closest thing to a cure.
The
pill gave round-the-clock relief, and sufferers were a third less likely to use
conventional painkillers after taking the supplement.
Rose-hip,
also known as rose haw, is the fruit of the rose plant and is commonly used for
jam, jelly, syrup, soup, wine and marmalade.
It
contains high levels of vitamin C and lycopene, a powerful antioxidant that
helps lower cholesterol.
Gopo
was discovered more than 20 years ago in Denmark. The compound is extracted
using a special patented process after drying rose-hips.
The
findings are published in the Open Journal of Rheumatology and Autoimmune
Disease.
14.02.2014
No change of
circumstances can repair a defect of character
Ralph
Waldo Emerson
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