God bless you and your family.
Posted on 4/5/2002, 4:14:46 PM by Darkshadow
Bethesda, Md. - Scientists at the National Institutes of Health for the first time have engineered a type of immature human brain cell to carry potent anti-cancer substances directly to malignant brain tumors in animals.
The potential therapy represents a promising new avenue for dealing with one of the most intractable problems in medicine - effectively seeking out and killing tumors in the human brain.
Far from being a cure, the technique so far has been used only in mice that have human tumor cells in their brains. But the mice live up to three times longer than mice that do not get the therapy, said Howard Fine, the NIH scientist who developed the technique.
Fine said he now is working to move the therapy from mice to people. That could be a matter of months or longer, he said.
The concept adds a new twist to the dynamic field of stem cell research. Stem cells are master cells that can become other types of cells, such as those that make various tissues, including blood, muscle and brain.
When it comes to treating neurological disorders such as Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease and stroke, stem cells generally are thought of as potential replacement cells for damaged or diseased brain cells.
However, Fine's idea is to use them as vehicles that make and deliver potent cancer drugs to tumors in parts of the brain that are hard to reach.
"It is like a Trojan horse," said Fine, chief of the neuro-oncology branch at the institute.
The approach uses a type of neural stem cell, immature cells that have been genetically manipulated to produce anti-cancer substances.
Fine's technique takes advantage of a unique characteristic of neural stem cells. When transplanted into the brain, they migrate to areas where tumors, known as gliomas, have formed.
"They tend to surround tumors," said Arlene Chiu, a scientist with the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.
That's important because cancer cells often are dispersed throughout the brain and are not always confined to one self-contained tumor.
In addition, brain disorders can be especially hard to treat because of the blood-brain barrier, a layer of cells in cerebral blood vessels that allows only certain substances to pass into the brain. While the barrier helps keep diseases out of the brain, it also can block the action of many drugs on brain cells.
Traditional therapies - chemotherapy, radiation and surgery - all have disadvantages. Overall survival rates for the 17,000 people who are diagnosed with a brain tumor each year have not improved much.
In recent years, gene therapy has raised hopes but has yet to produce much success. In typical gene therapy, a virus is genetically engineered to produce a protein that is toxic to cancer cells.
However, Fine's concept of using neural stem cells is an entirely new approach.
The cells are obtained from adult human bone marrow, not embryonic stem cells. Embryonic stem cells, such as those that were first isolated by researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, come from the inner cell mass of human embryos obtained from fertility clinics.
Known as bone marrow-derived neural component cells, they have the ability to become different types of brain cells. In other research, neural stem cells have been obtained from fetal or embryonic tissue.
By using cells derived from a patient's own bone marrow, problems with immune system rejection of the cells could be avoided, Fine said.
Using genetically engineered viruses, Fine has manipulated the cells to produce two substances that are toxic to brain tumors.
The cells are injected into the brains of mice that previously had been injected with human brain tumor cells. Fine said he already has tried his technique on about 100 mice.
In general, the treated mice live 40 to 60 days, compared with 19 to 21 days in the untreated mice, he said.
One of the two substances produced by Fine's engineered neural cells interferes with a tumor's ability to form the blood vessels that are needed for the tumor to grow; the other substance triggers so-called cell suicide in tumors.
Cutting off a tumor's blood supply, known as anti-angiogenesis, today is one of the most active areas of cancer research. More than 30 anti-angiogenesis drugs now are being tested on various kinds of cancer.
Judah Folkman, the pioneer of anti-angiogenesis cancer therapy, said Fine's idea is clever and that he is the only one trying it.
"It is very exciting," said Folkman, an Andrus professor of pediatric surgery at Harvard Medical School and director of the surgical research laboratory at Children's Hospital in Boston. "What he is doing is much more elegant (than other brain tumor therapies)."
Folkman, who has worked with Fine, said his idea has real potential for treating brain tumors in people.
Minesh Mehta, chairman of UW-Madison's department of human oncology, and who is familiar with Fine's work, said it is very innovative but more testing is needed.
= P
This is amazing.
Thanks. I was just about to post this article when I decided to do a search beforehand. I was diagnosed with a low grade astrocytoma in August of last year. Needless to say, I find this development both interesting and exciting. Joe (MCM)
Also...For those that are interested, there will be a segment on this Sunday's 60 Minutes featuring Dr. Henry Friedman and The Brain Tumor Center at Duke. Dr. Friedman is the neuro-oncologist we saw when we visited Duke back in February and have decided he's the "go-to" doctor we plan to consult with when/if my condition changes. I'm not sure what the segment will be about but if you do watch, you may hear the term GBM used synonymously with brain tumor. Keep in mind, GBMs are extremely aggressive, grade 4 brain tumors. My tumor was (is) a less aggressive grade 2.
Here's a link to the CBS page, so I guess now I do know what the story will be about: Desperately Fighting Cancer There will be a test next week on the 60 Minutes segment. Just kidding. :)
Since I know some of you are going to ask, I'm doing very well. My medical condition hasn't changed since my last update. Unfortunately, we still don't have my seizures under medical control. I quit my job the end of February without having anything lined up. (The environment was not conducive to survival.) Within a week I was able to line up some part-time @home work with an old employer, which is exactly what I was hoping to do. The remainder of my spare time is spent figuring out what I want to do with the rest of my life and writing a book about my experience. Debbie and I adopted a black lab mix puppy from a shelter three weeks ago. Her name is Maggie, which is short for Magpie. You can see some pics of her here. I'll be posting an update after my next follow-up MRI in May (which still hasn't been scheduled). If you'd like additional details, and I promise to provide more details in my next update, have a look here.
Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers. Joe (MCM)
Hugs to you and your's as usual.
Maggie looks fantastic...you DO realize she has to grow into those paws don't'cha? ;-)
My prayers continue.
Your 'Maggie' is a little beauty. : )
God bless, my friend.
Glad to know of your situation also - and hope you can get your book done and published soon. So many will benefit by it....but no pressure to rush it through! Just will be standing in line to get a copy! (an autographed one??)
That puppy - Maggie - is SOOOOO CUTE!!!! The pictures of her lying asleep on the lower level of the table are sooooooo cute!!!!! :-) Thanks for sharing those pictures with us!!!!
God bless you and your family.
Looking forward to 60 minutes this Sunday and Dr. Friedman's new therapy for the three desperate brain cancer survivors, as the camera's follow them with hope for "A New Lease On Life". It's exciting progress.
It's way past time for these new treatments to bypass lengthly clinical trials and given to people who are ready, willing and able to participate with not only helping themselves, but in the long run, all of us. Time is of the essence.
Eat right so you can stay strong, Mr. Confetti Man. Appreciate your updates!
sw
Maggie's cute but the lady is beautiful. Debbie I presume.......;))
Bookmarked,for later use.
Prayers and best wishes,
aka/fleebag
PS! Looks as if you found yourselves a darling Lab. I love those dogs!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.