That is a really interesting story especially since Zileuton is already FDA approved and on the market.
Rob On Sat, Sep 18, 2010 at 2:09 PM, Ricardo Gadelha <[email protected]>wrote: > > http://community.lls.org/thread/4670;jsessionid=762495A7D980475849018A307757F5F6 > > http://www.bangordailynews.com/detail/108012.html > > > http://ellsworthmaine.com/site/index.php/2008031313384/Lab-Report/Lab-Is-Home-to-Chinese-Scientists-Leukemia-Research.html > http://www.bangordailynews.com/detail/108012.html > > > Jackson Lab work IDs gene; asthma drug foils cancer cells > Cure possible for one type of leukemia > > > *By Meg Haskell* <[email protected]> > BDN Staff 6/10/09 > > A physician and researcher affiliated with The Jackson Laboratory in Bar > Harbor says he may have identified a cure for the most common form of human > leukemia. > > Dr. Shaoguang Li, now conducting research at the University of > Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester, has identified a specific gene > that supports the development of chronic myeloid leukemia, as well as a drug > treatment that targets that gene to short-circuit the proliferation of > leukemic blood cells. > > In a telephone interview Tuesday, Li said the results of his study, > published in the current issue of the journal Natural Genetics, is good news > for victims of chronic myeloid leukemia. > > “The power of this strategy is for curing the disease, not just controlling > it,” Li said. > > The gene, called Alox5, allows leukemia-producing stem cells to develop and > proliferate, Li said. > > In research at The Jackson Laboratory, Li studied mice that had been > specially bred to lack the Alox5 gene. > > “If you remove the gene from a mouse, you don’t see leukemia develop,” he > said. That’s because Alox5 is somehow tied to the development of cancer stem > cells, the precursors to leukemia, he said. > > Li also studied normal mice with leukemia, targeting the Alox5 gene with > the drug Zileuton, which is approved for treating asthma. Zileuton > successfully blocked the gene’s production of an enzyme that turns cancer > stem cells into full-blown leukemia cells. > > “When you block the gene’s function by using the drug … you’re going to be > leukemia-free,” Li said. > > Mice treated with a combination of Zileuton and Gleevec, the most effective > treatment currently available for chronic myeloid leukemia, fared even > better than mice treated with either medication alone. > > Li said Zileuton must now be studied in human clinical trials before it can > be prescribed for leukemia patients. > > “A lot of patients will be interested” in participating in those trials, he > forecast. “This is for a cure.” > > Already, he said, he has been contacted by the father of a young leukemia > patient about participating in a clinical trial. The drug’s current approval > for use in treating asthma should fast-track the clinical studies, he said, > but he declined to speculate on a timeline. > > Li said there are larger implications as well. > > “Now we know we can target cancer stem cells without damaging other stem > cells,” he said. “Without this gene, normal blood can be produced, but the > leukemia disappears.” > > In a news release issued earlier this week, The Jackson Laboratory said it > is seeking “patent protection” on the treatment developed by Li and his > research colleagues at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center and > the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute at the Harvard Medical School. > > Li, who retains adjunct professor status at The Jackson Laboratory, said > the Bar Harbor lab could “benefit a great deal” from his research findings. > > -- > [CMLHope] > A support group of http://cmlhope.com > ------------------------------------------------- > > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "CMLHope" group. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected] > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected] > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/CMLHope -- [CMLHope] A support group of http://cmlhope.com ------------------------------------------------- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "CMLHope" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/CMLHope
