Log in

View Full Version : Scientists cure cancer, but no one takes notice



Paulappaul
14th May 2011, 19:51
[/URL]http://s1.hubimg.com/u/40764_f520.jpg
Canadian researchers find a simple cure for cancer, but major pharmaceutical companies are not interested.
Researchers at the University of Alberta, in Edmonton, Canada have cured cancer last week, yet there [URL="http://www.studentprintz.com/home/index.cfm?event=displayArticlePrinterFriendly&uStory_id=c7794f20-dfb1-4494-892d-b529895da103"]is a little ripple in the news (http://s1.hubimg.com/u/40764_f520.jpg) or in TV. It is a simple technique using very basic drug. The method employs dichloroacetate (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dichloroacetic_acid), which is currently used to treat metabolic disorders. So, there is no concern of side effects or about their long term effects.

This drug doesn’t require a patent, so anyone can employ it widely and cheaply compared to the costly cancer drugs produced by major pharmaceutical companies.

Canadian scientists tested this dichloroacetate (DCA) on human’s cells; it killed lung, breast and brain cancer cells and left the healthy cells alone. It was tested on Rats inflicted with severe tumors; their cells shrank when they were fed with water supplemented with DCA. The drug is widely available and the technique is easy to use, why the major drug companies are not involved? Or the Media interested in this find?

In human bodies there is a natural cancer fighting human cell, the mitochondria (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitochondria), but they need to be triggered to be effective. Scientists used to think that these mitochondria cells were damaged and thus ineffective against cancer. So they used to focus on glycolysis (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glycolysis), which is less effective in curing cancer and more wasteful. The drug manufacturers focused on this glycolysis method to fight cancer. This DCA on the other hand doesn’t rely on glycolysis instead on mitochondria; it triggers the mitochondria which in turn fights the cancer cells.

The side effect of this is it also reactivates a process called apoptosis. You see, mitochondria contain an all-too-important self-destruct button that can't be pressed in cancer cells. Without it, tumors grow larger as cells refuse to be extinguished. Fully functioning mitochondria, thanks to DCA, can once again die.

With glycolysis turned off, the body produces less lactic acid, so the bad tissue around cancer cells doesn't break down and seed new tumors.

Pharmaceutical companies are not investing in this research because DCA method cannot be patented, without a patent they can’t make money, like they are doing now with their AIDS Patent (http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/180982). Since the pharmaceutical companies won’t develop this, the article says other independent laboratories should start producing this drug and do more research to confirm all the above findings and produce drugs. All the groundwork can be done in collaboration with the Universities, who will be glad to assist in such research and can develop an effective drug for curing cancer.

You can access the original research for this cancer here (http://www.depmed.ualberta.ca/dca).

This article wants to raise awareness for this study, hope some independent companies and small startup will pick up this idea and produce these drugs, because the big companies won’t touch it for a long time.


Original Link (http://hubpages.com/hub/Scientists_cure_cancer__but_no_one_takes_notice)

Zav
14th May 2011, 19:57
Excellent! Now we can cure cancer and at the same time use the pharmaceutical companies' lack of interest in the cure as a bit of anti-Capitalist propaganda.

Leftie
14th May 2011, 20:06
Why aren't the big companies interested?

I'd think this would be a gold mine for them.

Zav
14th May 2011, 20:13
Why aren't the big companies interested?

I'd think this would be a gold mine for them.
The drug can't be patented because it's basically over-the-counter, which means that the companies cannot make any profit from it, which is the only thing they're interested in. It's sad that medicine would be so corrupt, but that's Capitalism for you.

jake williams
14th May 2011, 20:34
It looks like this is basically just an especially effective type of chemotherapy that seems to work pretty well for specific cancers. Good, but not a "cure for cancer". In fact, I really don't know a lot about medicine or biology, but my understanding is a lot of cancer researchers don't actually believe there ever will be a single cure for cancer, because different cancers have different causes and characteristics. Including the ones that this particular type of chemotherapy seems to work for.

You should notice that you're posting a link from 2007, before they'd even done human trials. The latest press release on the university's website is from about a year ago, where they suggest some success in initial trials, and hopes that they can continue with further trials.

Desperado
15th May 2011, 00:41
A friend of mine posted this on facebook the other day.

Companies aren't yet interested because it would be illegal for them to sell it (plenty of medicines without patents are sold in their millions for massive profits). Always check the original source. And always be sceptical of hyperbole - bloggers and media (to sell their story) and researchers (to sell their product) will big things up.

Sir Comradical
15th May 2011, 01:36
Holy fuck this is awesome.

Die Rote Fahne
15th May 2011, 02:02
A study by Complutense University of Madrid (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Complutense_University_of_Madrid) found the chemicals in marijuana promotes the death of brain cancer (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brain_cancer) cells by essentially helping them feed upon themselves in a process called autophagy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autophagy). - wikipedia, Salazar M, Carracedo A, Salanueva IJ, et al. (May 2009), The Journal of Clinical Investigation

This might be worth the look. But again, agriculture would make more from it than big pharma.

B0LSHEVIK
15th May 2011, 07:46
I highly doubt a dated article from hubpages. But thats just me.

comrade_cyanide444
17th May 2011, 03:47
They've cured cancer multiple times before. For example, some cannabinoids like THC and CBD are responsible for apoptosis of gliomas and colon tumors. However, both of these compounds are in cannabis, thus illegal. Cannabis contains these chemicals with some other cannabinoids. In fact, GW produced a solution of cannabis extract to treat MS.... But it's not really around. Some companies made synthetics, but they aren't the same as natural. The whole fact that cannabis is illegal across the globe makes it very hard to study and verify such reports.

Most cancer cells possess abnormally high concentrations of both CB1 and CB2 receptors (normal cells contain either). Activation of such receptors activates a kinase pathway that induces ceramide accumulation (fat suffocates the tumor) and apoptosis (I think by mitochondrial hyperpolarization... not sure). Thus, cannabinoids show ENORMOUS potential in treating cancer. Unfortunately, THC alone is not capable of this, and might even be dangerous (which is why Marinol probably won't work).

Agent Ducky
17th May 2011, 03:57
Oh my god. Just like I've said before. I said, "If they found a *hypothetical* cure to cancer, but then decided that it wasn't PROFITABLE, they would choose not to distribute it and let people keep dying from cancer." I was fucking right. DAMN IT.

Salyut
17th May 2011, 22:02
Oncologist weighs in. I have no idea why I'm currently stuck in Italics. (http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/2011/05/the_dca_zombie_arises_again.php)

Dr Mindbender
20th May 2011, 00:59
Why aren't the big companies interested?

I'd think this would be a gold mine for them.

Probably for the same reason we haven't seen an AIDS cure appear.

Its more profitable to have life long customers of life prolonging drugs than it is to have cured patients.

Zav
20th May 2011, 01:19
Probably for the same reason we haven't seen an AIDS cure appear.

Its more profitable to have life long customers of life prolonging drugs than it is to have cured patients.
In the eyes of a Capitalist, it is better to sell a man a fish rather than to teach him how to fish.

CommunityBeliever
20th May 2011, 06:02
Its funny how rich people's diseases (AIDS, cancer, etc) disappear well millions of poor people are dying of them.

Arilou Lalee'lay
20th May 2011, 06:19
In human bodies there is a natural cancer fighting human cell, the mitochondria (http://www.anonym.to/?http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitochondria),

Uhhh, from this line alone I can declare with complete certainty that this is bull.