Here’s a description of how this drug works from the DAILY MAIL via MSN:
Lead researcher Professor Marc Vendrell, chair of translational chemistry and Biomedical Imaging at the University of Edinburgh, said: “This research represents an important advance in the design of new therapies that can be simply activated by light irradiation, which is generally very safe.
“SeNBD is one of the smallest photosensitisers ever made and its use as a ‘Trojan horse’ opens many new opportunities in interventional medicine for killing harmful cells without affecting surrounding healthy tissue.”
According to Dr Sam Benson, a post-doctoral researcher at the university, “The mechanism of the drug’s delivery means it is delivered through the “front door of the cell” rather than having to “find a way to batter through the cell’s defenses”.
This technology could be an unparalleled miracle for cancer patients. Not only is a cancer diagnosis one that can devastate families, but the treatment is also often a terrible physical and psychological burden. Because many forms of chemotherapy and radiation target the body’s cells during specific points in the reproductive process, they can cause significant side effects. Their effects are not limited only to the cancer cells. They can also affect other cells in the body at the same point in the cellular reproductive process.
The current treatments are non-specific, resulting in nausea, vomiting and other forms of gastrointestinal problems, hair loss, and skin problems. Having supported more than one friend fighting for her health as she selected the wig she would wear to cover her now baby-fine hair, and held more than one basin while a cancer patient suffered from intractable vomiting, the idea of a drug without these side effects is a more than a blessing. It would also eliminate the need to pile on more drugs to treat these symptoms in an already weakened body.
The application to cancers that patients view as a death sentence, such as pancreatic, some types of brain, liver, and certain leukemias, could give hope to millions in the future. It does not appear from the studies that the treatment would be limited to certain types of cancer, as many forms of chemotherapy are. It simply capitalizes on the fact that all cancer cells are ravenous.
This technology may also have the added benefit of treating drug-resistant bacteria. The resistance of some strains of bacteria to available antibiotics is one of the perplexing challenges in treating infectious diseases. Tuberculosis and staphylococcus both have drug-resistant strains that lead to severe illness and death. That SeNBD as a Trojan Horse may treat these as well makes it a double miracle.
That this treatment has been successful in cellular studies is a significant breakthrough.
My wife has had her third clear scan. On Tuesday she goes in for a relatively new blood test. This test compares the genetic profile of her tumor with a current blood sample. If there are no “matches” in the sample…she will be deemed “cured.”
Cancer is not a “single” thing that can be covered by “blanket cures.” But the treatments are amazing. Talk to anyone who has recently gone through the process. Its “Buck Rogers” stuff.
This needs more testing but not so with the vax.
How far can light travel through healthy tissue until it hits cancerous tissues?