From Lee Euler, Publisher Cancer Defeated | ||
Super-Charge Your Immune System with The Ultimate "Cancer Vaccine" Here's some long-awaited good news: There's a new cancer "vaccine" that shows significant promise for many types of cancer . AND (I hope you're sitting down) -- it's FDA-approved. Better yet, it doesn't employ drugs, just your own immune system This is a big one! Keep reading. . . Continued below. . .
It's called Dendritic Cell Therapy, or DC therapy, though most people refer to it as the Dendritic Cell vaccine. In a nutshell, it's an approach to cancer treatment that uses your body's own immune system to fight cancer. There have even been some reports of complete turnarounds, including some late-stage cancer patients — essentially hopeless cases -- who didn't respond to other therapies. But that's not all. Not only is DC therapy a promising treatment for advanced cancer, it also shows promise as a tool to prevent cancer in the first place. If that's the case, we can remove the quote marks around "vaccine," because this will be the real deal. Dendritic cells: What they are and what they do Dendritic cells are a type of immune cell found in mammals. Their role is to recognize and attack foreign antigens. They function as a messenger cell or information carrier that helps activate a type of immune system cell called T cells, giving the T cells the capacity to be aware of threats to the body. Once alerted to danger, the killer T cells circulate throughout the body to destroy the foreign invaders. Dendritic cells are present in the skin and other tissues that have contact with the external environment, such as the lining of the nose, lungs, and stomach. They exist in an immature state in the blood. But although they're extremely powerful, dendritic cells don't occur in big numbers in the body. At any rate, there aren't enough of them to prompt a significant immune response to cancer. Dendritic Cell Therapy changes that. It boosts the number of dendritic cells in the body so there are more messengers to activate killer T cells to attack invading cancer cells. "Most wanted" posters for the immune system Cancer treatment vaccines as a whole are designed to activate B cells and killer T cells. They alert those cells to the foreign invader (cancer). Vaccines, which are usually administered by injection, do this by introducing antigens into your body. An antigen is an agent that provokes an immune system response. It's basically something that "isn't you" and may be harmful. An antigen may be a protein, or some other type of molecule found either inside or on the surface of a cell. Dendritic cells are antigen-presenting cells. They basically serve as messengers between the innate immune system (your body's first line of defense) and the adaptive immune system, which remembers pathogens (i.e. germs) that it's seen before, and mounts ever stronger attacks against them. This part of the immune system is called "adaptive" because it's the body's system for preparing for future challenges, not merely for the antigens it's seeing now. Imagine your home is invaded by a burglar, but you're able to scare him off. Then you buy a security system for your home, so you're better prepared the next time than you were the first time. That's an adaptive response. Your immune system likewise learns from its encounters with invaders and prepares for the next round. It does this by "remembering" how to tell an invader from a harmless cell. That way it can pick the invader out in a crowd and head right for it. What's the role of dendritic cells in all this? One researcher compared dendritic cells to "most wanted" posters for the immune system,1 since they tell the killer T cells exactly which antigens to go after. Think again of the invader of your home. Imagine you were able to get his picture. Or maybe you already had a security system that captured his image on video. You circulate his picture to the neighbors, so next time he's seen in the neighborhood, he's reported immediately. He never even gets near your house. Now that's a really adaptive response! A glimpse into how the vaccine works To make the dendritic cell vaccine, researchers take a patient's dendritic cells and expose them to immune cell stimulants. This prompts dendritic cell development. After that, the dendritic cells are exposed to antigens from the patient's cancer cells. Think of this as showing all your neighbors a picture of the criminal, so they'll know him if they see him. Then, the combination of dendritic cells and antigens is injected back into the patient. From there, the dendritic cells work to program the T cells so they know exactly what to attack. So far, this approach seems to work well for most patients, except those with depressed immune systems. Unfortunately, chemotherapy and radiation depress the immune system. The Dendritic Cell Therapy may also be inappropriate for patients who are pregnant, who suffer from active autoimmune disease (such as rheumatoid arthritis), or who have recently received a blood transfusion. This works on a growing list of cancers… This treatment has some of the biggest players in allopathic medicine nodding their heads. Even the VP of Research at the American Medical Association, Dr. Harmon Eyre, said of Dendritic Cell Therapy, "Patients' responses are far out of proportion to anything that any current therapy could do." Researchers feel immunotherapy with dendritic cells shows a lot of promise even for some of the toughest cancers, such as advanced prostate cancer. Several trials have shown promise in extending survival for prostate cancer patients. Melanoma and kidney cancer appear to respond best, but the vaccine has also shown documented benefit in B cell lymphoma, myeloma, colon cancer, ovarian cancer, breast cancer, and renal cell cancer, among others. At least 20 trials are in progress right now, each one examining the effectiveness of Dendritic Cell Therapy on everything from ovarian and lung cancer to Stage IV Melanoma. The best time to attempt Dendritic Cell Therapy appears to be when the disease is stable and the patient isn't going through chemo or radiation, when a patient is at risk of the disease recurring, or when all other options have been exhausted. The future for immunotherapy is bright Some experts predict that dendritic cell vaccines will be used as a stand-alone therapy in the future, at least in some patients. It's also likely to be used in combination with drugs that target suppressor pathways in patients with metastatic cancer (i.e. cancer that has spread beyond its original location). I think the outlook for immunotherapy is very exciting. In Issue 140, I talked to you about the new leukemia treatment that involves T cell "reprogramming." In this approach, all T cells are coded to attack only cancerous cells. From there, they regenerate and keep attacking till the cancer is gone. This news about the Dendritic Cell vaccine is even better, from what I can learn. It's nice to know researchers are at last tapping the true power of the body's natural immune system. One researcher even said these vaccines could possibly lead to the complete prevention of cancer. That's a bright future I'm looking forward to. Meanwhile, take steps on your own, at home, to make sure you never get cancer in the first place. We recommended a good one in the last issue. If you missed it, scroll down and read about it now. Supercharge Your Antioxidant Levels With this Asian Fruit One of the best ways to fight disease and prevent cancer is by keeping your immune system strong, as regular readers of this newsletter know. There are many ways to do that, but one of the most important is to optimize your body's antioxidant defenses. And superoxide dismutase (SOD) is one of the most powerful natural antioxidants your body produces on its own. So it's great news to discover a new, dependable berry that naturally boosts SOD levels and activity in the body. It's called wolfberry. You may also know it as goji. When combined with SOD it makes one of the best health-enhancing, disease-fighting teams I've ever come across. Here's the story. . . Continued below. . .
Superoxide radicals versus SOD In a moment I'll explain why wolfberry is so valuable to your body. But first you need to know why the SOD made by your own body is so important to your health. You can get an in-depth report in Issue 92, but this is the quick tour: Superoxide is a dangerous radical that wreaks havoc in your cells. A toxic byproduct of oxygen, it causes cellular and tissue damage. Superoxide may even be the instigator in a number of diseases, from cancer to heart disease to neurological issues. Normally, superoxide is kept in check by SOD. SOD works at the molecular level to protect cells and deactivate the superoxide radical. It works to break down free radicals to the point where they're eventually converted into water and oxygen. It essentially shields the body from superoxide radicals. If that's not enough reason to want more SOD in your body, there are other reasons. Scientists now have evidence that SOD deficiencies may be the reason certain people are more likely to get breast and pancreatic cancers. Low SOD levels may also be a major factor in cardiovascular disease. As a health indicator it may be more important than high cholesterol. It boils down to this: Every one of us should make it our goal to improve our SOD levels. After all, not only is SOD linked to protection against chronic illness like cancer, but also to improvement in conditions like arthritis, diabetes, and neurological disorders. SOD may even enhance youthfulness and longevity (makes sense if you consider that aging is believed to be driven by free-radical damage). How to get more SOD in your body The problem with your SOD levels is that they decline dramatically with age. At the same time, aging usually brings about unwanted health issues as a result of free radical damage. Elevated SOD levels in the body have been shown to help protect against damage to skin, lipids (fats), and even DNA. High SOD levels also help relieve ailments like pain and inflammation, along with protecting against the diseases I already mentioned — diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disorders, and neurodegenerative problems. The problem to date has been in creating a reliable SOD supplement from food sources. Taking oral formulations of SOD is tricky because the compound has a fragile molecular structure and can't hold up to stomach acids. SOD gets dismantled when it gets to your stomach. This presents a challenge because SOD needs to reach your colon to be properly absorbed into your bloodstream. That's where oral formulations like GliSODin® come in. Issue 127 carried an in-depth report about GliSODin®. It's a nutritional supplement made of cantaloupe extract and gliadin. The cantaloupe has high levels of SOD, and the gliadin is a wheat protein that acts as a carrier for the SOD, shielding it from stomach acids and digestive enzymes so it can travel intact to the absorptive colon. Why wolfberry works well with SOD The new research I'm excited about shows that the Chinese herb wolfberry can enhance SOD activity throughout your body. Not only that, but it appears to restore SOD levels to those you had when you were younger. Wolfberry is an edible fruit, rich in potent antioxidants and native to southeastern Europe and Asia. The tiny fruit is packed with nutrients like beta-carotene, lycopene, vitamins C, B1, B2, niacin, lutein, and zeaxanthin. It also contains over 30 essential and trace minerals, including iron, calcium, selenium, phosphorus, and zinc. On top of that, the wolfberry boasts 18 different amino acids, such as tryptophan and arginine. It's also claimed that wolfberry has a number of therapeutic benefits, including improvement in visual health, protection against diabetes, enhanced eyesight, improved sexual function for males, and a longer, healthier life span. The antioxidant ability of this herb probably comes from its unique combination of carotenoids, vitamin C, and phenolics. But along with that, scientists suspect the antioxidant effects of the berry trace back to its synergy with SOD. By accelerating the biochemical reactions that allow SOD to tackle oxidative stress in the body, wolfberry gives SOD an improved playing field, so to speak. In turn, by neutralizing superoxide radicals, SOD curbs inflammation and degenerative disease. In one experiment, researchers examined the effect of wolfberry on oxygen-deprived participants. Those who received wolfberry showed higher levels of SOD activity and antioxidant capacity than those who didn't get any wolfberry. While this demonstrates a positive association between wolfberry and protection against ischemia (lack of oxygen), it also emphasizes the synergistic relationship between wolfberry and SOD. This one looks like it's worth a try It looks like your best bet is to combine orally available SOD with wolfberry. Do this, and you'll give your body one of the best known, natural boosts in overall health and disease-resistance. But like a lot of herbal remedies, don't expect a miracle overnight. Good health is a matter of steady effort and wise decisions. That said, some report a boost in energy and a decrease in medical problems after taking wolfberry and oral-SOD together for as little as a week. |
Showing posts with label medicinal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label medicinal. Show all posts
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Science is close to a cancer vaccine! Happy New Year!
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