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| Date: | Fri, 30 Apr 99 01:59AM PDT |
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| To: | [email protected] |
| Subject: | Chinese Herb blocks cancer cell division |
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Chinese herb blocks division of cancer cells (Last updated 6:18 PM ET April 28) NEW YORK, Apr 28 (Reuters Health) -- For centuries, the Chinese herbal medicine called Danggui Longhui Wan has been used in the treatment of leukemia. In an article published this week in Nature Cell Biology, European researchers report that they have discovered that the active ingredient in the herbal remedy works by blocking the proliferation of cancer cells. The team, led by Ralph Hoessel of the University of Kaiserslautern in Germany, note that Danggui Longhui Wan includes 11 different herbal medicines. More than 30 years ago, researchers at the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences identified the active ingredient in this complex mixture as Qing Dai, a dark blue powder prepared from various plants and containing a large amount of the blue dye indigo. The leukemia-fighting ingredient was found to be indirubin, a red-colored relative of the indigo blue dye. Hoessel's team believes that indirubin stops the uncontrolled growth of tumor cells by inactivating enzymes called cyclin-dependent kinases that govern cell division. When indirubin binds to these enzymes, it blocks their activity and halts cell division, thus stopping the proliferation of cancer cells. The investigators note that indirubin has been approved for clinical trials in patients with chronic myelocytic and chronic granulocytic leukemia. One study found that "26% of the 314 chronic myelocytic leukemia patients showed complete remission and 33% showed partial remission in response to indirubin treatment. Toxicity was low and side effects were limited to mild abdominal pain, diarrhea, nausea and vomiting," they report. Hoessel and colleagues plan to continue studying how indirubin works. They conclude that this information may help to optimize the use of the agent in fighting cancer, and may suggest new avenues for cancer research. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This message distributed by the BRAINTMR list. The original author is responsible for its content. Use of this forum is for discussion purposes only. Consult with your personal healthcare provider on medical matters. For Questions or signoff assistance: mailto:[email protected] |
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