Researchers have developed an experimental therapy that can kill human blood cancer cells in the laboratory and eradicate the disease in mice

Main Category: Lymphoma / Leukemia / Myeloma
Article Date: 15 Aug 2013 - 0:00 PDT Current ratings for:
Researchers have developed an experimental therapy that can kill human blood cancer cells in the laboratory and eradicate the disease in mice

Ottawa researchers have developed unique virus-derived particles that can kill human blood cancer cells in the laboratory and eradicate the disease in mice with few side effects. The study is published in Blood Cancer Journal by co-senior authors Drs. David Conrad and John Bell of the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute (OHRI) and the University of Ottawa (uOttawa).

While Dr. Bell and his colleagues have been investigating replicating viruses for the treatment of solid cancers for many years, with very promising results, this is the first major success they have had treating blood cancer (leukemia). It is also the first success they have had using a non-replicating virus-derived particle as opposed to a replicating virus.

"Our research indicated that a replicating virus might not be the safest or most effective approach for treating leukemia, so we decided to investigate whether we could make virus-derived particles that no longer replicate but still kill cancer," said Dr. Conrad, a hematologist conducting research in the Blood and Marrow Transplant Program at The Ottawa Hospital, and currently completing his PhD at OHRI and uOttawa in the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine. "We were delighted to see that this novel therapy was very safe at high doses, and worked extremely well in our laboratory leukemia models. We hope to test this in patients in the near future."

The researchers used a specific method and dose of UV light to transform regular replicating viruses into unique particles that could no longer replicate and spread, but could still enter cancer cells efficiently, kill them and stimulate a strong immune response against the cancer. These particles were able to kill multiple forms of leukemia in the laboratory, including samples taken from local patients who had failed all other therapies. Normal blood cells were not affected. This novel treatment was also successful in mouse models of leukemia. In fact, 80 per cent of the mice that received the therapy had markedly prolonged survival and 60 per cent were eventually cured, while all of the untreated mice died of their leukemia within 20 days.

"Leukemia is a devastating disease that can be very difficult to treat, and new therapies are urgently needed," said Dr. Conrad. "While we're still at the early stages of this research, I think this therapy holds a lot of promise because it appears to have a potent, long-lasting effect on leukemia without the debilitating side effects of many cancer therapies used in the clinic right now. We will likely see even better results once we optimize the dose in our preparations to advance this research into human clinical trials."

Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release. Click 'references' tab above for source.
Visit our lymphoma / leukemia / myeloma section for the latest news on this subject.

This research was funded by the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research, the Terry Fox Foundation, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Ottawa's Department of Medicine and The Ottawa Hospital Foundation.

Non-replicating rhabdovirus-derived particles (NRRPs) eradicate acute leukemia by direct cytolysis and induction of antitumor immunity. Batenchuk C, Le Boeuf F, Stubbert L, Falls T, Atkins HL, Bell JC, and Conrad DP. Blood Cancer J. 2013 Jul 12;3:e123. doi: 10.1038/bcj.2013.23.

Ottawa Hospital Research Institute

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Success of experimental technique may open new route for transcatheter valve replacement

Main Category: Cardiovascular / Cardiology
Also Included In: Medical Devices / Diagnostics
Article Date: 15 Aug 2013 - 1:00 PDT Current ratings for:
Success of experimental technique may open new route for transcatheter valve replacement

Doctors at Henry Ford Hospital have created a new route to the heart to implant an artificial heart valve by temporarily connecting major blood vessels that do not normally intersect.

In a July 3 operation on 79-year-old Viola Waller of Charlevoix, physicians performed a world-first cardiac procedure when it became evident that other means would not work.

"I knew of an experimental technique that had not yet been done in humans, and I had a patient with no other options who was failing rapidly," says William O'Neill, M.D., medical director of the Center for Structural Heart Disease at Henry Ford Hospital.

The new approach, called transcaval, involves threading a guide wire through a vein in a leg, and passing it from the main vein in the body into the main artery, the abdominal aorta. Then, by gradual dilation, the openings of the vein and artery are widened to the point of allowing a catheter to connect them, continue to the heart, and implant the new artificial heart valve.

As the catheter is removed, plugs are inserted in the artery and the vein to close the holes made for the temporary connection of the two major blood vessels.

Approximately 5 million people in the U.S. are diagnosed with heart valve disease each year. With an aging population that is often too frail for open-heart surgery, more than 20,000 Americans die of the disease each year, according to the American Heart Association.

Dr. O'Neill estimates that this new procedure could help 25,000 - 50,000 patients a year in the U.S.

Waller was transferred from northern Michigan to Detroit by medical helicopter in critical condition. Her aortic valve, a previous implant done through open-heart surgery many years ago, was failing.

The preferred access for transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) is through the leg arteries. However, Ms. Waller's arteries were too small in diameter for the catheter due to prior plaque buildup and stents that had been previously placed in them. Cardiologists made an attempt to reach her heart through a minimally invasive chest incision, but fatty deposits near the patient's heart could not support the necessary structure for a catheter.

"Since all traditional options were not feasible our multi-specialty team felt the new technique could be the answer for this patient," says Adam Greenbaum, M.D., director of the Cardiac Catheterization Lab at Henry Ford Hospital and leader of the team. "She could not have open-heart surgery, and her condition was deteriorating daily."

Robert Lederman, M.D., an interventional cardiologist and senior investigator at the National Institutes of Health who developed the technique in pigs, came to Detroit to observe the procedure and share his insights.

Waller is making a remarkable recovery, and has returned to her home in northern Michigan.

"The success of this new procedure may open a new route for transcatheter valve replacement," adds Dr. O'Neill.

Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release. Click 'references' tab above for source.
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Experimental drug tackles both HIV and genital herpes

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Academic Journal
Main Category: HIV / AIDS
Article Date: 25 Jul 2013 - 14:00 PDT Current ratings for:
Experimental drug tackles both HIV and genital herpes

Scientists are developing a drug that may be effective in treating two sexually transmitted infections at once - HIV and genital herpes - as well as potentially preventing the spread of HIV from one person to another.

Researchers from the University of Leuven (KU Leuven) in Belgium say the experimental drug, dubbed PMEO-DAPym, can tackle both HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) and HSV (herpes simplex virus). The drug can prevent HIV from multiplying, making the cells targeted by the virus less susceptible to infection.

The researchers say that both HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, and HSV, the virus that causes genital herpes, can together have dangerous effects. People with genital herpes are more likely to become infected with HIV. Additionally, the scientists say, for people who carry both viruses, one infection can worsen the symptoms of the other. These people are also more likely to infect their partners.

There are drugs already on the market that are both anti-HIV and anti-HSV - tenofovir and adefovir. But the researchers say these drugs do not have the ability to stop the spread of the HIV virus as well as targeting particular cells.

PMEO-DAPym can do this by effectively "down-modulating" the CCR5 receptor. This a molecule on the surface of human immune cells that the HIV virus exploits to enter and infect the cells.

Jan Balzarini of KU Leuven says:

"We are excited about this finding since the concomitant action of one single drug on two different targets in the HIV infection process makes it a multifunctional drug that might eventually result in more efficient suppression of virus replication and a lesser risk of resistance development."

In comparing the effectiveness of PMEO-DAPym against other HIV and HSV drugs already on the market, the researchers say that PMEO-DAPym was equal to or better than tenofovir and adefovir in the majority of the tests.

When testing PMEO-DAPym in a panel of clinical HIV and HSV isolates that were resistant to the currently available drugs, the new antiviral was effective against all of them.

The drug was less effective against HSV compared with acyclovir, a popular anti-HSV drug. But the researchers claim that PMAO-DAPym would still prove effective in the higher concentrations that can be achieved in topical preparations.

As well as being tested against the HIV and HSV viruses themselves, the researchers also tested the new antiviral on cells, tissues and animals prior to exposure to the viruses.

A relative of PMEO-DAPym, tenofovir, has been shown in previous clinical trials, the researchers say, to have an effect as a "vaginal microbicide" - a gel that can be applied to the vagina before sex, helping to protect women against infection.

They add that this suggests PMEO-DAPym might also be developed as a prevention tool against HIV and HSV.

Based on results that proved the drug to be effective against infection of cells through the CCR5 receptor, the researchers say that in addition to blocking multiplication of the virus, making the human mucosal tissue harder to infect could also be a route to effective prevention of HIV transmission.

Before a decision is reached on whether the drug will be approved for clinical trials in humans, it must first be tested in a "relevant microbicidal animal model." The researchers add that its application as a systemic treatment following infection also needs to be investigated.

Written by Honor Whiteman

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Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today Visit our hiv / aids section for the latest news on this subject. A multi-targeted drug candidate with dual anti-HIV and Anti-HSV activity, PLoS Pathog 9(7): e1003456. doi:10.1371/journal.ppat.1003456. Open-access journal article. Please use one of the following formats to cite this article in your essay, paper or report:

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