Canadian scientists claim to have found a substitute for chemotherapy which would have none of the unbearable side effects like nausea and fatigue.
Canadian scientists claim to have found a substitute for chemotherapy which would have none of the unbearable side effects like nausea and fatigue. The research findings were reported in the Canadian journal Cancer Cell.
The scientists seemed to have arrived at an anti cancer agent called DCA or the dichloroacetate which like a usual tablet can be made into a powder form, dissipated in water and consumed. The greater advantage of DCA is its cost effectiveness when compared to chemotherapy. The trials for this procedure have been carried out in animals and have been proved successful.In normal cells the function of mitochondria or the powerhouse of cell is to convert food into energy and initiate cell death. But in cancer affected cells, the mitochondria are totally thrown out of gear and cell death does not occur. All along it was believed that the damage to the cancer affected mitochondria was irreversible. But this study gives a different and promising picture to the whole scenario.
According to these researchers, the mutilated mitochondria in cancer cells have been found to be repaired by DCA. In human tissue experiments conducted at the laboratory. DCA is found to decrease the size of tumors in breast and brain.
Dr Evangelos Michelakis, Professor of Medicine at the University of Alberta in Edmonton revealed that DCA has no harmful effect on the normal cells and could be immediately tested on humans.
Source-Medindia
JYT
