Artemisinin and Cancer
While
we are affirmatively open-minded about alternative medicine,
we're
usually suspect of herbal cures, the main reason being that there is
very often little scientific data to back up the claims made for them.
One of our readers recently made us aware of a compound derived from the
wormwood tree ("sweet Anne") called "artemisinin."
This one seems to have some pretty amazing science behind it.
Artemisinin has
been traditionally used in Asia to treat malaria, and it was only a
decade or so ago that this compound became a standard recognized cure
for this disease. Asians had been making a tea of the stuff, and curing
their malaria with it. In 1993 a researcher at the University of
Michigan discovered what made artemisinin tick. In a nutshell, when
artemisinin comes into contact with iron in the blood's
"hemozoin", it converts the iron into a toxic chemical that
attacks and kills the malaria parasite. You may have read recently about
the anticipation of a malaria vaccine within a few years. This
vaccine, as we understand it, will be based upon artemisinin.
In
1999, two research professors at the University of Washington at
Seattle, Henry Lai, Ph.D. and Narendra Singh, M.B.B.S, became interested
in the way artemisinin reacted with iron molecules. Cancer cells, like
malaria parasites, collect and store iron.
The following
is quoted from an article published on the Web site of the Northeast
Herbal Association:
"Cancer
cells need extra iron to replicate DNA when they divide," explained
Professor Lai. "As a result, cancer cells have a much higher
concentration of iron than normal cells do. When we began to
understand how artemisinin works, I wondered if we could use that
knowledge to target cancer cells."
In research
published in 1995 in the journal Cancer Letters and in the November
2001 journal Life Sciences, Professors Lai and Singh found that
artemisinin killed all of the human leukemia and breast cancer cells
in a test tube within 8 to16 hours while leaving nearly all of the
normal cells unharmed.
Here is the
part that particularly piqued our interest:
In 1999,
Professors Lai and Singh pioneered canine research on artemisinin
when, in collaboration with Tejinder Sodhi, DVM, of the Animal
Hospital of Lynnwood in Lynnwood, Washington, they treated a male
Golden Retriever whose bone tumor caused acute lameness.
Despite a
very low dose and short treatment time (artemisinin was then expensive
and the project lacked funding to buy more), the dog recovered after
10 days of treatment, gaining weight and walking normally, with x-rays
showing signs of bone remodeling.
In another
case, a 7-year-old male Basset Hound was diagnosed with lymphosarcoma
of the lymph nodes. After three 5-day treatments separated by
intervals of three to five days, the diameter of inguinal and
submandibular, right and left, lymph nodes were reduced to half.
Both dogs
recovered without further treatment.
We
informed Sparky's veterinarian about this work coming out of the
Washington project. She contacted the researchers and they provided her
with the information she requested. As a result, she has begun
prescribing artemisinin for some of her cancer patients. Apparently,
this treatment works better on animals whose cancer is not too far
along, compared to those with advanced cases. We understand that
artemisinin is generally safe, with few or no side effects. Still, if
you are interested, do your homework first and/or consult with your vet.
For
information regarding cancer research and treatment using artemisinin,
contact Professor Henry Lai, Ph.D., University of Washington, Seattle.
Phone 206-543-1071, email hlai@u.washington.edu
.
For
information regarding canine cancer research using artemisinin, contact
Kristen Kellar-Graney, Washington Cancer Institute, Washington, DC.
Phone 202-877-3390, www.sarcoma.org
, email kporkchop@hotmail.com.
Holley
Pharmaceuticals (1400 North Harbor Boulevard #550, Fullerton CA 92835,
phone 1-866-8HOLLEY or 714-871-7070, www.holleypharma.com
) sells artemisinin in 50-mg capsules (60 for $24.99, retail price)
and 100-mg capsules (60 for $42.50). Holley offers wholesale prices
and discounts for health care professionals.
Holley
Pharmaceuticals artemether (40-mg softgels and tablets), artesunate
(50-mg capsules), and other products derived from artemisinin are
available only to healthcare professionals, research scientists, or
customers living outside the United States. For information on these
products, contact manager@holleypharma.com
.
Allergy
Research Group in Hayward, CA (phone 1-800-545-9960, www.allergyresearchgroup.com
) offers three supplements derived from Sweet Annie that are sold in
health food stores. Artemisia capsules contain 500 mg powdered
Artemisia annua (120 capsules, $27, retail price); Artemisia Forte II
capsules contain 150 mg Artemisia annua, 10 mg artemisinin, and 125 mg
citrus seed extract (90 capsules, $40); and artemisinin capsules
contain 100 mg artemisinin (90 capsules, $24).
For further information,
you and your vet can check out the following websites. There are three
extracts from the wormwood that have medical applications: artesunate,
artemether, and artemisinin. The websites contain full information and
sources for purchasing the compounds:
http://www.northeastherbal.org/articles/articleartemisinin.htm
http://www.dogaware.com/specific.html
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