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Oct. 23, 2013 — A drug currently on the market to treat leukemia reversed symptoms of colitis in lab tests, according to recently published findings by medical researchers with the University of Alberta.
Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry researcher Shairaz Baksh published his team's discovery in the peer-reviewed journal, PLOS ONE.
His team discovered that a tumour-suppressor gene can also play an important role in the development of colitis. When this gene quits working or is missing, the inflammation process is triggered and the body loses its ability to repair damaged colon tissue. This leads to severe discomfort and poor recovery following bouts of inflammation. Persistent inflammation is prevalent in inflammatory bowel disease (such as Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis).
Baksh and his team wondered if they could interfere with the inflammation process and encourage the body to repair the damaged tissue, so the disease would be less severe and patients could recover more quickly from any flare-ups. The team used a leukemia drug (imatinib/gleevec) that has been on the market for years to treat normal mice and mice that were missing the tumour-suppressor gene.
"The treatment reversed the symptoms of colitis," says Baksh. "We are on the cusp of a new treatment for this condition that affects 150,000 Canadians. We are pretty excited about the impact of this finding.
Hi, Very interesting post. But, it is still a drug. I like the success you have had with the "kefir water". Where do buy the product to make your own kefir water? Jon
I ordered my fresh grains for $7 from Keysands.com. You might be able to find them locally on Craigs List, because they multiply, so people like to share for free.
This is very interesting. I had a Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumor (GIST), a type of stomach cancer, that is often treated with Gleevac. I did not take gleevac since, I had a partial gastrectomy, and was considered low risk of recurrence. That was over 6 years ago. I wonder what the similarities are between MC and GIST, that they can both react to Gleevac?
The drug is FDA approved for treating aggressive systemic mastocytosis, so mast cell suppression may be the link by which it can help suppress inflammation in IBDs.
I note that experimental research shows that it can also be used to reduce beta-amyloid (asociated with Alzheimer's) in the brain.
Joan,
If you are reading this, that suggests that imatinib (Gleevec) might possibly be effective for treating amyloid angiopathy. I wonder if your brother or his doctors (or your sister's doctors) are aware of this.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
I'm reading it, Tex. My sister's doctors said there was no treatment. I was going to suggest that she go off gluten and send her Grain Brain. I asked Dr. Perlmutter on Facebook if his protocol would work for amyloid angiopathy but he didn't answer. He answered the questions before and after mine. He also had answered about frontotemporal dementia when I asked a while ago.
DISCLAIMER: I am not a doctor and don't play one on TV.
I found this in a NY Times article:"It turns out that the cancer drug Gleevec, already on the market to treat some types of leukemia and a rare cancer of the digestive system, blocks that newly found protein. As a consequence, it blocks production of beta amyloid. But Gleevec cannot be used to treat Alzheimer’s because it is pumped out of the brain as fast as it comes in. Nonetheless, researchers say, it should be possible to find Gleevec-like drugs that stay in the brain."
DISCLAIMER: I am not a doctor and don't play one on TV.
Yes, I know, but your brother and sister don't have Alzheimer's. Do they?
The research I mentioned is still in the experimental stage, so it may not be possible to try it for other issues at this point. That may be why Dr. Perlmutter needs some time to research a few things and think about it a bit.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
Sounds very weird but the doctor was actually hoping to find a small tumor so he could take it out and she would be OK. I need to check exactly what Tom said but I think he said that it is like ALZ and no treatment.
I think that was probably before the dx was given.
DISCLAIMER: I am not a doctor and don't play one on TV.
There is no proof that beta-amyloid is directly implicated in the development of Alzheimer's disesase. At this point, all that is known for a fact, is that a high percentage of Alzheimer's patients show beta-amyloid deposits. It has been demonstrated that removing beta-amyloid deposits does not in and of itself, resolve Alzheimer's.
Therefore, until proven otherwise, it appears that these two phenomena (Alzheimer's and beta-amyloid deposits) may function as two independent issues. Or, they may be two loosely-linked issues. Whatever the case, the bottom line (as far as your siblings are concerned) is:
The deposits in the blood vessels in the brain that are associated with amyloid angiopathy are one and the same as the deposits known as beta-amyloid (that are associated with Alzheimer's disease). Therefore, we already know that the treatment can be successfully used to reduce the beta-amyloid deposits (thereby treating the primary symptom of amyloid angiopathy.
Yes, there is no official existing treatment for amyloid angiopathy. What I am proposing is an experimental treatment. It has already been done (see the article at the last link below), so we know it will work.
They saw that administering Gleevec for a week reduced the amount of beta amyloid in the brain by 50 percent, even though the drug cannot get into the brain.
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
I don't think I saw this last post, Tex. I will copy it and send it to my brother. Jill's reading ability is still impaired. Jill will be participating in a study at NYU.
DISCLAIMER: I am not a doctor and don't play one on TV.
She will meet her new doctor (for the study) in mid January. He is working on a vaccine for ALZ. One of her other NYU doctors said Dr. W is brilliant. I'll see if I can find his bio.
Yes, all drugs carry the risk of side effects, and the drugs used to treat the most serious issues usually carry the greatest number of, and the most severe side effects. That's what makes diet control of disease so much more appealing.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
