Gene Therapy Helps Dogs Stricken W... ( Treatment could eventually be used to...)

Gene Therapy Helps Dogs Stricken With Cancer

Date:6/16/2008

Treatment could eventually be used to improve lives of humans with disease, study says

MONDAY, June 16 (HealthDay News) -- A gene therapy that has extended the lives of dogs with cancer may also be able to help people who have the disease live longer with a better quality of life, the therapy's developers say.

The treatment, given only once, was tested successfully on 55 dogs with cancer and anemia. It increases muscle strength and counteracts common cancer complications such as weakness, weight loss and anemia, principal investigator Dr. Ruxandra Draghia-Akli, a researcher with VGX Pharmaceuticals Inc. in The Woodlands, Texas, said in a prepared statement.

"With our type of gene therapy, we can trick certain types of cells in the body to naturally produce specific hormones," he said. These hormones have a muscle-building, or anabolic, effect.

In the study, which was expected to be presented Monday at the Endocrine Society's annual meeting in San Francisco, 54 percent of the dogs responded to gene therapy, confirmed by blood tests, after three months.

Of those dogs, 84 percent lived longer than those that did not respond to gene therapy and other dogs with cancer that received a placebo.

The dogs who responded had a better quality of life, especially a better appetite, and their complications of chemotherapy, such as vomiting and diarrhea, were greatly reduced, the study found.

VGX Pharmaceuticals has applied to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for permission to study this treatment in humans with cancer cachexia, a form of cancer linked to limited food intake, Draghia-Akli said.

More information

The American Cancer Society has more about cancer.

-- Kevin McKeever

SOURCE: Endocrine Socie
'/>"/>

0

GOOD

Page: 1 2
Related medicine news :

1. Vision restoration therapy shown to improve brain activity in brain injured patients
2. HIV therapy in pregnancy-data support WHO recommendations
3. Family-based treatment more effective than supportive psychotherapy in treating bulimia
4. Trial to Test Gene Therapy for Angina in Women
5. One of the Largest Post-WHI Physician Surveys Shows More Education is Needed: Patient Misinformation About Hormone Therapy Remains High
6. Aromatherapy Gift Line Sheds Humorous Light on Modern Therapy
7. Chemotherapy may be culprit for fatigue in breast cancer survivors
8. Atlanta Falcons Physical Therapy Centers Set to Launch This Fall
9. New Drug No Substitute for Standard Blood-Clot Therapy
10. Stem Cell Therapy Disappoints Against Rare Kidney Ailment
11. Nucletron Announces Management Buy-Out to More Effectively Meet the Demands of Its Customers and the Radiation Therapy Community

Post Your Comments:

Gene Therapy Helps Dogs Stricken W...( Treatment could eventually be used to...),Health