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Forgotten Ulcer Drug Energizes Stem Cells

Posted by timothy on from the hey-you-wake-up dept.

Soychemist writes "When cancer patients get a heavy dose of chemotherapy and radiation, it can destroy their bone marrow. Umbilical cords contain stem cells that can regenerate the immune systems of young patients, but usually there are not enough of them to heal an adult. Len Zon, a doctor at Children's Hospital in Boston surmised that there must be a chemical that can make the cord blood stem cells divide, so that there will be enough of them to treat adult patients. He tested 2,500 chemicals on zebrafish embryos, and found one that does the trick. It was once on its way to becoming an ulcer medication, and now doctors are testing it on cord blood units that will be given to leukemia patients."

37 comments

  1. Oh the Shocking Crazy Medicine News by eldavojohn · · Score: 5, Interesting

    You know, I read so many stories recently that just make me do a double take and question if it's a hoax/prank or what. Case in point, just today I noticed that a Nigerian professor at Jackson State University in Mississippi has been granted not a few patents for a bitter leaf-based anti-diabetic and cancer medication which may also benefit HIV/AIDS patients!

    I don't know how this works! I mean, I know patents get handed out for most anything but is this guy patenting something that's well known in Nigeria (I heard a lot of Indian medicinal researchers are busting their asses to publish a herbal book so that this doesn't happen--prior art and all)? If he's the professor of Biology at an American university I certainly hope this isn't a scam ... it also wouldn't make sense for him to create his own company and hold the patents with the intent of doing something if it is a scam.

    A confusingly exciting time in medicine. Too bad big pharma is pure evil.

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    My work here is dung.
    1. Re:Oh the Shocking Crazy Medicine News by ForAllTheFish · · Score: 0

      Some medical news, like TFA, sounds very promising. My first reaction is to wonder and hope that it is more than a few percent effective.

    2. Re:Oh the Shocking Crazy Medicine News by gurps_npc · · Score: 1

      He was getting the patent for proving what was at best rumor. After all, there are people in Nigeria that think raping a virgin will cure AIDS. (Note to self, perhaps we should start a rumor that to complete the process, one must cut off one's own balls and eat them after raping the virgin.)

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      excitingthingstodo.blogspot.com
    3. Re:Oh the Shocking Crazy Medicine News by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If you're going to start a rumor, have it be cut off one's own balls and eat them _before_ raping a virgin.

    4. Re:Oh the Shocking Crazy Medicine News by amilo100 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Hmmm...

      Patens do not really say something about the efficacy of it. So it in most probability does not work. The fact that it is from a second tier university also does not inspire confidence. There are also a lot of patents that are granted but will be removed on re-evaluation.

      Too bad big pharma is pure evil.

      I doubt that it is fair to say that âoebig pharma is evilâ. A lot of people work on it to improve peopleâ(TM)s lives. Of course there are people making money out of it â" but is it wrong? What is worse â" someone who makes money by healing people or a person who makes money out of computer games?

    5. Re:Oh the Shocking Crazy Medicine News by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 1

      Depends on how the incentives are structured. So long as it is "make better medicines = make more money" the results are likely to be excellent(and, indeed, we've seen considerable improvements). However, there are plenty of situations where "obfuscate evidence = make more money" or "deliberately mislead = make more money". That starts to be a huge problem.

      Making money isn't wrong; but many very efficient ways of doing so definitely are.

    6. Re:Oh the Shocking Crazy Medicine News by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You know, I read so many stories recently that just make me do a double take and question if it's a hoax/prank or what. Case in point, just today I noticed that a Nigerian professor at Jackson State University in Mississippi has been granted not a few patents [google.com] for a bitter leaf-based anti-diabetic and cancer medication which may also benefit HIV/AIDS patients [thisdayonline.com]!

      I don't know how this works! I mean, I know patents get handed out for most anything but is this guy patenting something that's well known in Nigeria (I heard a lot of Indian medicinal researchers are busting their asses to publish a herbal book so that this doesn't happen--prior art and all)? If he's the professor of Biology at an American university I certainly hope this isn't a scam ... it also wouldn't make sense for him to create his own company and hold the patents with the intent of doing something if it is a scam.

      A Nigerian scam? No, that could never happen. Certainly not 419 times.

    7. Re:Oh the Shocking Crazy Medicine News by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Big Pharma is evil because they use the patent system to acquire government-granted monopoles. Normal monopolies tend to evaporate when the business decides to abuse them; but in the case of a patent Big Pharma can charge $120 a bottle and there will still be many takers. And then they pay off an FDA guy to fast-track their drug while blocking possible competitors.

      Then of course the first reaction by politicians is not to get rid of the patents and regulatory capture, but instead to use taxpayer money to pay for the drugs. This shields the cost of the drug from those who buy it, and in general those who are on welfare and buying a certain expensive drug aren't going to consume less if Big Pharma increases their prices again. So in effect, patents and welfare let Big Pharma fleece the taxpayer instead of playing in the free market.

      I would also like to wager that the current private insurance system has a similar effect. I.E. people who buy expensive drugs on insurance policies cause the price of life insurance to go up. Again, the solution is not a price ceiling or a welfare system. The solution is to get rid of the patents and reduce the size of government.

      (P.S. Yes I misspelled "monopolies" as "monopoles". You've probably already posted a response making fun of it.)

    8. Re:Oh the Shocking Crazy Medicine News by amilo100 · · Score: 2, Interesting

      One of the problems is protection. I donâ(TM)t think that AIDS has the level of research simply because some countries ignore patents. This is pretty fucked up â" developing new AIDS drugs (and doing clinical trials) is extremely expensive, and then some countries want generic manufacturers to just copy the drugs without paying any royalties. Q: What is the sane solution for pharma companies? A: Stop development of AIDS drugs.
      This problem is not just confined the ARVs â" there is a huge need for newer TB medicines (because of the occurrence of MDR and XDR TB). Yet these companies do not have an incentive to develop because their patents are going to be ignored.

      Another problem is the market â" people are willing to pay a hell of a lot of money to give them boners â" yet they expect everything else to be done for free.

      As for academic research â" some countries do not do their share. One hospital in the USA (M.D. Anderson cancer center) spends more on cancer research than the whole of Canada.

      There is also another fuckup â" the approval of medicines. Some critical medicines are approved by the USAâ(TM)s FDA (which have fairly strict requirements) and then in other countries (with high prevalence of the disease) the medicine control councils take 18 months+ to approve the medicines. This process unnecessarily delays the time a product can enter the market and the cost to pharma companies (which is passed on to the consumer).

      I think we can point a lot of fingers in the Pharma industry â" but the biggest finger should not point at the default punching bag (Pharma companies) but at governments.

      /offtopic rant

    9. Re:Oh the Shocking Crazy Medicine News by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "He tested 2,500 chemicals on zebrafish embryos" - of course, those perfect analogies for the human body... Zebrafish embryos! Which are just like humans!

      Oh, wait...

      and there was I thinking vivisection was a complete and utter fraud...

    10. Re:Oh the Shocking Crazy Medicine News by postermmxvicom · · Score: 1

      it also wouldn't make sense for him to create his own company and hold the patents with the intent of doing something if it is a scam.

      I've heard patenting crap is a great way to run a scam. As in, "here are my patents, investors" or "buy my patented invention". The general populace associates patents with legitimacy.

      --
      One last thing: Sometimes I wonder; "Is that someone's signature? Or do they type that at the end of each post?"
    11. Re:Oh the Shocking Crazy Medicine News by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      well i can not speak to the success (or even existence) of the drug, but Len Zon is real - I have worked with him. Smart guy.

    12. Re:Oh the Shocking Crazy Medicine News by daniorerio · · Score: 1

      Actually zebrafish embryos are the perfect model for large scale small compound screens, they are vertebrates like humans unlike other model organisms suitable for large screens like yeast, worms (C. elegans) and fruitfly (D. melanogaster). Why do you think zebrafish embryos are that much different then humans? A large portion of the zebrafish proteins are very homologous to human ones. If a compound has the desired effect on zebrafish it's very easy to verify in a tissue culture setting if it has the same effect on the human homologue.

    13. Re:Oh the Shocking Crazy Medicine News by sonicmerlin · · Score: 0

      Boy you really hate males don't ya.

  2. f1rst! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I would have got a first post, but I was too busy baulking at the grammatical errors in the summary.

    1. Re:f1rst! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      (You must be British.)

      And the rest of us are wondering about the unusual use of balking (or baulking). If you had really balked, you wouldn't have posted at all.

      http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/baulk

  3. What's the drug? by EkriirkE · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Is the drug's name really "Forgotten Chemical"? All they say in the article is forgotten, forgotten, forgotten...

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    1. Re:What's the drug? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      maybe they forgot?

    2. Re:What's the drug? by Meshach · · Score: 3, Interesting

      The clinical trial page linked off the main page of the submission has a list: http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00890500

      Right now I guess they do not know which one helped, just that it was one of them did.

      --
      "Maybe this world is another planet's hell"
      Aldous Huxley
    3. Re:What's the drug? by drunken_boxer777 · · Score: 5, Informative

      The drug is prostaglandin e2 (PGE2). The list you are referring to is mostly a list of drugs that will be administered in addition to untreated cells (placebo group) or PGE2-treated cells (study group) to prevent graft vs host disease and otherwise manage the patient. These people are sick and need a lot of other drugs.

  4. the important question by Lord+Ender · · Score: 1

    What are we going to do with all those zebra fish?

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    1. Re:the important question by JordanL · · Score: 1

      Obviously the population of Tiger Fish and Lion Fish are going to explode. We're playing God I tell you.

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      FanFictionRecs.net
    2. Re:the important question by Seakip18 · · Score: 1

      Use them with other studies. The girlfriend uses them a TON in looking for transgenics and gene identification. Their eyes, among other things, make great models for spotting mutations, etc.

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      import system.cool.Sig;
    3. Re:the important question by SUB7IME · · Score: 1

      Their embryos are also transparent.

  5. Aspartame by WilyCoder · · Score: 4, Informative

    Aspartame was originally an ulcer drug.

    1. Re:Aspartame by maxume · · Score: 5, Funny

      Sweet.

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      Nerd rage is the funniest rage.
    2. Re:Aspartame by jeffliott · · Score: 2, Funny

      Dude, whats mine say?

    3. Re:Aspartame by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It did a good job. Some of my best ulcers were from drinking too much diet soda.

  6. Clinical Trial Link by drunken_boxer777 · · Score: 5, Informative

    The "drug" is prostaglandin e2 (PGE2), and the link for the clinical trial (from TFA) is here. This is a Phase I clinical trial, which means it's all about safety. (There are secondary endpoints that are related to efficacy.)

    I said "drug" because PGE2 is a fatty acid derivative that naturally occurs in the body. The patient won't be exposed to a meaningful amount of PGE2, as it is used to make the cord blood stem cells divide.

    What's interesting and exciting is that while it's not that different from current treatments, it will require fewer source cells per patient allowing for more people to be treated. Furthermore, the stem cells implanted into the patient will not be genetically modified, unlike a lot of the stem cells currently derived from adult tissues. So the patient has no drug exposure and no modified cells. If it works, it'll be pretty cool.

    1. Re:Clinical Trial Link by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      No it's not called "prostaglandin e2". Prostaglandin e2, also known as dinoprostone, is already marketed under the names "Cervidil", "Prostin E2" and "Propess".

      Drugs that are still on trial don't have names, only numbers.

    2. Re:Clinical Trial Link by omris · · Score: 2, Informative

      Drugs can be on trial and named. Like dinoprostone, which is marketed for one application, but is in a clinical trial for another application. Happens all the time.

      Prostaglandin e2 is a perfectly valid name for that particular molecule, as is dinoprostone, 16, 16 dimethyl-prostaglandin E2, Cervidil... all perfectly valid things to call the compound in question. Each name just uses a different naming convention.

    3. Re:Clinical Trial Link by Narpak · · Score: 0

      Furthermore, the stem cells implanted into the patient will not be genetically modified, unlike a lot of the stem cells currently derived from adult tissues.

      I am usually all in favour of scientific advancement, and I believe that stem cells and bioengineering have a lot of offer that could improve the human condition. HOWEVER; seeing as I have played Prototype non-stop since it was released I am now renouncing science (genetic engineering especially) and moving to a secret underground bunker in the Himalayas.

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      The Long Now Foundation
  7. lab bench by Hatta · · Score: 1

    Man, I'm not usually one to complain but that is one cluttered bio safety hood. Sterile technique is hard enough without trying to do 3 different things at once.

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  8. Must be an Editor that can Promote Make Better by sexconker · · Score: 1

    "there must be a chemical that can promote make the cord blood stem cells divide"

  9. Honestly? How did this story get accepted? by PHPNerd · · Score: 1

    It was so choppy and full of errors that I could hardly make promote read it.

  10. Forgotten Ulcer Drug Energizes Stem Cells by Yvan256 · · Score: 1

    So that they can keep going and going...

  11. Forgotten... by dimethylxanthine · · Score: 0

    This must be one of the most unpopular articles/topics on Slashdot ever! With 32 comments 2,5h later this means that ./ers either:

    1) know everything about their gastrointestinal health and actually adhere to a well balanced, nutrient-, micro- and macro- element rich diet 3+ times a week,
    2) have never heard of the word "diet" and thus pass the article as "Irrelevant"
    3) are busy slashdotting Wired's mail servers trying to find out what this chemical actually is, because it's obviously so well forgotten it doesn't appear anywhere in the damn article!

    At least this keeps everyone busy...

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