I just want to publically thank you for all the
wonderful information that you've put out while I was jumping in and out of the
MOL board. This must take you tremendous time that you and Barb could be
spending together or you could be out fishing (yes, you can take a laptop
computer fishing with you!!!!!).
Thank you from the bottom of my heart, my dear
friend and brother.
It's only 4:00 a.m. and I've still got over 400
messages from my MOL family to read through. Will try to get that done
tomorrow.
Luv to everybody,
cindy
crowe
Until There Is A Cure
-----Original Message----- From:
Martin Auslander <fitecancer@earthlink.net> To:
Medical On Line Forum <mol-cancer@lists.meds.com> Date:
Thursday, July 02, 1998 11:31 PM Subject: [MOL] Mice study -
drop in Graft-Versus-Host Disease after BMT
Another
message for you this afternoon. Hope it provides you with some benefit
information should you decide on BMT (Bone Marrow Transplant). This
method has proven very successful for many diseases and has come along
way in terms of research and treatment.
God Bless marty
auslander
Mouse Studies Achieve Dramatic Drop in Graft-Versus-Host
Disease Following Bone Marrow Transplant
BOSTON--(BW
HealthWire)--June 30, 1998--In experiments with mice, researchers at
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Children's Hospital have used
a naturally occurring protein to thwart one of the most common -- and
potentially lethal -- complications associated with bone marrow
transplants.
In a study published in the July 1 issue of the Journal
of Clinical Investigation, the researchers report that mice given
interleukin-11 (IL-11) after receiving an allogeneic, or non-self,
bone marrow transplant were protected from the effects of
graft-versus-host disease, an often debilitating condition that can
follow marrow transplants. The protection enabled the mice to outlive
other mice that had received bone marrow transplants but
were not given IL-11.
"This research shows that it may be
possible to significantly reduce the complications experienced by
patients receiving bone marrow transplants," says the study's
senior author, James Ferrara, M.D., of Dana-Farber
and Children's Hospital. "IL-11 may also hold promise for the
treatment of other immune- related problems such as autoimmune
diseases and organ transplant rejection."
Graft-versus-host
disease (GVHD), which results from an
imperfect "match" between donated bone marrow and
recipients' own tissue, affects more than half of all bone marrow
transplant recipients. When T cells inside the donated marrow
recognize the host tissue as foreign, they mount an immunological assault
against it. The result of this "Trojan horse" attack can
be severe damage to organs such as the skin, liver and intestines.
Ninety percent of severe GVHD cases are fatal.
Although drugs
that suppress the immune system such as steroids and cyclosporin can
alleviate the problem, GVHD remains the major cause of disease and
death, either directly or indirectly, in patients
receiving allogeneic bone marrow transplants.
In the current
study, lead author Geoffrey Hill, M.D., and
his colleagues administered IL-11 for a short period to mice that had
received allogeneic bone marrow transplants. IL-11 was chosen because
it suppresses proteins called cytokines that can cause tissue
inflammation, and because it protects the gastrointestinal tract from
damage by radiation that is used in preparation for the
transplant.
The results of the study were striking: the long-term
survival rate of the mice receiving IL-11 was 90 percent. For mice
that had received bone marrow transplants but were not given IL-11,
the rate was 10 percent. In addition, IL-11 provided long-term
protection of the organs that usually are targeted
by GVHD.
Researchers identified three ways that IL-11 acts to
blunt the effects of GVHD: by reducing the production of inflammatory
cytokines, by protecting the intestines and other organs, and by
altering the responsiveness of T cells from the donated
marrow.
Another encouraging sign was that IL-11 didn't seem to
produce any adverse side effects in the mice, but, Ferrara cautioned,
the study was not geared specifically to detect such side effects. He
noted that IL-11 is currently given to cancer patients after
chemotherapy to increase their number of blood platelets, and that it
generally produces only minor side effects.
The success of the
experiments in mice has prompted Ferrara and his colleagues to design
a clinical trial to test IL-11 in patients receiving
bone marrow transplants. He expects the trials to begin toward the end
of this year.
CONTACT: Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Todd Ringler,
617/632-5357
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