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Feverfew Extract for Leukemia
August 31, 2009
Scientists at the University of Rochester Medical Center have found that an extract of Feverfew kills malignant stem cells like no other single therapy previously tested. Particularly exciting is the fact that this Feverfew extract is the first agent known to destroy myeloid leukemia at the level of the stem cells. An increasing number of scientists believe that unless cancer is attacked at this level, it can rarely be controlled, much less cured.
Parthenolide, a chemical derived from the feverfew plant, is the active agent which destroys the myeloid leukemia (AML) cells while leaving normal bone marrow cells relatively unscathed. Parthenolide agent was found to be much more specific to leukemia cells than the standard chemotherapy drug Ara-C.
The US National Cancer Institute is sufficiently excited by this work to have accepted it into the rapid access program, which aims to move experimental drugs from the laboratory to human clinical trials as quickly as possible.
Topics: Health News