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What people say makes us excited::
Also See: Artemisia in Demand for Treating Malaria
TRADITIONAL CHINESE HERB OFFERS CURE FOR MALARIA AND POSSIBLY CANCER!
BY KATHLEEN B. DEOUL
What if there was a disease that killed between 1.5 and 2.7 million people a year, including at least one million children that could be easily treated with a simple herbal extract that had negligible side affects? What if had been known for decades that this cheap, well-tolerated cure was available, but its use was blocked by institutions such as the World Health Organization and UNICEF – the very ones charged with improving global health? What if this disease were beginning to spread from the underdeveloped world to Europe and the United States?
Would someone be held accountable for the needless deaths and growing threat?
Apparently not, because that is exactly what has happened with Malaria – but that’s only half of the story.
THE SCOURGE OF MALARIA
Malaria is one of the triumvirate of diseases that has devastated the developing world. Along with AIDS and Tuberculosis, it has reached pandemic proportions in Asia and Africa with some 120 million clinical cases reported annually. Although the vast majority of Malaria deaths occur in Africa, at lease 40% of the World’s population has been exposed to the parasite. Indeed, it is estimated that 300 million people carry the parasite. This compares with around 40 million AIDS carriers and is exceeded only by Tuberculosis which may be carried by as much as one-third of the world’s population.
What is particularly disturbing about Malaria, however, is that over the last century every time a new drug has been developed to combat it, the parasite has adapted and developed a resistance. In the 1950s quinine-based drugs such as Chloraquine and Primaquine proved highly effective in combating Malaria, but today, anywhere from 50% to 90% of new cases are proving resistant.
Over the past fifteen years, the older quinine-based drugs were replaced as the treatment of choice by Lariam (Mefloquine), a drug developed by the United States Army for soldiers serving in Vietnam. Lariam was first produced at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research in 1963. Licensed to Swiss pharmaceutical giant Hoffman LaRoche, it was approved for general use in May of 1989. Each year, thousands of civilians traveling abroad as well as U.S. military and Peace Corps personnel take Lariam to protect them against Malaria.
PROBLEMS WITH LARIAM
However, like their predecessors, drugs such as Lariam are now also losing their effectiveness. Moreover, serious side effects have been associated with Lariam, including extreme neuropsychiatric disorders. These disorders are suspected of sparking a series of murders at Ft. Bragg, N.C. by soldiers returning from Afghanistan where they were administered the drug.
Concern over the possible neuropsychiatric side effects of Lariam caused the FDA to require a change to the product’s label in 2002 that reads in part:
“Mefloquine may cause psychiatric symptoms in a number of patients ranging from anxiety, paranoia and depression to hallucinations and psychotic behavior. On occasions these symptoms have been reported to continue long after mefloquine has been stopped. Rare cases of suicidal ideation and suicide have been reported though no relationship to drug administration has been confirmed.”
What makes the concern over growing drug resistance to Malaria an even more urgent problem is that the increase in global travel, especially to areas such as Africa and Southeast and Southwest Asia where Malaria is common raise the specter of its return to the United States. Other tropical diseases such as the West Nile Virus have already made there way here, and some fear it is only a matter of time before Malaria does so as well.
But is there a solution?
AN HERBAL SOLUTION?
Surprisingly, one has been available for at least three decades, but it has been resisted by both Big Pharma and the international institutions that do its bidding.
At about the same time the U.S. Army was looking for a new Malaria drug to give to soldiers fighting in Vietnam, the Chinese military was engaged in the same task to protect their own troops and those of North Vietnam. Their approach, however, was quite different.
China has a tradition of using herbal medicine that dates back over 2,000 years. In 1965, Chinese military researchers began looking at traditional herbal remedies to see if they could find one that was effective against the strain of Malaria endemic to Vietnam. In short order they hit on an herb known as “sweet wormwood.”
Sweet wormwood had been used to treat a variety of illnesses in China for more than two millennia. Normally administered as a tea, it had no noticeable side effects and seemed quite effective. The Chinese military researchers were able to isolate the active ingredient in sweet wormwood, a substance called Artemisinin, and to develop a simple process to extract it.
The results were astounding.
ARTEMISININ’S EFFECTIVENESS
They found that Artemisinin was effective against all strains of Malaria, and more important, its therapeutic action was stunningly rapid. In one clinical trial, it was found to destroy 95% of the Malaria parasites in patients within twenty hours. The fever typically accompanying a Malaria infection was gone within eight hours. Moreover, there were no side effects. Other studies of Artemisinin confirmed its effectiveness and rapid action – something particularly important for the treatment of very young children who account for 90% of all Malaria deaths.
But that wasn’t all of the good news concerning Artemisinin.
Because sweet wormwood is easy to cultivate and because the extraction process to separate out the Artemisinin is simple, it was cheap to manufacture. In other words, it was the perfect answer to the developing world’s Malaria pandemic.
Of course, this new “miracle” cure was embraced by the World Health Organization, UNICEF and the other international organizations trying to combat global public health problems – at least that’s what you would think. Unfortunately you would be wrong.
Their reaction was exactly the opposite.
ESTABLISHMENT RESISTANCE AND REVERSAL
In 2002, Dr. Dennis Carroll, a health advisor to the Agency for International Development called Artemisinin “… not ready for prime time …”
The World Bank and UNICEF objected to the herbal remedy claiming it was “too expensive.” At the time, a dose of Artemisinin sold for around $2 whereas a single dose of Lariam costs from $4.50 to $6.00!
Suddenly, last April, Dr. Carroll reversed himself and became a cheerleader for Artemisinin.
How could this happen?
Well, he was not exactly a cheerleader for Artemisinin. Rather, he became a cheerleader for what is termed “ACT” or “Artemisinin Combination Therapy.” Under this approach Artemisinin is combined with a pharmaceutical product – usually a drug called Lumefantrine that is produced by Novartis, the huge Swiss drug conglomerate. Interestingly, in poor countries Novartis sells the combination under the brand name “Coartem” for about 90 cents a dose. In the Developed World, however, it sells the same drug under the brand name Riamet for around $20 a dose.
While Novartis could not patent Artemisinin, because as a plant, it was a naturally occurring substance, it can patent the combination – ensuring its coffers will be fattened!
But that’s not all!
Even though the World Health Organization now says it needs at least 100 million doses of the combination drug by next year, Novartis managed to get it qualified as an “orphan drug” under FDA regulations making it eligible for preferential tax and investment treatment!
So now that Big Phama can make a profit, the ancient Chinese herb has suddenly become the “next new thing” in the pharmaceutical industry.
The question is how many children died needlessly while greedy executives in corporate board rooms were protecting their profits?
If you only take the period from 1989 when Lariam, the last “next new thing” for Malaria came onto the market into account, the death toll comes to around 15 million!
But at least Artemisinin is now becoming available, and not a moment too soon, because conventional pharmaceutical remedies are rapidly losing their effectiveness.
In Uganda, for example, a country which had not previously had a significant drug resistance problem, the number of Malaria cases not responding to existing pharmaceutical products rose from 6% in 2000 to 31% in 2003. Similar patterns of rapidly growing drug resistance are being experienced elsewhere.
BIG PHARMA’S PLOY
Of course, Big Pharma uses this fact as a justification for using a “combined drug therapy.” They claim that using Artemisinin in combination with Lumefantrine will protect the herb against losing its effectiveness. This makes sense on first glance except for one thing: Artemisinin has been used for over 2,000 years without losing its punch.
Why would it suddenly do so now?
The simple truth is that Novartis is not afraid of Artemisinin losing its medicinal power. It’s afraid of losing the drug’s financial power. As long as it is sold in combination with a conventional pharmaceutical product, the combination can be patented even if the herb cannot. That means that whenever the patent on Lumefantrine is set to expire, all that Novartis has to do is combine it with another pharmaceutical product – it really doesn’t matter what since it’s the herb that’s providing the greatest medical benefit – and apply for a new patent! It effectively creates Big Pharma’s fondest dream – a patent that will never expire!
Not only that, but by following the two-tiered sales approach and having one relatively cheap brand name Novartis uses in poor countries and another expensive one for the rest of the world, the company can continue to watch its profits grow while avoiding criticism for exploiting poor nations.
As if its indefinite patent protection weren’t enough, institutions such as the World Health Organization, the Global Fund for AIDS Tuberculosis and Malaria and the U.S. Agency for International Development are providing grants to farmers to grow more sweet wormwood so that sufficient supplies of the herb are available. That these grants also serve to keep manufacturing costs down for Novartis thereby making their profits larger is yet another benefit to the pharmaceutical giant.
The answer to this question may have implications for global health that go far beyond its effectiveness against Malaria.
Malaria grows in the body’s erythrocytes, or red blood cells. Hemoglobin, a major component of red blood cells, contains large amounts of “unbound” or free iron. The iron plays a crucial role in the function of red blood cells to transport oxygen throughout the body. The peroxide molecule in Artemisinin reacts with the iron in the red blood cells to create free radicals that in turn destroy the parasite’s membranes, killing it. This mechanism may be the reason why Malaria parasites are unable to develop a resistance to Artemisinin.
These were found to be ineffective against malaria. Further, when other drugs such as miconazole and doxorubicin that also generate free radicals through an oxygen interaction were used in conjunction with Artemisinin, its effect was enhanced. Conversely when substances that retard free radical creation such as vitamin E were used in conjunction, its effect was reduced.
In a separate study where the antioxidant defenses of rats were manipulated, it was discovered that those with weaker antioxidant defenses were more resistant to the Malaria parasite, whereas those with enhanced antioxidant defenses were more vulnerable to the disease.
But why is it so important that Artemisinin transport oxygen to cells? The answer lies in the research of German Nobel Laureate Otto Warburg.
A POSSIBLE CANCER CURE?
Warburg won the Nobel Prize in 1928 for describing the way a cancer cell functions. A key element of his research was to establish that cancer cells were “anaerobic.” That is to say that they required an ABSENCE of oxygen to survive. Since 1928, countless researchers have worked to find a way to transport oxygen to cancer cells. Although some researchers, such as Dr. Keith Brewer, developed treatments based on this principle, their discoveries were either ignored or attacked.
But in the case of Artemisinin, the fact that it is approved by the FDA for use in humans may finally open the door to an oxygen-based approach to cancer treatment. Once a drug is approved for one purpose, it can be prescribed by physicians to treat any disease they deem appropriate. This practice is called “off-label prescribing” and is widespread within the medical community. Soon, though, it may not be necessary to engage in such subterfuge.
Professor Henry Lai and Assistant Professor Narendra Singh of the University of Washington have been conducting in vitro experiments to determine the effectiveness of Artemisinin in fighting cancer. A study concerning their research published in the Journal Life Sciences described how the compound killed virtually all human breast cancer cells exposed to it within sixteen hours.
According to Dr. Lai, “Not only does it appear to be effective, but it’s very selective.” He continued “it’s highly toxic to the cancer cells, but has a marginal impact on normal breast cells.”
Dr. Lai has been investigating the potential of Artemisinin in regard to treating various types of cancer for over seven years with consistently promising results. He has developed a “cocktail” consisting of holotransferrin, a substance that binds with a cancer cells “transferring receptors,” the part of the cell that absorbs iron and a water soluble form of Artemisinin. Cancer cells normally absorb much more iron than healthy cells. Therefore the chemical cocktail is attracted to the diseased cells and brings the Artemisinin along with it.
Although full-scale human trials have not been conducted as yet, in one animal trial, a dog with severe bone cancer was completely cured within five days of being given the Artemisinin cocktail.
According to Dr. Lai, Artemisinin could open the door to a whole new era of cancer treatment. Patients could be given a prescription for a pill they could take at home without the need to go through expensive hospital-based treatments.
“That would be very easy, and this [Artemisinin] could make that possible. The cost is another plus – at $2 a dose, it’s very cheap. And with millions of people who have already taken Artemisinin for Malaria we have a track record showing that it’s safe.”
Dr. Lai continued “The fascinating thing is that this was something the Chinese used thousands of years ago. We simply found a different application.”
The real question is not whether Artemisinin will eventually become part of the arsenal for fighting cancer as it has become part of the arsenal for fighting Malaria. Given the amazing results of Dr. Lai’s research, it undoubtedly will. The real question is whether Big Pharma and its allies in government will make the public wait three decades before it becomes available.
Wormwood is the Basis
for a Cancer-fighting Pill
Wednesday, November 28, 2001
Environmental News Network
Annual wormwood
Artemisia annua L.
A nontoxic pill that could be taken on an outpatient basis to combat breast cancer or leukemia sounds like a fantasy, but the treatment is becoming a reality due to the investigation of a University of Washington research team into an ancient Chinese remedy for malaria.
Two bioengineering research professors at the University of Washington have rediscovered wormwood as a promising potential treatment for cancer among the ancient arts of Chinese folk medicine.
Research professor Henry Lai and assistant research professor Narendra Singh have exploited the chemical properties of a wormwood derivative to target breast cancer cells with surprisingly effective results. A study in the latest issue of the journal Life Sciences describes how the derivative killed virtually all human breast cancer cells exposed to it within 16 hours.
"Not only does it appear to be effective, but it's very selective," Lai said. "It's highly toxic to the cancer cells but has a marginal impact on normal breast cells."
Environmental risk factors for cancer are many. Lifetime exposure to the female hormone estrogen and estrogen-mimicking chemicals such as some pesticides and herbicides has been linked to an increase in breast cancer risk. In 1991, the International Agency for Research on Cancer classified the pesticide DDT as a possible human carcinogen, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has classified DDT as a probable human carcinogen.
The manufacture of PCBs, the oily liquids or solids used as coolants and insulators, was stopped in the United States in 1977 because of concerns that exposure increases the risk of cancers, but PCBs are still found in the environment.
Most Americans are exposed every day to air toxins emitted by motor vehicles, substances that the EPA says have been proven to cause cancer in humans. "Benzene, says the EPA, "is a known human carcinogen, while formaldehyde; acetaldehyde; 1,3-butadiene; and diesel particulate matter are probable human carcinogens." The EPA has now classified 1,3-butadiene, a gas used commercially in the production of resins and plastics, as a known human carcinogen.
The use of the bitter herb wormwood is nothing new. Used for centuries to rid the body of worms, it is also an ingredient in the alcoholic beverage absinthe, now banned in most countries.
Artemisinin, the compound that Lai and Singh have found to fight cancers, isn't new either. It was extracted from the plant Artemisia annua L., commonly known as wormwood, thousands of years ago by the Chinese, who used it to combat the mosquito-borne disease malaria. The treatment with artemisinin was lost over time but rediscovered during an archaeological dig in the 1970s that unearthed recipes for ancient medical remedies.
Now widely used in Asia and Africa to fight malaria, artemisinin reacts with the high iron concentrations found in the malaria parasite. When artemisinin comes into contact with iron, a chemical reaction ensues, spawning charged atoms that chemists call free radicals. The free radicals attack cell membranes, breaking them apart and killing the single-cell parasite.
About seven years ago, Lai began to hypothesize that the process might work with cancer, too.
"Cancer cells need a lot of iron to replicate DNA when they divide," Lai explained. "As a result, cancer cells have much higher iron concentrations than normal cells. When we began to understand how artemisinin worked, I started wondering if we could use that knowledge to target cancer cells."
Lai devised a potential method and began to look for funding, obtaining a grant from the Breast Cancer Fund in San Francisco. Meanwhile, the UW patented his idea.
The thrust of the idea, according to Lai and Singh, was to pump up the cancer cells with maximum iron concentrations, then introduce artemisinin to selectively kill the cancer.
In the current study, after eight hours, just 25 percent of the cancer cells remained. By the time 16 hours had passed, nearly all the cells were dead.
An earlier study involving leukemia cells yielded even more impressive results. The cancer cells were eliminated within eight hours. A possible explanation might be the level of iron in the leukemia cells. "They have one of the highest iron concentrations among cancer cells," Lai explained. "Leukemia cells can have more than 1,000 times the concentration of iron that normal cells have."
The next step, according to Lai, is animal testing. Limited tests have been done in that area. In an earlier study, a dog with bone cancer so severe it couldn't walk made a complete recovery in five days after receiving the treatment. But more rigorous testing is needed.
If the process lives up to its early promise, it could revolutionize the way some cancers are approached, Lai said. The goal would be a treatment that could be taken orally on an outpatient basis.
"That would be very easy, and this could make that possible," Lai said. "The cost is another plus: At $2 a dose, it's very cheap. And with the millions of people who have already taken artemisinin for malaria, we have a track record showing that it's safe."
Whatever happens, Lai said, a portion of the credit will have to go to unknown medical practitioners, long gone now. "The fascinating thing is that this was something the Chinese used thousands of years ago," he said. "We simply found a different application."
Copyright © 2001 Environmental News Network Inc .
source: http://www.fact55.com/issuebriefs.htm
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