Recent studies indicate that use “natural medicines” to treat diseases such as Cancer and Alzheimers from plants, animals, insects and microorganisms are gaining attention as results from several studies performed around the world are yielding promising results. One of the most interesting and recent studies using natural medicine uses a compound called chlorotoxin from the venom of the deathstalker scorpion which allows therapeutic genes to reach more brain cancer cells than any other approach thus far. The researchers from the American Chemical Society conclude that, “these results indicate that this targeted gene delivery system may potentially improve treatment outcome of gene therapy for glioma and other deadly cancers.”
Toxins from several other animals and insects such as the centipede to halt the progress of Parkinson’s disease, and the cone snail for the possible use in the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders have been used in several studies that are also yielding results that bring hope to those suffering with these diseases and disorders.
The use of bacteria in the development of vaccines has been a common practice ever since the first vaccine was developed in 1796. For example, a team from North Carolina State University is developing an oral vaccine against Anthrax poisoning using a common bacteria found in yogurt. Another recently discovered use for bacteria comes from Britain’s University of Nottingham for the treatment of cancer. They have discovered that the bacteria Clostridium sporogenes which is widely found in nature can be used as a vehicle to deliver a novel enzyme that activates a cancer drug within tumors in the brain. This anaerobic bacteria does not need oxygen to live which means the bacteria can grow and multiply within solid tumors but will not grow in other tissues of the body where oxygen is present.
Present in this article written by Chris Kilham from foxnews.com, are several examples of natural substances that are playing a key role in the eradication of diseases, especially cancer and other disorders. To read the full article please click here.