One of the main problems in the treatment of brain tumors is poor accessibility to medicines (because the brain is protected by blood-brain barrier), so for surgical intervention because of the danger of damaging vital centers. But the method of treatment by using viruses, which we have already mentioned, received their development and can actually prove to be effective!
According to the Journal of Experimental Medicine, revealed that the zika virus is able to freely penetrate inside the cancer cells in the human brain. The head of research is Dr. Michael diamond of Washington University in St. Louis. A group of scientists under the leadership of diamond a few years ago drew attention to the fact that the zika virus mainly attacks the stem cells of the nervous tissue. And these cells. In turn, very similar in its structure to multifinanziaria cancer cells called glioblastoma. In the course of further investigation the hypothesis was confirmed: the strains of zika virus successfully penetrated the cancer cells and destroyed them.
The selectivity in the “action” of the virus, of course, can have negative effects on the human brain, but with proper selection of the dosage or in combination with other treatment methods, the virus can act as a “cleaner”, seeking cells that remain after other methods of treatment. This scientific discovery is not over. Implantiruut tumor laboratory mice and attempted to destroy it with a virus, it was observed that the growth of glioblastomas has slowed, and the tumor become more sensitive to chemotherapy.
“It is important to understand that our study is only a first step towards the creation of a safe and effective strains of the virus zika, which could fight cancer. Now we need to conduct clinical studies to “teach” the virus does not harm the brain cells.”
In the U.S. propose to use the Zeke virus to fight cancer
Vladimir Kuznetsov