tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36978421.post7058492920855940655..comments2011-11-27T17:19:50.016-06:00Edmund Injae Leenoreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36978421.post-90064205912175741792011-11-27T17:19:50.016-06:002011-11-27T17:19:50.016-06:00They could cure a lot of diseases if they wanted to....<br /><br /><br />Lab at Hershey Medical Center identifies a virus that could kill cancer<br />Published: Sunday, November 27, 2011, 12:00 AM<br /><br />Even once a drug or therapy passes through the FDA approval process, there’s one final step before it makes it to the general public — production and distribution. <br /> <br />“You’ve got to get funding to bring it to the market, which involves getting [pharmaceutical industry] support,” Ayres said. <br /> <br />And, she asked, what is the industry going to spend development costs on? <br /> <br />“Something they can make money on,” she said. “These are the realities.”<br /><br />Bottom line: Even with unlimited funding, it could be another two to four years before Meyers injects AAV2 into the first patients. <br /> <br />Until then, he’ll continue to receive the emails from desperate people, begging him for a cure. <br /> <br />“It’s a very emotional topic. Everyone has somebody they know who has one type of cancer or another,” Meyers said. “And cancer’s not like one day you’re alive and the next day you’re dead. It’s a long, debilitating, chronic problem.<br /><br />Remember Muzyczka at the University of Florida? <br /> <br />He’s among the many researchers looking at AAV2 for its use as a transportation device for genes. <br /> <br />Because the virus is so simple, it’s relatively easy for scientists to remove its small amount of genes and replace them with human ones. <br /> <br />The idea is to introduce the carrier virus into the body of a person who might be suffering from a genetic disorder due to a problem in their own body’s DNA structure. <br /> <br />AAV2 virus, carrying the human genes, enters the patient’s cells and inserts its DNA fragment into our genes, repairing or replacing the broken sequence. <br /> <br />Because the virus is small, simple and doesn’t easily replicate, it reduces the chances of something going wrong.<br /><br />Not only could it kill cancer cells, but it could be the vehicle to treat other genetic conditions, such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and cystic fibrosis. <br /> <br />“No one’s at the point where the Food and Drug Administration has approved it,” Muzyczka said. “But it is getting to the point where people think it’s going to work.”<br /><br />http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2011/11/lab_at_hershey_medical_center.htmltomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09886995566115512797noreply@blogger.com