According to the latest experimental studies, heath physicists have encountered safe methods to use a radioactive protein found in scorpion venom to treat thyroid cancer. The venom of a yellow species of scorpions found in Israel is promising to develop into a revolutionary technique to fight different types of tissues affected by cancer.
The Transmolecular Corporation in Cambridge has successfully obtained in the laboratory a radioactive variant of the venom protein. The new substance is called TM-601 and consists of the radioactive substance Iodine-131 and an artificially obtained venom protein. When the artificial compound is released into the blood, the radioactive waves kill the foreign, cancer cells.
Every year, about 17000 persons suffer from this type of cancer and many of them die within the first months of treatment. The new technique promises a remission of the cancer within the first months, after the radioactive compound has been injected into the body. The patient will require no further chemotherapy or traditional therapeutically radiations. The procedure promises a good improvement of the cancer symptoms and a high rate of surviving.
The phase two of the human trial using the new compound shows safe ways of handling the new treatment, even by injecting higher doses of radiations into the cells than during the first stage experiments.
The physician’s duty is to release on the medical market a both safe and legal product with a high index of success. The doctors prescribing this therapy must also protect the family members and the environment of the patient from the radioactivity of the drug.
During the human testing, a group of several patients receive the medication three times within three weeks, while another group gets the therapy six times in six weeks. All patients receive the same quantity of medicine, meaning 200 MCI in the treatment of thyroid cancer. The results are satisfactory compared to other types of therapy used before.
Research scientists discovered that TM-601 is not being assimilated by other tissues besides the cancer cells. The tissue parts near the tumor also receive an amount of radiation but in a lower rate. Before the treatment, patients are administered with high doses of non-radioactive iodine to prevent the assimilation of the drug by the absorbing thyroid, to block the uptake of Iodine-131. The thyroid gland quickly absorbs iodine in normal circumstances.
A part of the radiations received during the treatment are transmitted by the patient’s body to the family members in the first hours after returning from the hospital. However, studies show that the level of radioactive waves spread by the body is not larger than the ones reflected after traditional radioactive therapy.
For more information about thyroid problems or about thyroid treatment please visit this website http://www.thyroid-info-center.com/
The therapy of ulcer
Gastric and duodenal ulcers are generally treated with several types of medicines by doctors. They advice people to reduce stress and to modify their lifestyle.When treating H.pylori the following types of medicines are used H2-blockers, proton-pump inhibitors and mucosal protective agents.So these medications are used in combination with antibiotics.When complications arise and when the medication is ineffective, surgery may be required.
The amount of acid that the stomach makes is reduced by H2-blockers. These medicines include cimetidine (Tagamet), ranitidine (Zantac), famotidine (Pepcid) and nizatidine (Axid).The stomach production of acid is modified by proton-pump inhibitors and these ones stopping the stomach acid pump, which is the final step of acid secretion.Omeprazole (Prilosec) was recently aproved and now is recognized an available drug and is ten times more powerful in suppressing stomach acid production than the H2-blockers.A stomach acid production can be suppressed by a potent acid inhibitor.It is more common for treating people whose ulcer fail to respond to H2-receptor blockers or other medications and those with Zollinger-Ellison syndrome.The lining of the stomach is protected by the mucosal protective agents.The prescribed medications are sucralfate (Sulcrate or Carafate) and misoprostol (Cytotec).The antacids such as Tums and Rolaids and bismuth subsalicylate (Pepto-Bismol) are not prescription medications.
Ulcers can be treated by a short course of combined high dose antibiotic therapy rather than acid-suppression alone.So are used two types of combined therapy: triple therapy and dual therapy.The triple therapy includes: metronidazole (Flagyl),tetracycline (Achromycin or Sumycin) and Pepto-Bismol, all taken four times a day.This therapy lasts two weeks.The treatment in destroying the H. pylori bacteria and in reducing the risk of reoccurrence is 90 percent effective.Dual therapyincludes:amoxicillin taken two to four times a day or Biaxin three times a day and Prilosec taken two times a day.It lasts two weeks and the treatment is 80 percent effective.
Vagotomy, antrectomy and pyloroplasty are the most common types of surgery for ulcers. For example vagotomy involves cutting the vagus nerve which gives messages from the brain to the stomach. The acid secretion is reduces by this interruption. Antrectomy removes the lower part of the stomach,the one which stimulates the secretion of digestive juices.So the duodenum and the small intestine is enlarged, so the contents pass more freely from the stomach.
If you need more information about ulcer you should ask your doctor and he will be certainly prepared to answer your questions.
For more resources about Ulcer or especially about Peptic Ulcer please click this link http://www.ulcer-center.com/Peptic-Ulcer.htm
The ovarian cysts, their symptoms and treatment
Situated in the pelvis, one on each side of the uterus, the ovaries belong to the female reproductive system. Having the aspect of an almond, the ovaries are responsible with the production of female hormones and eggs.
The female experiences every month during the menstrual cycle a process called ovulation. In this process, the egg is traveling from the ovary to the uterus, through the fallopian tube. It is also known that the ovaries produce progesterone and estrogen. These are hormones that have a role in regulating the menstrual cycle and pregnancy and also influence woman’s development of breasts, body hair and body shape.
On the ovary can appear a lot of types of cysts. During the menstrual cycle, there can appear cysts, that are called functional cysts. Woman’s ovaries grow each month little cysts, that have the role of holding the eggs, and when the egg is mature, it will be released from the fluid-filled sac that forms the cyst. Then, the egg travels for fertilization through the fallopian tube and the sac dissolves.
A follicular cyst is a type of a functional cyst, and it appears when the sac continues to grow and doesn’t break open to release the egg. Frequently, this cyst goes away in one up to three months.
If, after revealing the egg the cyst doesn’t dissolve and seals off, fluid will build up inside of it. That is called a corpus luteum cyst, and usually disappears after a few weeks without any treatment. It is possible that this cyst will cause pain and will bleed, and it can grow up to four inches. There are some known drugs such as Clomid or Serophene that can raise the risk of developing this type of cysts.
Other types of cysts are endometriomas, which appear when tissue from the lining of the uterus grows outside of the uterus. These cysts can be painful during menstruation or sex, and they look like a form of growth, attached to the ovary.
Cystadenomas are cysts that develop from the cells situated on the outer surface of the ovary. They can cause pain, become large, and are often filled with a sticky gel or a watery fluid.
Dermoid cysts can form from the cells situated in the ovary that are able to make teeth, hair and other growing tissues, are large and painful.
Cysts can form also where there are polycystic ovaries .There, the sac doesn’t break open to release the egg, follicles are growing continuously inside the ovary when the cycle repeats, determining the apparition of cysts.
Very often, women do not know they have a cyst, because they have no symptoms, but sometimes, a cyst may cause weight gain, abnormal bleeding and painful menstrual periods, pain or pressure in the abdomen or during sex, breast tenderness or vomitation.
Other symptoms are also sudden severe abdominal pain, faintness, dizziness or rapid breathing. It is very important to go to the doctor as soon as you discover any of these symptoms.
Because there are not always symptoms, cysts are discovered by chance, usually during a routine pelvic exam. The doctor will perform an ultrasound control, and so, he will find information about the shape, size and composition of the cyst. The doctor might want to check the hormones level as well, or to take more tests.
By taking a blood test, the doctor will measure the substance called CA-125, because high level of that protein may indicate ovarian cancer. The CA-125 test is usually recommended for women aged over 35, who have a cyst partially solid. It is also known that non-cancerous diseases, such as uterine fibroids and endometriosis can cause an increased level of CA-125 protein.
If there is found a cyst, there are a few steps that must be made. Sometimes, you don’t need to do anything than wait and get more examinations, because it is possible the cyst to disappear. This happens especially at young women, who have no symptoms, and have a fluid filled-cyst.
If the cyst doesn’t go away in a few months, causes pain, got larger or looks unusual at ultrasonic examinations, the doctor may need to take it off.
A surgery procedure is laparoscopy. This is suitable for small and benign cysts. The doctor is making a small incision above or below the navel, and a small instrument, like a telescope and which has some tiny tools is inserted into the abdomen, and the cyst can be taken off.
Laparotomy is used when the cyst is larger and suspicious. The doctor is making bigger incisions in the stomach, so he will be able to remove the cyst. If the analyses will show that the cyst is cancerous, the doctor might need to remove the ovaries and other affected tissues too.
Birth control pills are a solution that the doctor may prescribe if a woman frequently develops cysts, to prevent her ovulating and developing new ones.
It is very important for women to take periodically medical exams, because often cysts produce no symptoms, and are found only by chance.
For more info about pain from ovarian cyst or even about ruptured ovarian cyst please review this page http://www.ovarian-cysts-center.com/