Potential cancer drug being tested for asthma treatment
December 10th, 2009 - 5:48 pm ICT by ANIWashington, Dec 10 (ANI): British scientists are testing a cancer treatment drug to find if it can be useful in helping asthma patients.
Researchers at the University of Edinburgh discovered that R-Roscovitine kills some immune cells that can aggravate symptoms associated with asthma and now it is hoped that the finding can open up new ways of treating the condition.
Scientists examined the effect of the drug had on immune cells called eosinophils to come up with the latest findings.
Eosinophils are found in the lungs and airways and help the body to resist parasitic infection. However, the uncontrolled growth of eosinophils can harm other cells lining the lungs, leading to asthma.
The team, directed by Professor Adriano Rossi of the Centre for Inflammation Research at the University of Edinburgh, found that the use of R-Roscovitine caused the eosinophils to undergo a kind of cell death known as apoptosis. This process removes all the unwanted cells from the body.
Prof Rossi said: “Steroids are commonly used to treat asthma but can have unwanted side-effects, while some asthma patients are also resistant to steroid treatment. It may well be that use of a drug, such as R-Roscovitine, or one that works in a similar same way, could offer an alternative to steroids, or be used in conjunction with steroid treatment for asthma patients.”
The study has appeared in the journal FEBS Letters. (ANI)
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Tags: adriano, asthma patients, asthma treatment, british scientists, cancer drug, cancer treatment, cell death, febs letters, immune cells, inflammation research, lungs, new ways, parasitic infection, roscovitine, steroid treatment, steroids, uncontrolled growth, university of edinburgh, unwanted cells, unwanted side effects