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Strengthen Immune System: contains Astragalus

Secondary Benefits

• Regulates blood cell counts
• Boosts energy
• Activates NK cells
• Stimulates macrophages
• Relieves fatigue

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Healing Herbs for Preventing and Curing Cancer

Dina Hunter

Healing Herbs for Preventing and Curing Cancer No one knows exactly what causes cancer. Research has learned that when the immune system slows down or cannot work properly, cancer and other immune failure diseases seem to take over. The white blood cells are a main part of the immune system. When the white blood cells die or in some way become impaired, the immune system breaks down. Conventional cancer treatments usually consist of surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy. These can all lower your white blood cell count and wreak havoc with your immune system. White blood cells are very tough little guys, swimming through our veins, attacking infections and various other “bad germs” in our blood. But they are vulnerable to certain things. They can not do their job well when there is infection. They are killed off by chemotherapy, radiation, mold, chlorine and fluoride in our water supply and metal toxins such as mercury, iron or aluminum. What’s even more frightening is antibiotics, as well as, some pharmaceutical drugs that we are given to help combat disease and infection can sometimes destroy the white blood cells. Many times the very drugs and treatments that kill cancer end up killing the patient because their organs break down and fail to function. So there goes our immune system. In 2002 I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I endured surgery and chemotherapy, which made me horribly sick and left me so weak I could barely walk across the room. When I told the oncologist I was sick and vomiting for several days after each chemo session, she told me it couldn’t be the chemo making me sick. It had to be something else making me vomit. Even after the chemo sessions were over, I was still too weak to do much of anything. I asked the oncologist if there were any herbs or certain kinds of foods I should eat. She said, “No, just eat what you normally eat.” She obviously had no knowledge of herbs or nutrition. So, it looks to me like, if you’re suffering from the effects of chemotherapy or radiation, you’re pretty much on your own. It’s very hard to cope with these vague feelings of tiredness, no energy, depression, irritability, loss of appetite, memory loss and concentration. Most doctors seem to feel these symptoms are unimportant and dismiss them without much thought. One thing we can do is take advantage of the many cancer fighting, immune enhancing herbs, some of which have been around for 1000s of years. Scientists around the world are concentrating on herbal medicines to boost the immune cells of the body in it’s fight against cancer. Find a good herbalist or Doctor of alternative medicine. He or she can put together an herbal formulation based on your body, it’s needs and your life style. Because there are many kinds of cancer and different herbs work in different ways, they are usually not given singly. They work much better in synergistic combinations. Some herbs fight disease by enhancing the immune system. Others work with the lymph system to neutralize toxins and encourage drainage of fluids which flush toxins out of the body. Water, although not an herb, does a very good job of flushing toxins from the body. Just make sure the toxic chemicals that are added to most water systems are filtered out before you drink it. According to the Department of Agriculture there are over 3000 herbs that contain anti-cancer properties. Following is a list of the more common herbs for treating this dreaded disease. Astragalus has been used for more than 5000 years in China. It enhances the immune cells and the natural killer cells that are known to destroy cancer cells. It has been shown in research to speed recovery from chemotherapy and radiation treatments and prolong life expectancy. Astragalus is rarely given alone. According to Chinese medicine it works best when given along with other immune enhancing herbs. Some studies do show that it is effective when used alone and it is certainly worth using. Flaxseed supplements help balance the hormonal system and enhances the immune system and is recommended as a preventative for women who are concerned about breast cancer. Doctors in Germany have been using yarrow along with surgery, radiation and chemotherapy. Garlic and onion has been shown to reduce the risk of cancer of the colon, esophagus and the stomach. Hippocrates was the first to recommend it’s use. Antioxidants are found in most fruits, vegetables and herbs and are known to fight cancer and other diseases. Pau D Arco has been known to shrink cancerous tumors. Burdock, Cat’s Claw, sweet potatoes and pineapple, all have cancer fighting qualities which can detoxify your body and boost the immune system. If you don’t have an herbalist or doctor who will prescribe a synergistic herbal combination to fight cancer for you try eating a wide variety of herbs known to fight cancer and rejuvenate the immune system. Find more information about combating disease with herbs at www.healthyherbalplants.com .

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/cancer-articles/healing-herbs-for-preventing-and-curing-cancer-482749.html

About the Author:

Dina Hunter is the author and owner of www.healthyherbalplants.com She is a firm believer in natural healing with fresh natural foods and herbs.She uses herbs for pain, stress and joint care As a cancer survivor she has done a lot of research on herbs to help This article discusses relevant herbs for preventing and curing cancer and helping the body cope with radiation and chemotherapy, recover from the effects of chemotherapy and radiation.

http://www.articlesbase.com/cancer-articles/healing-herbs-for-preventing-and-curing-cancer-482749.html

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ScienceDaily-  Scientists have used multiple tactics to rev up both innate and adaptive immunity to enhance the body’s ability to fight cancer.

“The problem with cancer is that it becomes part of what the immune system identifies as ’self’ and there are ways the body learns to tolerate ’self’ to prevent immune attack,” says the study’s senior investigator, Linda Sherman, Ph.D., a professor in the Scripps Research Department of Immunology. “Hitting it with these new tools basically gets the immune system to pay attention to the cancer, and go after it.

She continues, “What is needed is effective and non-toxic immunotherapy for cancer patients, and we believe this work provides a foundation for that. The concepts we have shown are directly translatable to human therapy.”

Stimulating Killer T Cells

In the new study, the researchers basically used two different strategies. First, they worked out a way to force T cells—the immune system’s killer cells—to become active and grow in the presence of tumor “antigens,” the proteins on the outside of cancer cells that can stimulate an immune response. While these T cells recognize the tumor antigens, their response to them tends to be chronically weak because they are ’self’.

“We have been working for years to find ways to coax these so-called low affinity T cells to work better,” Sherman says.

In this study, the investigators tested a novel complex developed by Professor Jonathan Sprent, M.D., Ph.D., a previous member of the Scripps Research faculty who is now at the Garvan Institute in Sydney, Australia, and Scripps Research co-author, Professor Charles Surh, Ph.D. The agent combines Interleukin-2 (IL-2) with an IL-2 antibody. IL-2 is a well-known stimulator of the growth of activated T cells, and is often used to boost immune system response in human therapy; T cells have IL-2 receptors on their surface. In previous studies, Sprent and Surh found that coupling IL-2 with a specific type of IL-2 antibody allows the complex to bind better to activated T cells and produces a more robust T cell response.

“The beauty of this complex is that, as we demonstrate in this paper, it has a much greater ability to bind to low affinity T cells, which IL-2 itself cannot do very well,” says Sherman.

So, in order to jump start such an immune reaction, the researchers prime T cells by delivering this complex. When this complex binds to T cells, they grow and mature and deliver a signal to release cytotoxic granules that enter tumor cells and promote apoptosis, or cell death.

“A number of nice things begin to happen,” says Sherman. “T cell growth is promoted as well as their killing function. There is a lot of good activity.”

However, as soon as investigators withdraw the IL-2 complex, the T cells die quickly, as their growth stimulant has been removed.

The “Double Whammy”

The researchers’ second strategy, then, was to also deliver an agent known as poly(l:C) that keeps T cells surviving longer. The agent also enhances the killing power of the T cells by stimulating the innate immune system, which provides an immediate defense against invaders.

“It is this trick of really stimulating T cell proliferation and killing functions, and then keeping the T cells alive, that provides the double whammy,” Sherman says. “The T cells are hitting all their bases, and that is when we see the killing of tumors.”

The researchers tested the system in mice that spontaneously develop tumors. The researchers delivered tumor antigen, the IL2 complex, and poly(l:C) all at the same time, and demonstrated the safety and effectiveness of the strategy.

Today, there are human cancer treatments that work in the same way, but they are highly toxic, Sherman says. For example, some patients with melanoma receive melanoma antigens, infusions of T cells, and high doses of IL2, which causes a lot of harmful side effects. Since the IL-2 complex can be used at ~50-fold lower doses than IL-2 with the same efficacy, the use of complex is likely to circumvent the toxicity problem. To further rev up the immune response, patients sometimes also receive whole body irradiation, which produces widespread inflammation.

“We think we can provide two very safe ways to hit these same bases,” Sherman says.

However, more research needs to be done before human studies can begin, including finding an antibody to human IL-2 that works in the same way.

This research is published in an Early Edition issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) published online on October 20, 2008.

In addition to Sherman and Surh, study co-authors were Gregory Verdeil, Ph.D., and Kristi Marquardt of The Scripps Research Institute.

The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health.

Journal reference:

1. Verdeil et al. Adjuvants targeting innate and adaptive immunity synergize to enhance tumor immunotherapy. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, September 17, 2008; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0805054105

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By Dr. Donna Schwontkowski

Medical philosophy is vastly different than all natural herbal therapy. Medical doctors are aggressive in their attack on cancer and try to burn the cancer out, cut it out, or kill it with potent drugs. Herbal philosophy is based on the support of the body’s natural defenses and working with the body until any illness is gone. Both philosophies have their triumphs and challenges. In many people’s minds, the big question is where do all natural Chinese herbs fit into the grand scheme of cancer treatment?

Why Not Mix Both Philosophies?

Many alternative health practitioners and even medical physicians now have decided that both philosophies can be incorporated together and result in a more successful outcome for patients with cancer, especially those on chemotherapy treatment. In the last few decades, clinical research studies have proven that it is indeed possible to  combine medical therapy with all natural Chinese herbs.

For example, synthetic IL-2 is often used as a treatment modality by the medical profession for patients with colorectal cancer, lymphoma, melanoma, and kidney cancer. The chemotherapy drug is extremely toxic and can cause serious side effects. The herb Astragalus was given to patients with colorectal cancer. When researchers and doctors combined their efforts and administered the all natural Chinese herb Astragalus to patients receiving synthetic IL-2, the white blood cells of patients became faster and more efficient. The drug’s effectiveness was enhanced, proving that a chemotherapy natural solution mixture could work, that all natural Chinese herbs do indeed have a place in chemotherapy treatment.

Studies show that Astragalus helps in cancer cases by increasing killer cells. Astragalus also helps offset immune damage from numerous drugs. Astragalus protects the immune system, increases the metabolic rate and increases energy levels. All these functions can only aid a chemotherapy patient.

Researchers frequently comment on the use of Astragalus to alleviate the toxic side effects of chemotherapeutic drugs. In the peer-reviewed journal, Carcinogenesis, June of 2007, researchers M.M. Tin et al reported that Astragalus inhibited cell growth and promoted the death of cancer cells. They also found that Astragalus reduced the size of tumors without causing death and without causing a drop in body weight in studies on mice. The researchers concluded that Astragalus could be an effective chemotherapeutic agent in colon cancer treatment and used as an adjuvant in combination with other orthodox chemotherapeutic drugs to reduce the side effects of chemotherapy compounds.

In another study, patients with small cell lung cancer used traditional chemotherapeutic drugs like vincristine, cyclophosphamide and carmustine and researchers added the all natural Chinese herbs ginseng and Astragalus to the therapy. The survival rate increased to as long as 17 years in some of the patients! Again, this proved that a chemotherapy natural solution mixture of treatment could work.

Glycyrrhiza glabra, of licorice, is also another Chinese herb that activates immune cells in human subjects. The Journal of Phytotherapy Research reported on a study in August 2006 where immune cell function was enhanced within 24 hours of ingesting licorice and also Astragalus and Echinacea. CD4 and CD8 T cell counts increased and continued for at least seven days. When the all natural Chinese herbs licorice and Astragalus along with Echinacea were used together, another immune cell function was improved, that of CD69 expression.

There are plenty of other studies that show that all natural Chinese herbs can be used as a chemotherapy natural solution. What we are seeing is that using the chemotherapy drugs by themselves can almost assure one of toxic side effects to come, but using them with the all natural Chinese herbs, the chemotherapy treatment can be endured better and with a higher quality of life.

For more info on herbs that help chemotherapy fatigue and other side effects, see http://www.immuneenhance.com

For more info on articles on health, see http://www.drdonna.info

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dr._Donna_Schwontkowski http://EzineArticles.com/?The-Place-of-All-Natural-Chinese-Herbs-in-Cancer-Treatment&id=1070074

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Estrogen is known to enhance the growth and migration of breast cancer cells. Now researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have found that estrogen also can shield breast cancer cells from immune cells.

In a study published online this week in Oncogene, the researchers report that estrogen induces the expression of an inhibitor that blocks immune cells’ ability to kill tumor cells. This is the first study to identify estrogen’s role in shielding breast cancer cells from the action of immune cells.

The researchers analyzed estrogen’s role in the cascade of events that occurs when immune cells, called natural killer cells, encounter a tumor cell. Under normal conditions, natural killer cells release granules that contain enzymes, called granzymes, which enter and kill the tumor cell.

The research team found that when estrogen binds to an estrogen receptor the complex promotes production of a granzyme inhibitor, proteinase inhibitor 9 (PI-9). The inhibitor binds the granzyme, preventing it from initiating the molecular cascade that kills tumor cells.

“It wasn’t known that estrogen could do this in breast cancer cells,” said principal investigator David J. Shapiro, a professor of biochemistry in the School of Molecular and Cellular Biology. “The amounts of estrogen required to do this are quite small.”

U. of I. graduate student Xinguo Jiang also found that when breast cancer cells that contain very high levels of estrogen receptor protein are exposed to low levels of estrogen, they produce large quantities of the granzyme inhibitor and become highly resistant to immune attack.

The researchers were able to show that estrogen’s effect on PI-9 production was the sole mechanism by which estrogen interfered with the natural killer cells’ ability to kill off breast cancer cells. They did so by blocking PI-9 production in the breast cancer cells exposed to estrogen. When these breast cancer cells were targeted by natural killer cells, they were efficiently killed off, even when significant levels of estrogen and estrogen receptor were present.

Estrogens are known to cause only a few types of cancers, Shapiro said. PI-9 also has been implicated in other cancers. High levels of PI-9 in some lymphomas, for example, are associated with poor prognoses.

This study demonstrates how basic research can have important and unanticipated implications for understanding diseases such as breast cancer, Shapiro said. The finding that estrogens stimulate PI-9 production could eventually help drug designers develop new tests — and targets — for breast cancer therapy.

The research team included collaborators from the University of Wisconsin at Madison.

ScienceDaily -Jan. 25, 2007

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The immune system is the system of specialized cells and organs that protect an organism from outside biological influences.

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(Though in a broad sense, almost every organ has a protective function – for example, the tight seal of the skin or the acidic environment of the stomach.) When the immune system is functioning properly, it protects the body against bacteria and viral infections, destroying cancer cells and foreign substances.

If the immune system weakens, its ability to defend the body also weakens, allowing pathogens, including viruses that cause common colds and flu, to grow and flourish in the body.

The immune system also performs surveillance of tumor cells, and immune suppression has been reported to increase the risk of certain types of cancer..

For more information about the topic Immune system, read the full article at Wikipedia.org, or see the following related articles:

Natural killer cell — Natural killer cells (also known as NK cells, K cells, and killer cells) are a type of lymphocyte (a white blood cell) and a component of innate …  > read more

White blood cell — White blood cells (also called leukocytes or immune cells) are cells which form a component of the blood. They help to defend the body against …  > read more

T cell — T cells are a subset of lymphocytes that play a large role in the immune response. The abbreviation “T” stands for thymus, the organ in which their …  > read more

Antiviral drug — Antiviral drugs are a class of medication used specifically for treating viral infections. Like antibiotics, specific antivirals are used for …  > read more

Note: This page refers to an article that is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the article Immune system at Wikipedia.org. See the Wikipedia copyright page for more details.

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ScienceDaily (July 11, 2008) — Medical science may be a significant step closer to climbing into the driver’s seat of an important class of immune cells, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis report in Nature Immunology.

The researchers showed that a single protein, HS1, enables key functions of natural killer (NK) cells, which kill early cancers and fight off viral infections. The protein allows the NK cells to pursue their targets, latch on to them and configure the cellular machinery it uses to kill them.

“Further study of how HS1 controls these processes may open up new possibilities for revving up the NK cells to fight infection and cancer,” says senior author John Cooper, M.D., Ph.D., professor of cell biology and physiology. “We also may be able to use this same protein to inhibit the activities of other immune cells and prevent them from contributing to autoimmune conditions such as diabetes.”

Cooper, who is a member of the Siteman Cancer Center at Washington University and Barnes-Jewish Hospital, studies how different types of cells use a primary component of their skeletal system known as an actin network. Earlier, his laboratory had probed the role of a protein called cortactin in specialized cells that break down bones. They showed that cortactin’s effects on the actin network made it possible for the cells to form a tightly sealed bond with bones.

“This bond is analogous to a plunger,” says first author Boyd Butler, Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow in Cooper’s laboratory. “The cell sits down on the bone, seals tightly, and then starts secreting the acid and other compounds that break down the bone.”

NK cells have to form a similar plunger-like bond, known as a lytic synapse, with the targets they attack. They do not make cortactin but produce HS1, which is a very similar protein. Butler decided to see what would happen to NK cells in human blood samples if he turned down their ability to make HS1. The resulting cells were severely disabled: They couldn’t effectively pursue target cells, bind to them or prepare to kill them.

Prior research by other scientists had revealed that when NK cells are in motion or attacking a target, HS1 has chemical modifications attached to it at specific points. Giving the NK cells normal HS1 restored their lost functions, but when researchers gave the NK cells HS1 where these attachment points had been altered, the cells were selectively disabled. Changing one attachment point prevented them from pursuing target cells, while changing the other impaired their ability to bind to targets and kill them.

“Tight regulation is very important to prevent NK cells from harming the body’s own tissues,” Boyd says. “This ability to switch where the control signal goes makes HS1 a powerful regulator of NK cell activity–it allows the cells to provide just the right services at the right time.”

Cooper and Boyd plan follow-up studies that will start at the attachment points on HS1 and trace connections with and influences on other proteins.

“NK cells are very good at nipping early cancers in the bud,” says Cooper. “If we can better understand how they’re activated, this could lead us to ways to make them better killers of cancers and cells infected by viruses and other invaders.”

Funding from the National Institutes of Health, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the Siteman Cancer Center supported this research.

Journal reference:

1. Butler B, Katendieck DH, Cooper JA. Differentially phosphorylated forms of HS1 mediate distinct functions in natural killer cells. Nature Immunology, Online June 29, 2008

Adapted from materials provided by Washington University in St. Louis, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

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ScienceDaily (May 9, 2008) — Infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which leads to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), is an epidemic of global concern. According to the most recent estimates, released in November 2007, by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and the World Health Organization (WHO), an estimated 33.2 million worldwide are living with HIV infection currently. Although the rates of infection appear to be decreasing, there are obviously immense implications for achieving improvements in HIV/AIDS treatment.

The functioning of natural killer (NK) cells, which are a major element of the innate immunity system and are involved in the body’s first line of defense against infections such as HIV, is decreased in both HIV and depression. A group of researchers who have previously found that stress and depression impair NK cell function and accelerate the course of HIV/AIDS are now publishing a new report in Biological Psychiatry.

In this study, they recruited both depressed and non-depressed HIV-infected women and studied the ex vivo effects of three drugs, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), a substance P antagonist, and a glucocorticoid antagonist, on their NK cell activity. These drugs were selected because, as the authors state, each “affect[s] underlying regulatory systems that have been extensively investigated in both stress and depression research as well as immune and viral research.”

The scientists found that the SSRI citalopram, and the substance P antagonist CP 96,345, but not the glucocorticoid receptor antagonist RU486, increased NK cell activity. According to Dr. Dwight Evans, corresponding author of the article: “The present findings provide evidence that natural killer cell function in HIV infection may be enhanced by selective serotonin reuptake inhibition and also by substance P antagonism in both depressed and non-depressed individuals.”

John H. Krystal, M.D., Editor of Biological Psychiatry and affiliated with both Yale University School of Medicine and the VA Connecticut Healthcare System, comments: “There has been growing evidence that the compromise of immune function associated with depression influences the outcomes of infectious diseases and cancer. Antidepressant treatments are beginning to be studied for their potential positive effects on immune function.”

He adds that “the paper by Evans et al. suggests that antidepressant treatment may have positive effects on natural killer cell activity in cells isolated from individuals infected with HIV with and without depression. This type of bridge between the brain and the rest of the body deserves further attention.” Dr. Evans agrees, noting that “these findings begin to pave the way towards initiating clinical studies addressing the potential role of serotonergic agents and substance P antagonists in improving natural killer cell innate immunity, possibly delaying HIV disease progression and extending survival with HIV infection.”

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Journal reference:

1. Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor and Substance P Antagonist Enhancement of Natural Killer Cell Innate Immunity in Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome. Dwight L. Evans, Kevin G. Lynch, Tami Benton, Benoit Dubé, David R. Gettes, Nancy B. Tustin, Jian Ping Lai, David Metzger and Steven D. Douglas. Drs. Evans, Lynch, Benton, Dubé, and Metzger and Mr. Gettes are affiliated with the Department of Psychiatry, with Dr. Evans also with the Departments of Medicine and Neuroscience, and Dr. Douglas is with the Department of Pediatrics, all at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Ms. Tustin and Drs. Lai and Douglas are with the Division of Allergy and Immunology, Joseph J. Stokes Research Institute of The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Biological Psychiatry, Volume 63, Issue 9 (May 1, 2008).

Adapted from materials provided by Elsevier, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

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