New Perspective on Treating Brain Cancer
This essay is preprinted from our subscription Natural Medicine blog in the public interest.
Brain cancer is often treated with synthetic glucosteroids such as Dexamethasone to reduce brain swelling and pain. If the brain swells due to emema, it can cause irreversible brain damage.
Unfortunately, these steroids also protect the brain cancer cells from death due to apoptosis or programmed cell death.
There are two very fundamental problems facing clinicians treating brain cancer. First, the blood brain barrier prevents most drugs from entering the brain. Second, the brain is a highly sensitive area so inflammatory reactions can cause permanent brain damage. The ultimate method of killing brain or any cancer cell is by inducing self suicide, apoptosis, aka programmed cell death. This is a non-inflammatory method of cell death.
My beloved Uncle Buddy died of glioma so this is an important topic for both myself and Carole, sister and webmaster.
These are my recommendations for treating brain cancer.
1. Change your diet so ceramide can be made in brain cells. Ceramide is a death lipid which controls MANY pro-death biochemical pathways. Ceramide is made from the saturated fat palmitic acid and the amino acid l-serine. Palmitic acid kills cancer cells in ways other than the generation of ceramide so it must be included in the diet. The best source of palmitic acid is palm oil. This oil contains very little oleic acid, the most common fatty acid found in olive and peanut oils. Oleic acid promotes cancer cell survival. These oils must be excluded from the diet. The best source of l-serine is egg whites. L-serine is not found in abundance in most foods. It can be made in the body, but it is usually converted to other amino acids. You need large amounts of serine in your diet. Palm oil is very inexpensive and can be purchased off the Internet.
2. Nicotinamide, aka niacinamide (NOT niacin or nicotinic acid) activates the enzyme which forms ceramide from palmitic acid and l-serine. Nicotinamide is also an inhibitor of the enzyme Sirt1, an inhibitor of pro-cellular death biochemical pathways. The inhibition of Sirt1 by nicotinamide activates the pro-death molecules p53 and PPARgamma.
Ceramide induces cell death by apoptosis and non-apoptosis biochemical pathways. It is a remarkable molecule. In the following study, notice that the sensitivity of ceramide against glioma cells can be enhanced by inhibitors of NF-kappaB activation. This genetic factor is well known to prevent cell death in cancer cells.
Ceramide promotes cell death by many pathways. It is my opinion that if ceramide synthesis were optimal in cells, cancer would be impossible.
Athough dietary factors are important, we need to take a very aggressive direct approach to the treatment of brain cancer. In this essay, I am going to recommend that the nose be used as a portal of entry to the brain. There is no blood brain barrier in the nose. Molecules absorbed by the nasal mucosa can be directly introduced into the brain, especially if they are oils.
The following oils and semi-oils are mixed and introduced into the nose. They will be absorbed by the nasal mucosa and introduced into the brain.
1. Tocotrienols. These compounds, members of the vitamin E family, have been discussed in previous blog essays. They powerfully inhibit NF-kappaB and AKT activation, two of THE most important molecules involved in promoting the growth and survival of cancer cells.
2. Ascorbyl palmitate. This molecule, also discussed in previous essays, is fat soluble and generates oxygen radicals necessary for the destruction of cancer cells.
3. VES or vitamin E succinate is a unique molecule which is NOT an anti-oxidant. This molecule has also been discussed in previous essays. VES damages both the mitochondria and the lysosomes resulting in programmed cell death.
4. CLA or congugated linolenic acid is a known activator of the PPARgamma pathway, resulting in programmed cell death in cancer cells. It is a lipid.
I haven't discussed CLA for some time so lets do a quick review.
CLA activates a genetic factor called PPARgamma. This molecule inhibits inflammatory reactions and promotes the death of cancer cells, including brain cancer cells.
Protocol.
The four compounds mentioned above can be purchased from the Life Extension Foundation and VitaCost. Click on their logos on our home page.
These are the products you need to purchase.
Tocotrienols. The best LEF product is tocotrienols with sesame lignans. #781. This is a lipid.
Ascorbyl palmitate. LEF product #082. This is a powder in capsules. It needs to be dissolved in oil.
VES, vitamin E succinate. This product needs to dissolved in alcohol first and then oil. LEF product #063 400 IU capsules.
CLA, Conjugated linolenic acid. Do NOT purchase these products from LEF.The LEF products contain too much additional crap. They can be purchased from VitaCost instead. Purchase Natural Factors Tonalin CLA.. 1000mg. Product #NF020464.
In the next essay, we will discuss how these compounds can be combined and introduced into the nose for delivery to the brain.
Stay tuned...
Grouppe Kurosawa, Medicine in the Public Interest
posted by Dr. Steve at 10:06 AM
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