Sugar drug reverses heart disease

Post #409,254 by malraux 4/9/16 4:51:09 PM 4/9/16 4:51:09 PM Reply	Sugar drug reverses heart disease http://arstechnica.co.uk/science/2016/04/drug-clears-cholesterol-reverses-heart-disease/ The researchers, Eicke Latz at the University of Bonn and colleagues, followed up on the parents’ hypothesis and found that in mice, cyclodextrin indeed blocked plaque formation, melted away plaques that had already formed in arteries, reduced atherosclerosis-associated inflammation, and revved up cholesterol metabolism—even in rodents fed cholesterol-rich diets. In petri dish-based tests, the researchers found that the drug seemed to have the same effects on human cells and plaques. The chemical, which is simply a bunch of sugar molecules assembled in a ring, is already widely used in medications and foods. Because the outside of the ring is hydrophilic (it mixes with water) and the inside of the ring is hydrophobic (it doesn’t mix with water), cyclodextrin can trap chemicals inside the ring and help them mix into medicines and foods. In medications, cyclodextrin acts as a ‘carrier’ that make active drugs dissolve better in the body. Cyclodextrin is also used in foods, such as mayonnaise, sweets, and butter, to stabilize flavors and emulsifications and to remove cholesterol. But besides its role as an additive, it was largely overlooked by researchers. Regards, -scott Welcome to Rivendell, Mr. Anderson.
Post #409,258 by Another Scott 4/9/16 7:49:33 PM 4/9/16 7:49:33 PM Reply	25 coauthors! Looks like an important finding. Thanks! Bummer - that journal isn't part of our library's subscription. $30 is a bit spendy for the article. The compound itself seems a bit spendy too - ~ $900 for 100g. It will be interesting to see what the recommended dosage is. (There's one seller of it on Amazon - it's imported from "unknown" so I'm not brave enough to think about trying it myself.) Thanks for the pointer! Cheers, Scott.
Post #409,267 by a6l6e6x 4/10/16 4:53:33 PM 4/10/16 4:53:33 PM Reply	Much cheaper on eBay! :) Just the thing to buy from China. It may even be enhanced with mercury. Alex "There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that "my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge." -- Isaac Asimov
Post #409,269 by Another Scott 4/10/16 5:05:27 PM 4/10/16 5:05:27 PM Reply	It looks like it was injected in the study with mice. MedicalXpress: Prof. Dr. Eicke Latz from the Institute of Innate Immunity at the University of Bonn is studying how crystalline cholesterol causes massive immune responses and leads to life-threatening inflammation in arterial walls. In 2010, he published a study in the renowned journal "Nature" on the connection between atherosclerosis and the immune system. In this study, the team of researchers working with Prof. Latz demonstrated that cholesterol crystals can activate an important receptor complex of the innate immune system and thus increase the inflammatory response in artherosclerosis. This caught Chris Hempel's attention and she reported her experiences with cyclodextrin to the immunologist. With an international team of researchers from Germany, the USA, Norway, Australia and Sweden, the scientists from a variety of fields from the University Hospital Bonn, under the direction of Prof. Latz, investigated whether cyclodextrin also has an effect on atherosclerosis. The researchers fed a particularly cholesterol-rich diet to mice for eight weeks and subcutaneously injected the animals with cyclodextrin. "They were far less affected by plaques in their blood vessels than a control group who did not receive any cyclodextrin," says Dr. Sebastian Zimmer from the Department of Medicine II of the University Hospital Bonn. The ring-shaped sugars apparently program the cells in a way that leads to better elimination of excess crystalline cholesterol and also to a reduction in the inflammation in blood vessels at the same time. We'll see how it turns out. I agree that buying the stuff on eBay probably isn't a good idea!! :-) Cheers, Scott.
Post #409,272 by a6l6e6x 4/10/16 5:20:34 PM 4/10/16 5:20:34 PM Reply	Yep, I see that now. Taking it orally probably does not work because either our digestive acid (in part HCl) breaks it up or that our gut flora consume it. Alex "There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that "my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge." -- Isaac Asimov
Post #409,274 by malraux 4/10/16 5:34:36 PM 4/10/16 5:34:36 PM Reply	Yes, it's just sugar pretty much Easy fodder for a stomach. Regards, -scott Welcome to Rivendell, Mr. Anderson.
Post #409,276 by Andrew Grygus 4/10/16 8:03:26 PM 4/10/16 8:03:26 PM Reply	No way! The Chinese use lead, not mercury. Lead is a lot cheaper.
Post #409,268 by a6l6e6x 4/10/16 5:01:20 PM 4/10/16 5:01:20 PM Reply	Re: largely overlooked by researchers I bet it is cheap to make. Kind of like aspirin. And probably no patent protection. So, there's not much money to be made. Drug manufacturers are driven by high profit potential and not humanitarianism. Thanks for the link! Alex "There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that "my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge." -- Isaac Asimov
Post #409,271 by Another Scott 4/10/16 5:19:09 PM 4/10/16 5:19:09 PM Reply	It looks like getting the right form is very important... Cyclodextrins: β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) and other cyclodextrins (CDs) have utility for solubilizing and stabilizing drugs; however, some are nephrotoxic when administered parenterally. A number of workers have attempted to identify, prepare, and evaluate various CD derivatives with superior inclusion complexation and maximal in vivo safety for various biomedical uses. A systematic study led to SBE-β-CD (Captisol), a polyanionic variably substituted sulfobutyl ether of β-CD, as a non-nephrotoxic derivative and HP-β-CD, a modified CD developed by Janssen. SBE-β-CD and HP-β-CD have undergone extensive safety studies and are currently used in six products approved by the Food and Drug Administration (four for Captisol and two for HP-β-CD). They are also in use in numerous clinical and preclinical studies. [...] Nephrotoxic = toxic to the kidneys Parenterally = injected I hope people don't go nuts trying this stuff before more studies are done on how, and how much, to give to humans. Cheers, Scott.

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