Chinese herbal treatment shows signs of effectiveness in bone marrow recovery
More than 80 percent of cancers have increased telomerase activity, and other medical conditions are also associated with decreased or abnormal telomerase function. The ability to increase or decrease telomerase activity has important implications for treating cancers in which insufficient numbers of blood cells are produced. When a person's bone marrow is unable to keep up with the need for healthy blood cells, bone marrow failure is triggered. Bone marrow failure affects about seven in 100,000 people annually. TSY-1 has been used in China for many years to treat aplastic anemia, a condition in which the body stops producing enough new blood cells and myelodysplastic syndrome or preleukemia; both are associated with telomerase abnormality. The five-year study, led b y UCLA Jonsso n Comprehensive Cancer Center member Dr. Jianyu Rao, measured the ability of TSY-1 to affect telomerase activity in cancer cells lines, including one known as HL-60, as well as normal peripheral b...