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Common virus kills cancer, study finds

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pnjtony

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http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050621/hl_nm/health_cancer_virus_dc

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A common virus that is harmless to people can destroy cancerous cells in the body and might be developed into a new cancer therapy, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday.

The virus, called adeno-associated virus type 2, or AAV-2, infects an estimated 80 percent of the population.

"Our results suggest that adeno-associated virus type 2, which infects the majority of the population but has no known ill effects, kills multiple types of cancer cells yet has no effect on healthy cells," said Craig Meyers, a professor of microbiology and immunology at the Penn State College of Medicine in Pennsylvania.

"We believe that AAV-2 recognizes that the cancer cells are abnormal and destroys them. This suggests that AAV-2 has great potential to be developed as an anti-cancer agent," Meyers said in a statement.

He said at a meeting of the American Society for Virology that studies have shown women infected with AAV-2 who are also infected with a cancer-causing wart virus called HPV develop cervical cancer less frequently than uninfected women do.

AAV-2 is a small virus that cannot replicate itself without the help of another virus. But with the help of a second virus it kills cells.

For their study, Meyers and colleagues first infected a batch of human cells with HPV, some strains of which cause cervical cancer.

They then infected these cells and normal cells with AAV-2.

After six days, all the HPV-infected cells died.

The same thing happened with cervical, breast, prostate and squamous cell tumor cells.

All are cancers of the epithelial cells, which include skin cells and other cells that line the insides and outsides of organs.

"One of the most compelling findings is that AAV-2 appears to have no pathologic effects on healthy cells," Meyers said.

"So many cancer therapies are as poisonous to healthy cells as they are to cancer cells. A therapy that is able to distinguish between healthy and cancer cells could be less difficult to endure for those with cancer."

AAV-2 is being studied intensively as a gene therapy vector -- a virus modified to carry disease-correcting genes into the body. Gene therapy researchers favor it because it does not seem to cause disease or immune system reaction on its own.
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This would be badass if it really works.
 
dem said:
Dont get your hopes up....
Theres a new cancer 'cure' found every month
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The words "might", "potentially" and "currently being studied" are always in these articles. Cancer is complicated, there's always something wrong with the potential cure.
 
I wish the fucking pharmacutical companies would let them release the cure to the common cold or flu as you KNOW something as mundane as that has a cure somewhere. But they'd lose billions of dollars if the cold or flu was cured/vaccinated.
 
Mashing said:
I wish the fucking pharmacutical companies would let them release the cure to the common cold or flu as you KNOW something as mundane as that has a cure somewhere. But they'd lose billions of dollars if the cold or flu was cured/vaccinated.
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They could make up the loss by selling you tinfoil. :)
 
So you don't think there is a cure for the cold or flu virus (I know viruses are tough to cure based on their nature)? I suppose we'll never know. Oh and my crack about the pharmacutical companies was more in jest than anything, I just think it's weird we got cures for uber diseases and what not but not for a common cold virus.
 
Mashing said:
So you don't think there is a cure for the cold or flu virus (I know viruses are tough to cure based on their nature)?
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Part of the problem with the "common cold virus" is that it isn't just one virus. It's hundreds of viruses that cause the low grade symptoms we describe as a "common cold".

Mashing said:
Oh and my crack about the pharmacutical companies was more in jest than anything...
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As was mine, hence the smiley.
 
6305428506.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

"Who's the man now, dog?"
 
Yeah I heard about this the other day - rather interesting. Hopefully we see some good progress on this front.

On another note, I haven't seen Titor's name in the threads I've been perusing lately, so here you go:
Do medical advances in 2036 have anything to do with genetics?
Again, I'm no expert. I believe there is a great deal of progress in treating the cancer cells with modified viruses. So I guess the answer is yes.
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From the super hoax http://www.johntitor.com/Pages/2036.html
 
Squirrel Killer said:
Part of the problem with the "common cold virus" is that it isn't just one virus. It's hundreds of viruses that cause the low grade symptoms we describe as a "common cold".
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Even worse is the fact that these viruses mutate frequently so at best you can cure one strain of it.
 
TheOMan said:
Yeah I heard about this the other day - rather interesting. Hopefully we see some good progress on this front.

On another note, I haven't seen Titor's name in the threads I've been perusing lately, so here you go:


From the super hoax http://www.johntitor.com/Pages/2036.html
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Heh... quote me on this one

Do gaming advances in 2036 have anything to do with graphics?
Again, I'm no expert. I believe there is a great deal of progress in creating better games through the use of programmable graphics. So I guess the answer is yes.
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Phoenix said:
Heh... quote me on this one
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:lol awesome. I'm saving this post and when it comes to pass it will confirm that you are from the future. The RevoBoxStation 27.5 better get here soon.
 
"Hey, everyone! We're going to release a specialized virus that should rid everyone of cancer by killing only those cells! Is everybody ready?"

*Two minutes later, Leon's looking for a medallion to fit the slot under the painting*


This is a great advancement, though. To my understanding, cancer isn't something that would mutate, it's a side-effect of the body reacting to something... so if we can fight a standard reaction by the body, there's not much likelihood that later on, the virus would be ineffective against "new" types?
 
Titor am salvation.




Anyway this is great news, are they basically saying that 80% of people have this virus in their bodies and so dont get cancer and the other 20% don't have the virus so will at some point develop cancer?


Its a wierd coincidence if not because ive heard the 1/5 number banded around a lot.
 
I wish the fucking pharmacutical companies would let them release the cure to the common cold or flu
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The best cure is to eat healthy. Or rather preventive measures.

I used to eat junk as a kid. I always had some sort of cold during the winter.

Since I started eating healthy, I haven't had the slightest bug. Even when friends or co-workers are coughing away, I get nothing.
 
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