alternative therapies

The Professors' Posts

Alternative Therapies

TERRY HAMBLIN

Sombody asked my opinion on green tea.

I expect everyone is aware of the study from the Mayo clinic that a green tea extract induces apoptosis of CLL cells in the test tube. Apoptosis is a special programme that is set in motion to kill CLL cells. It is sometimes called programmed cell death. In fact most chemotherapy works by invoking apoptosis.

I am keeping an open mind on green tea.

What I know is that killing CLL cells in a test tube is much easier than killing them in the body. There are a number of mechanisms that resist apoptosis in the body.

Eventually there will be clinical trials on green tea extracts and then we will know; until then it is guesswork. There have been a lot of sunstances that looked good in the test tube but were hopeless in patients

SUSAN LECLAIR

Be extremely careful about any alternatives or supplements. Several have been shown to be not only not beneficial but actually damaging to some people. You must speak with a hem/onc who is knowledgeable about CLL and alternatives. Colostrum is a nonsensical supplement. If is beneficial only to newborns during the first week or so of life in that it contains maternal antibodies. Zinc does not help the immune system directly but provides a slightly "harder to invade" situation for viruses especially cold viruses. You still get the cold virus when you take zinc; it lessens the number of cells that are at risk for further infection so the cold can be both milder and of shorter duration. It is my guess that his allergies are a direct result of the CLL.

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