Tufts University Researchers Will Use Optogenetic Methods to Fight Cancer Cells, Better Than Chemotherapy
ByIn the great fight against cancer, researchers of the Tufts University help to look for solutions that are both effective and less ravaging compared to the current treatments like chemotherapy.
One experimental concept came up which is called Optogenetics - the experiment will use light to bring down or eliminate cancer cells.
The researchers of the University of Texas at San Antonio have devised a method using this school of treatment to fight inoperable or hard-to-reach tumors. The cancer solution experiment could give options to cancer patients who were regarded as too high of risk to help,
The press release of the University of Texas at San Antonio claimed that 95 percent of the cancer cells targeted in the test mice were dead in two hours, based on the report of UTSA.
While the cancer solution is still very experimental, the method limits the medical care to a specific area - contrasting to chemotherapy that affects all cells in the body. Since the researchers found out that it only requires an injection, it's also non-invasive - making it appealing for complicated parts of the body like the brainstem or spines, according to Engadget.
However, the Tufts University researchers discovered that there are other adjustment with Optogenetic methods - when the researchers of Tufts University injected frog embryos with genes that produced light-sensitive ion which transmits in tumor cells that shrunk when exposed to blue light.
As of now, the research is still far from ready for human trials, but, the researchers promised options for future patients who wouldn't be capable of being treated today.
If the experiment is ready for cancer patient humans, the first step will involve injecting Nitro-benzaldehyde into the area of the tumor. The chemical compound will spread through the malignant body and intensifies the efficacy of the next step.
A beam of ultraviolet light will then target towards the concerned tumor that is already filled with the chemical. This causes the human body highly acidic, killing it instantaneously. And the tumor will cause its own death upon encountering the acidic medium, Press Insider Daily reported.
