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MATA INDONESIA, JAKARTA – According to a study conducted by the University of Guelph, the compounds in avocado can help in the treatment of leukemia. The compound targets an enzyme that scientists have identified for the first time as essential for the growth of cancer cells, said Dr. Paul Spagnuolo, Department of Food Science.
Research published in the journal Blood –leukemia acute myeloid (AML), which is the most damaging form of leukemia. Most cases occur in people over 65 years of age, and less than 10 percent of patients can survive up to five years after diagnosis. Leukemic cells have a higher amount of an enzyme called VLCAD that is involved in their metabolism, says Spagnuolo.
“Cells depend on this pathway for survival,” he said, explaining that the compound was most likely used for drug therapy, reports the Times of India, Sunday, May 2, 2021.
“This is the first time that VLCAD has been identified as a target in any cancer. See, the best comes from avocado, ”he continued Spagnuolo.
Previously, his lab was watching avocado B, a fat molecule found only in avocados, for potential use in preventing diabetes and managing obesity. Now he wants to see it used in leukemia patients.
“VLCAD can be a good marker for identifying patients who are suitable for this type of therapy. Can also be a marker to measure drug activity. “That sets the stage for the ultimate use of this molecule in human clinical trials,” he said.
Currently, about half of patients over the age of 65 who are diagnosed with AML enter palliative care. Others undergo chemotherapy, but the drug treatment is toxic and can eventually kill the patient.
“There is an urge to find less toxic drugs that can be used. We completed human studies with this as an oral supplement and have been able to show a sufficiently large and good amount, “he concluded.
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