I just got the link to this recent BBC article from a MMA list friend (thanks!) and thought I would post it: http://goo.gl/WUd0U I just wish they didn’t have to test on rabbits or any other animals, for that matter…ugh.

Please note that the curcumin used in this study is a modified version called CNB-001, which is able to pass the blood brain barrier, at least in rabbits…Very interesting…Oh drat, those poor rabbits…Okay, think of something else, Margaret!

A MMA list member recently posted an item from the CancerCare bulletin titled “the latest in multiple myeloma research,” which lists a series of different conventional drugs and their anti-myeloma activity. I went down the list, did a wee bit of research and made a discovery…not a very startling one, come to think of it…but anyway, here goes:

1. Monoclonal antibodies. Often compared to guided missiles, monoclonal antibodies zero in on cancer cells whose surfaces have a “target molecule.” For example, the combination of lenalidomide with a monoclonal antibody called elotuzumab holds promise in treating multiple myeloma that comes back after traditional treatments.
2. Growth blockers. These drugs are designed to block the growth of myeloma cells by depriving them of substances they need, such as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). When tumor cells spread through the body, they release VEGF to create new blood vessels. These blood vessels supply oxygen, minerals, and other nutrients to feed the tumor.
3. Proteasome inhibitors. Bortezomib was the first in its class of proteasome inhibitors. Another promising drug, called carfilzomib, appears to work the same way as bortezomib.
4. Immunomodulators. A new form of the drug thalidomide is showing promise in people whose multiple myeloma has returned after previous treatment. Called pomalidomide (Actimid), this medication stops the growth of blood vessels that feed tumors. It also boosts the immune system and may kill cancer cells directly.
5. Histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors. This class of drugs works by killing cancer cells or stopping their growth. Two HDAC inhibitors, vorinostat (Zolinza) and panobinostat, have been combined with bortezomib. This combination has been shown to be effective in many people whose tumors resist treatment with bortezomib alone.
6. Akt inhibitors. These drugs aim to disrupt cancer cell membranes and block the actions of proteins involved in cancer growth. An Akt inhibitor called perifosine holds promise as a treatment for multiple myeloma, when combined with bortezomib.
7. Heat shock protein-90 (Hsp90) inhibitors. Heat shock proteins are key players in a number of processes that cancer cells use to survive and grow. Multiple myeloma cells contain more of a heat shock protein, called Hsp90, than normal cells. Two drugs—alvespimycin and tanespimycin—block the actions of Hsp90. Research suggests that combining these drugs with bortezomib may be more effective than treatment with bortezomib alone.
8. mTOR inhibitors. This class of drugs blocks a mechanism called the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway, which promotes tumor growth. Preliminary research suggests that combining lenalidomide with an mTOR inhibitor called everolimus (Afinitor) may stall the growth of multiple myeloma.
9. Cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) inhibitors. CDK inhibitors, such as the drug flavopiridol, block proteins that promote the growth of multiple myeloma cells.
10. Telomerase inhibitors. One drug, known as imetelstat, blocks an important enzyme found to be active in myeloma cells. This enzyme allows cancer cells to resist chemotherapy.
11. RANK ligand inhibitors. This new class of drugs works differently from other types of drugs that treat bone complications. They are designed to block a factor in bone development known as RANK ligand. RANK ligand stimulates cells that break bone down. By blocking RANK ligand, RANK ligand inhibitors may increase bone density and strength. Denosumab (Xgeva) is being tested in people with multiple myeloma for the treatment of bone complications. The FDA has recently approved denosumab to help prevent bone fractures and bone pain in non-myeloma patients whose cancer has spread (metastasized) and damaged the bone.

Now, with the exception of item #1 (=monoclonal antibodies), the myeloma targets mentioned in the remaining 10 items on this list are inhibited, all of them!!!!!, by something that many of us already take….a non-toxic something that inhibits VEGF, HDAC, mTOR, Akt, blablabla…all the way down to RANKL, the final item. Can you guess what the “something” might be? 🙂

And there is more.

Just this morning I read a newly published “Blood” abstract (yes, I am finally able to read an abstract without falling asleep… 😉 ): http://goo.gl/MMFMp It mentions a new myeloma target (I think I’ve seen this one before, but I don’t have the energy to check right now…) called “glycogen synthetase kinase-3 beta” (GSK3beta).

Well, the above-mentioned, not-so-mysterious-after-all substance happens to inhibit GSK3beta, too. Have you guessed yet? 😉

This is bloody ridiculous. And frustrating. I mean, how much more proof will we need to provide before our official myeloma organizations begin taking notice of non-toxic, anti-myeloma substances…substances that can target myeloma via multiple pathways, which is the only way a cure for myeloma will ever be found???

Let me give you this image: if you hit a tumor with only one missile, its chances of surviving the strike are high, very high indeed. But if you hit the tumor in different areas and with many different types of missiles, you stand a good chance of annihilating it…

It all boils down to plain common sense…

So I ask my question once again: how much more proof do we need in order for some money to be poured into non-toxic research? I am sick and tired of hearing about denosumab (see my posts on this topic) and conventional treatments that are really, or potentially, toxic…really sick and tired…

Basta, I say!!!

I still have a bit of a cough, but the main problem right now is that I get tired easily (exhausted, more like it). I do a simple household task, such as the washing up, then have to lie down for a couple of hours. Well, okay, I exaggerate…but not much!

But this feeling of extreme weakness is not just physical. It has affected my brain, too. Yesterday I tried to do some research, but I couldn’t even get through one little abstract…uffa. As a result, I have been reading only easy stuff, such as this lovely three-part article on herbs and spices: http://goo.gl/IQeuG (Part 2: http://goo.gl/B9ElO; Part 3: http://goo.gl/vCStp).

The big question for me today is: should I go back to work tomorrow or wait a few more days? Hmmm…Well, for now I am going back to bed to watch the second episode of the British TV period drama series “Downton Abbey,” which is really good…so far, anyway…

Literally, yes…my fever “be” gone. Not even a smidgeon of a degree, today. And I am also barely coughing at all. 🙂 So now, according to our family doctor, I am officially convalescent. He told me, however, that I will have to be really careful and take it easy for the next TWO weeks…Wow, that seems like a long time…but apparently it takes about three weeks to recover fully from this flu–sick in bed the first week, followed by two weeks of convalescence…

Well, it gives me a good excuse for lounging about and watching some cute animal videos, including this one: http://goo.gl/QYW5s (Oh, and after you have watched the video, please click on the “Feed an animal in need” button…). Amazing, huh? Hmmm, I wonder if Pinga…On second thought, naaah!

But this morning my fever is down to 37.7°, which is a relief, to be honest.

I still have a cough, but it is only sporadic now. The new antibiotics are clearly working, since I no longer feel a sense of oppression in my chest and can breathe normally. More relief!

Now, what follows has nothing to do with health or myeloma, but I think it’s a really GREAT project. I heard about it on the Italian news yesterday and tried it this morning. I am talking about the “Google Art Project,” which enables you to visit a total of 385 rooms in 17 famous galleries around the world AND view more than 1,000 works by 486 artists. How about that? One of the galleries is Florence’s own Uffizi Gallery, which is verrry exciting…

I just finished looking at part of the Hermitage, which I actually visited more than 25 years ago. I also entered the Van Gogh Museum, where I have never been, AND “went back” to Versailles. Fantastico! It takes a bit of practice, or it did for me, at least. At one point I was inside Versailles and wanted to move into another room but found myself instead outside in the garden. How did that happen? 🙂  

Anyway, do have a look at this absolutely fascinating project. Oh, another really interesting feature is that you are able to zoom in on the details of select paintings…I mean, really ZOOM in. This feature allows you to view microscopic details that you wouldn’t see if you were standing (physically) right in front of the painting…such as brushstrokes, hairline cracks etc. Yes, very interesting…Check it out!

Two interesting abstracts. 1. The first one is http://goo.gl/hL8jP Now, I still don’t have the mental ability to digest any of the info contained in this abstract, but I thought I would go ahead anyway and publish the link. I mean, rice bran and curcumin work together to kill myeloma cells??? Fantastico! Hey, pass the cereal!!! 😉 Okay, okay, it’s not that simple. This seems to be a special sort of rice bran, probably a concentrated form of something or other, not the regular stuff you might find inside a box at the supermarket…

2. I also came across a new curcumin analog: http://goo.gl/rUbRp Well, this certainly sounds promising. At first glance, anyway…

More research needed. But not today…

Health update. Stefano is much better but still has a cough. I don’t think he has a fever, though. As for me, today my fever seems to be hovering around 38° Celsius. I woke up early this morning with 38°, and it is 38.2° right now. That is a full degree less than it was on Sunday evening. I can walk around, up and down the stairs, etc…so, not bad, not bad…

However, I sometimes feel as though some big strong hairy monster has been fiercely pounding my back, mainly my shoulders. Uffa. I was so sore and achy this morning that I even brought out a bottle of Tylenol from the medicine cabinet and put it on my bed table…but so far I haven’t even licked one of the caplets… 😉

My cough. Hmmm. Now that’s another story. This morning I called our doctor and told him that the antibiotic I started on Saturday hasn’t really touched my cough yet. It should have made it much much better by now, he agreed. So he changed the prescription to something stronger. That should do it!

So, this is Day Four of what most certainly is the nuttiest experiment ever conducted by someone with smoldering myeloma. My nuttiest experiment, anyway…I do realize that.

I am definitely better, though. I am not sleeping all day, as I was last weekend…And even though I still don’t feel up to reading anything much, I have been watching lots of documentaries and food programs and movies and whatnot. Oh, by the way, Mr. Dog Whisperer is my newest best friend. How does he do it?! Great show (and, as you may know, we don’t even have a dog!). Stefano thinks there should be a Cat Whisperer show, too…Yeah, I agree. Now, why isn’t there one???? 😆

Last but certainly not least: Many thanks, everyone, for your kind wishes, public and private. All very much appreciated!!! Hmmm, I think Dog Whisperer might be on now…sooo…ciao! And please take care! 🙂