“Why multiple myeloma returns”…

March 2, 2022 / Margaret / 14 Comments

That’s the title of an interesting Science Daily article that I came across this morning (and that blog reader Ana also told me about in a comment I read soon afterward, thank you!). Here’s the link: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/03/220301131117.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email

In a nutshell, a group of researchers at the Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin discovered that the culprit to the HUGE problem of drug resistance (non-genetic drug resistance, in particular) in myeloma is the increased production of a protein, the CDK6 protein, which not only activates cell proliferation but also, interestingly, binds with one of myeloma’s best buddies, Cyclin D1 (about which I’ve written quite a lot…do a Search of the blog if you are interested in the topic).

Okay, so we now have a culprit: CDK6.

Guess what? Well, by now this should not come as a surprise: curcumin inhibits CDK6, just as it inhibits Cyclin D1.

Bazinga!

Will the curcumin-CDK6 connection ever be studied in the conventional myeloma world? I doubt it, oh very much so, for what I believe are obvious reasons. No, what will happen is that a conventional drug, probably with lots of side effects, will be studied, tested, and put on the market.

It’s frustrating…so many missed opportunities to help us myeloma folks (as well as other folks with different types of cancer). So many missed opportunities…

To be honest, I think that’s probably the main reason I got such a serious case of burnout and stopped doing research…I knew it wouldn’t go anywhere, really, and that, no matter what I uncovered and wrote about, nothing would move in the conventional myeloma world. The only thing that has moved, which is a huge deal, of course!, is that many of us now take curcumin and other natural extracts that I’ve researched and posted about. And even though my blog is almost at a standstill now, I still get lovely messages on a daily basis from blog readers. It means a lot to me…thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

Anyway, changing topic before I get too carried away, I wonder what other natural extracts inhibit this blasted protein. Hmmm…

If I can tear myself away from our amazingly adorable 4.5-month-old kittens, I will definitely have a look. 🙂

Take care, everyone! Ciao!

P.S. Here’s the link to the article itself (I haven’t read it yet…zzzzzzz!): https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-28515-1

Blood tests

July 16, 2020 / Margaret / 1 Comment

I haven’t had my regular blood tests (plus Bence Jones) in several months for a variety of reasons, mainly the Covid-19 lockdown, then the slow reopening here in Italy.

On Monday, I finally decided to make an appointment at the lab where I always have my tests done. I went there yesterday morning.

I got there early and had to wait for about 15 minutes. Things have really changed, compared to the pre-Covid era, I mean: a nurse greets all patients outside the lab building and makes the early birds like me wait outside. Much better…I feel safer outside, anyway.

So here’s the new procedure: you wait outside until the time comes for your appointment or until your last name gets called. At that point, you have to rub your hands with disinfectant from an automatic dispenser (I used my own hand sanitizer, though) and then have your temperature taken with a non-contact forehead thermometer.

Inside, in the waiting room, you can’t just sit anywhere, the way it was before. Social distancing is the rule now. Before, there were about 35-40 seats. Now there are 5 or 6; the others are taped off.

Oh, and, of course!, goes without saying, you have to wear a mask at all times, even while you are waiting outside. In Italy, pretty much everyone understands that it has nothing to do with politics (duh), and that it’s just PLAIN STUPID and POTENTIALLY VERY DANGEROUS not to wear a mask.

Besides, in any case, it’s still the rule.

Case closed.

Yesterday morning I was actually wearing two masks–a surgical mask underneath a cloth mask. That is my new norm: whenever I leave the house, go into stores or any type of enclosed public space, I wear two masks, even though the rule is one mask (at least). Stefano wears two masks, too.

Can’t be too safe. I am well aware that I have a weak immune system…no idea what Covid would do to me, and I really don’t want to find out. Neither does Stefano.

Anyway, compared to other countries that have reopened way too soon, Italy, now in Phase Two ( = living alongside the virus), is doing quite well. Covid-19 hasn’t disappeared, but the infection and death rates are way way down. I just hope that people returning from abroad, and tourists of course!, won’t begin spreading Covid-19 here again.

That’s my main worry: Italy was THE first European country to shut down and one of the first to reopen. We don’t want to go through another lockdown. Really don’t. That said, I am comforted by the fact that all the people I have seen out and about here in Florence are wearing masks.

And, you know, life can still be enjoyed, in spite of these restrictions…Perhaps I should have written, “thanks to” these restrictions. We know that wearing a mask, washing our hands frequently, keeping our social distance, and following the rules set by the medical and scientific communities, can keep us safe. I simply would not be able to enjoy being in a non-safe environment right now…with maskless people, for example.

Anyway, to give you a quick example of how life can be enjoyed, Stefano and I have EATEN OUT three times in the past few weeks. Yes, we have eaten out…with friends…in RESTAURANTS. Very exciting, after so many months of being cooped up inside our homes.

I admit, the first time was a bit scary, but we have always chosen places with outside tables…Every member of the staff (from cooks to servers) has to wear a mask, the tables are NOT close together, and so on. It was so nice to eat out in a safe way…

So, it can be done…!

Treating COVID-19 in a patient with multiple myeloma

April 4, 2020 / Margaret / 2 Comments

Some readers have recently been asking me about curcumin and Covid-19. Is it good or bad to be taking it if you contract coronavirus? Can it reduce your risk of contracting Covid-19? (See my post on vitamina D, incidentally.) I don’t know.

If I had any answers, believe me, I’d be publishing them…immediately.

Well, it just so happens that this afternoon I read a very interesting Science Daily article that may shed some light on this matter. It discusses the case study of ONE myeloma patient, in Wuhan, who was given an immunosuppressant drug, a monoclonal antibody, called tocilizumab. Here’s the link: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/04/200403124931.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily%2Fhealth_medicine%2Fmultiple_myeloma+%28Multiple+Myeloma+News+–+ScienceDaily%29

Okay, now that you’ve read the SD article, you can read the rest of my post. 😉

The main use of tocilizumab is to treat rheumatoid arthritis. The interesting bit, as far as I’m concerned, though, is that tocilizumab blocks IL-6. Remember IL-6? I haven’t talked about IL-6 in a long time, but, simply put, it’s a really good friend of multiple myeloma. Aha…

And, by reducing the expression of IL-6, tocilizumab helps control the effects of what is known as a “cytokine storm” (read this April 1 New York Times article for a good explanation of what happens to Covid-19 patients when their immune systems go wacky and begin churning out too many cytokines, which can lead to vital organ failure: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/01/health/coronavirus-cytokine-storm-immune-system.html).

Okay, now for this: curcumin inhibits IL-6 AND suppresses the cytokines involved in cytokine storms. Yes, it does both the things that tocilizumab does, without all the side effects, which actually don’t look that bad–from a runny nose to urinary tract infections (well, okay, I’d rather not get a UTI!).

Does that mean that curcumin would work against coronavirus or indeed help lower our risk of getting this blasted virus? As I wrote above, I have no idea, even though, as we know, among other things, curcumin has anti-viral and anti-inflammatory properties.

All I can say is that this bit of news today is promising. Sure, this is only ONE single case study, but I can tell you that, on March 19, tocilizumab started being administered to 330 coronavirus patients in a hospital in Naples (Italy). At the end of this month, fingers crossed, we may have some results. Right now, Italian newspapers report that the director of this study has expressed “cautious optimism.” I also saw that the FDA has approved Phase III trials for treating Covid patients with tocilizumab.

We just have to wait and see…

But, while we’re waiting, I’m going to keep taking curcumin (actually, I’d never thought about stopping…!!!)…

Quick update

February 27, 2020 / Margaret / 2 Comments

Well, quite a lot has happened since I wrote my post on the loss of our Priscilla.

A few days after her death, Stefano came home complaining of a sore throat, which soon turned into a full-blown case of bronchitis: more proof, to me anyway!, of a close association between stress (and, in this case, probably grief as well) and a lowering of the immune defenses.

Anyway, we tried to be careful, but to no avail: on top of everything else, I caught his bronchitis and was sick (againnnnnn!) for about two weeks. This happened in mid January or thereabouts. So, all in all, I was sick/convalescent/sick/convalescent for more than a month. Agh! Ridikkulus!

But now I’m fine…fully recovered.

The horrible month of January 2020 ended with another death: my mother-in-law…This didn’t come as a complete surprise, since she’d been doing poorly for some time, but still, on top of everything else…it wasn’t easy.

But, as an upcoming post will show, things seem to be slowly getting better. As I mentioned, I’m fully recovered, and…well, okay, here’s a sneak preview of that above-mentioned post: Stefano and I spent a lovely long weekend in Paris recently. 🙂

We were lucky and managed to return to Florence right before Italy was hit by the coronavirus “hurricane.” Speaking of which, even though I think that the COVID-19 outbreak has generated a bit too much mass hysteria (in Florence, e.g., where thus far there have been only a couple of confirmed cases, people have been emptying supermarket shelves, and so on…), I have to admit that I’d really hate to catch that blasted virus because of my probably-still-weakened condition. So I’m being very cautious…trying to stay at home as much as possible…No hugs, no kisses…washing hands all the time, etc.

Ah, before I go: tomorrow I’m going to publish a post about a new curcumin-myeloma patient study!!! 🙂

Take care, everyone! 🙂

Margaret's Corner

Tag: myeloma