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Leukemia is a cancer of the blood that takes the lives of thousands of people every year. And yet, great advances have been made in the battle against this ruthless killer. And, now, affordable health insurance in Levelland, TX is excited to report that an immune system treatment is showing promise in clinical trials.
The Immune System
Patients who qualify for this new treatment are those for whom chemotherapy has stopped working, and who are not eligible for bone marrow transplants. So far, it has only been performed on 3 people. In this situation the doctors will remove a huge number of T-cells from your body. These are the white blood cells that your body uses to fight tumors and viruses that may invade your body. Then, the doctors give the T-cells another genetic code – one to fight the leukemia. These altered T-cells are readministered via IV drip. Affordable health insurance in Levelland, TX will cover your doctor visits for cancer treatments, but experimental trials are usually paid for by the pharmaceutical company conducting the studies.
A Reaction
Patients who go through this treatment tend to notice no change for almost 2 weeks. But, during the second week, dramatic side effects take place. Affordable health insurance in Levelland, TX reports that the patient experiences teeth-chattering chills and spike in temperature, accompanied by an extreme drop in blood pressure. In fact, these effects usually result in an extended stay in intensive care.
Give it Time
The studies provided to affordable health insurance in Levelland, TX show that after a few weeks, the cancer may be completely gone. In trial subjects, all leukemic cells are gone from the patient’s bone marrow and blood, and CT scans show that lymph nodes are clear. And, these developments stay with the patient. So far, the results have lasted for a year. In two of the three patients, remission has been complete. The other patient experienced partial remission. None of these 3 were eligible for bone-marrow transplants.
What Happened?
Affordable health insurance in Levelland, TX says that the scientists report that this may be a successful gene therapy to fight cancer. They expect that this therapy can be adapted to other cancers. They are, in effect, training the patient’s own body to kill cancer.
How Does It Work?
The information from affordable health insurance in Levelland, TX can get really technical, but basically, the scientists have taken a disabled version of the H.I.V. virus – yes, the one that causes AIDS – and uses it to carry the genes that kill cancer to the T-cells. No, you won’t get H.I.V. from the treatment, because the cells have been disabled. This, in laymen’s terms, means there is now “room” for the genes that kill cancer. And apparently, that high fever was the patients’ T-cells fighting the cancer.
Affordable health insurance in Levelland, TX tells us that Dr. Carl June, who was the leader of this research, was stunned at the success. More trials are planned.
