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Great Balls of Cancer Killing Fire!

9 Mar

Glioma is one of the hardest cancers to treat due to its quick aggressive growth and its ability to wedge itself in to the most inaccessible crevices of the brain or spine. The usual prognosis is grim, with patients normally succumbing within 6-12 months.

Researchers from Rice University’s Department of Bioengineering and Texas Children’s Cancer Center just upped the ante in the battle against this big nasty of all cancers. Released in November’s issue of the Journal of Neuro-Oncology the method described uses gold layered balls of silica called “nanoshells.”

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A not so impressive pic of an impressive cancer killing Nanoshell. Diagram courtesy of Nanospectra Biosciences.

Using mice with advanced glioma, nanoshells were injected into the blood where white blood cells recognize and absorb the nanoshells. Within six hours the white blood cells distribute them throughout the body with the highest concentrations in the spleen, liver, and tumor cells, remaining there for up to 48 hours. Using lasers light tuned to certain wavelength, the light is directed at the tumors where the special silica blend within the nanoshells begin absorbing it. They then release the energy as intense heat and kill only the surrounding tumor tissue. All of the mice receiving the treatment lived for 90 days+ (almost a lifetime for a mouse) where those getting only laser light died after 24 days.

In humans, this amazing approach to cancer treatment would allow doctors to specifically target tumor cells with little to no surrounding tissue damage. With the correct antibodies attached to the nanoshell, one might be able to target many specific cell types for possible treatment. This is leagues ahead of the current radiation “spray and pray” method. One of the largest technological hurdles for this method will be delivery of the laser light to the cells, but with fiber optic technology I don’t see it being a hard one to overcome. The researchers claim that there next tests will be for prostate and pancreatic cancers.

Nanoshell technology was invented at Rice University and Houston’s Nanospectra Biosciences holds the current license for its medical use. Called AuroLase® Therapy, clinical trials began for head and neck cancer treatments in 2008.

The Seeds of Knowledge Come to Bloom

28 Jun

Anyone notice the sparkly new building on the corner of University and Main? How about the hyperbolic sail at Bertner and Bates? Maybe the twisty spire on Moursund and Bertner? I know not everyone goes to the Texas Medical Center everyday, but as a Houstonian you should be proud of these new buildings and what’s going on in them. They are the cutting age research centers that will push the TMC further into the spotlight with this country’s other great leaders of Medical Research.
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Bioscience Research Collaborative Center (University Blvd and Main). The BRC is a 477,000 gross sq. ft. building that houses a collaborative effort with Rice scientists and others in the Medical Center to drive beneficial research for human medicine and health. The current scientists are from such areas as Bioinformatics, Bioengineering, Biochemistry, Cell Biology, and Chemistry. The BRC also houses scientists from the Gulf Coast Consortia and the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT). CPRIT recently endowed BRC researcher John McDevitt with $3.7 million dollars to expand his research on Bio-Nano-Chip diagnostics (I call it Spit-on-a-Chip!) research. Here is a link for a Virtual Tour of the BRCC.

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The Methodist Hospital Research Institute (near Bertner and Bates). Relative newcomers in the TMC research game, TMHRI is by no means lagging behind. Due for occupancy in late 2010, this 500,000 sq. ft. building will house some of the nations leaders in clinical and laboratory research. The main focus at TMHRI is what’s called Translational Research, where research results from the lab bench translate directly the bedside. TMHRI’s Dr. Stephen Wong recently received a $5 million dollar donation to study neurodegenerative diseases as well as Dr. Baxter’s NEJM publication of a new cholesterol lowering drug passing FDA Phase II trials.
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Perhaps the coolest looking new building is Texas Children’s Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute with it’s unique DNA-esque tower. The JDNRI is also scheduled to open in 2010. This 344,000 sq. ft., 13-floor facility is Directed by Dr. Huda Zoghbi with a focus on using “a multidisciplinary research approach to understand the unique issues of a child’s brain structure, development patterns and related diseases.” Here is a great video explaining the many groundbreaking research areas the JDNRI will be pursuing.