When it comes to brain cancer one of the most aggressive forms is Glioblastoma. In a new study published this week, the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute and the Salk Institute for Biological Studies studied this cancer in mice. They developed a nanosystem that "combines a tumor-homing peptide, a cell-killing peptide, and a nanoparticle that both enhances tumor cell death and allows the researchers to image the tumors." This is extremely important because Giloblastoma is difficult to detect and treat. It is hard to find and brutal to surgically remove leaving most patients who become diagnosed without many options. This nanotechnology allows for treatment to be done only to the infected tissues without harming other parts of the brain and delivers this treatment directly into the mitochondria of the infected cells essentially destroying it's power house. This system treated all but one mouse in a study of ten infected mice. It is important that we find cures for cancer; to find a way to treat patients with this intense form of brain cancer is an advancement we have all been waiting to hear.
Sources:
http://www.nanotech-now.com/news.cgi?story_id=43532
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/235417.php
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