COMMON PARASITE CAN'T STAND GARLIC, ISRAELI RESEARCHERS FIND; CHECKUP.Garlic may be famous during Halloween for warding off vampires, but a new report says the herb is more useful for thwarting a common parasite by disabling certain chemicals that are vital to the microbe microbe /mi·crobe/ (mi´krob) a microorganism, especially a pathogenic one such as a bacterium, protozoan, or fungus.micro´bialmicro´bic mi·crobe n. . Allicin allicin /al·li·cin/ (al´i-sin) an oily substance, extracted from garlic, which has antibacterial activity. allicin , the pungent ingredient in crushed garlic, is already thought to help protect against infection and heart disease, and to slow the growth of cancer. New research from the Weizmann Institute of Science The Weizmann Institute of Science (מכון ויצמן למדע) is a world-renowned institute of higher learning and research in Rehovot, Israel. in Israel describes garlic's ability in laboratory tests to cripple Entamoeba histolytica Entamoeba histolytica Parasitology A protozoan that normally resides in the large intestine and may, under abnormal conditions, become pathogenic, enter the mucosa, producing flask-like ulcers and amebic dysentery; it may seed to other organs–eg, lungs, brain , a parasite that infects 50 million people worldwide each year. Further experiments demonstrated that allicin disabled specific enzymes necessary for the organisms to survive. Patients wanted: Two Los Angeles medical institutions are seeking patients to participate in projects involving treatments against bone marrow cancer, brain tumors and Alzheimer's disease. The West Los Angeles
Participants must be those who have developed a recurrence of the disease after chemotherapy or whose disease has not responded to treatment. At UCLA's Jonsson Cancer Center, doctors are looking for patients for two new treatments: One is a gene therapy treatment for tumors that originate in the brain, and another involves chemotherapy for recurrent malignant brain tumors. The gene therapy treatment is for patients who have been diagnosed for the first time with glioblastoma glioblastoma /glio·blas·to·ma/ (gli?o-blas-to´mah) any malignant astrocytoma. glioblastoma multifor´me , the most lethal type of brain tumor. The other is for patients with recurrent malignant brain tumors and involves a drug that is not generally available for brain tumor treatment. For more information, call Susan Caso at UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX , (310) 794-7542. Also at UCLA, doctors are seeking volunteers for a study of early detection of Alzheimer's disease. Anyone over age 50 who has Alzheimer's disease, a family history of the disease, or is concerned about memory problems is invited to participate. Those interested should call Dr. Gary Small at (310) 825-0545. |
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