There was big news announced recently in the fight against leukaemia as leading scientists from University College Cork believe they have discovered a breakthrough treatment for the deadly illness.
Scientists have conducted extensive research and have found a molecule which could potentially greatly shrink cancerous tumours by a massive 70%. Leading scientists at the university say that they have discovered a compound from the berries of the Bloodhorn tree which has greatly helped in reducing leukaemia tumours in mice by up to 70%. The groundbreaking news now means that experts can begin the next stage of research to see if the experimental treatment will have he same effects on humans. After revealing the latest discovery Dr Florence McCarthy of UCC told reporters: “Our upcoming publication outlines a very significant reduction in tumour size by a molecule developed in my group in the department of chemistry and the analytical and biological chemistry research facility at UCC.” “The molecule showed promise against leukaemia cancer cells over other cancers.”
It is now believed that Dr McCarthy and her team now intend to identify if their molecule could in fact become a marketed drug. The groundbreaking research was funded by the Children’s Leukaemia Research Project and the Irish Cancer Society which helped scientists at UCC discover how effective in might be in killing cancerous cells. Dr McCarthy further explained of the moment they realised they were onto a major discovery: “The fact Tom Cotter [chair of biochemistry at UCC] ran across campus to deliver the results to me, rather than use the cursory email, indicated the significance of our findings.” “Our plan is now see if other drugs can be accessorised in the same way and develop our drug to further improve the cancer killing effect.” An excited Dr McCarthy also said she believes that the discovery could turn out to be the news leukaemia patients have been waiting for.
Dr McCarthy said: “We have taken the natural product and restyled it with unique features to improve the potency and solubility.” “What is truly exceptional is that these features are not common in drugs and so we aim to exploit this fully.”