heWhat if we were to find a cure for brain cancer?
And what if that cure were to be found in a common mosquito-carried virus?
Well, it looks like that might just have happened.
A team of researchers from the Texas Medical Branch have made a breakthrough discovery
and reckon they may have found the perfect weapon in the brain-cancer-killing arsenal.
University of Texas Medical Branch led by geneticist Pei-Yong Shi successfully killed
off a bunch of stem cells that allow brain tumors to stay alive and healthy in mice.
So in theory, if this research is continued the team may develop a remedy to fight aggressive
forms of brain cancer in humans.
Let’s see how the team came to their conclusions as today on the Infographics show we looking
deep into medical science as we find out exactly why – Scientists are turning Zika Virus
into a Weapon against brain cancer.
First up, just what exactly is Zika?
Well, Zika is a viral disease named after the Zika forest in Uganda where the virus
was first discovered and isolated in 1947.
The virus is a member of the flaviviridae family and is spread by day-active mosquitoes
such as A. aegypti and A. albopictus.
This virus is related to yellow fever, Japanese encephalitis, dengue and the West Nile virus.
Post 1950 it had been known to be active along an equatorial strip across Asia and Africa.
Come 2007 to 2016 the virus spread eastwards across the Pacific Ocean to the Americas leading
to an epidemic between 2015 and 2016.
Symptoms of the viral infection or Zika fever are similar to a mild form of dengue fever.
These symptoms include a sudden high fever, headaches, a pain behind the eyes, joint and
muscle pain, fatigue and nausea.
Like dengue there is no specific treatment apart from paracetamol or aspirin and lots
of time.
Since around 2015 huge outbreaks of Zika have ravaged South and Central America.
The epidemic caused by the Zika virus in Brazil spread to other parts of South and North America
along with several islands in the Pacific and Southeast Asia.
In January 2016, the World Health Organization claimed the virus was likely to spread further
but in November they announced the end of the Zika epidemic.
The outbreak gave scientists reason to look at the virus more closely.
It was discovered that the virus could cause serious birth defects in infants whose mothers
were infected while carrying them in pregnancy.
These defects include blindness, deformed limbs and a condition known as microcephaly
- being born with a smaller than normal skull.
All these deformities appeared to emerge from the viral brain damage caused by Zika.
Zika likes to infect a fetus brain cell known as the neural progenitor cell killing off
the growth and development of these cells into fully functioning mature neurons.
It occurred to the team that perhaps Zika’s selective appetite could be manipulated into
a more beneficial use since it is designed to attack selective brain cells.
The most aggressive type of brain cancer is known as glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) and
is almost impossible to cure with a survival rate of just 5 percent.
There is no clear method to prevent the disease and treatment typically involves chemotherapy,
radiation therapy, and surgery.
Despite these treatments this type of cancer normally recurs.
It is not known if it is better to remove the entire tumor or part of it.
A typical survival period once diagnosis is made is usually 12 to 15 months with treatment
and around 3 months without treatment.
It is the most common cancer that begins life in the brain, and after meningioma, is the
second most common type of brain cancer around.
3 in every 100,000 people develop GBM each year.
It is more common in males than females and usually appears when the host is around 64
years of age.
It is understood by some in the medical profession that GBM uses glioma stem cells to rebuild
their stock.
These cells are remarkably similar to the fetal brain cells that Zika attacks.
So Shi and the Texas team of researchers put two and two together and made plans to begin
some research..
And so the experiments began.
The team put their theory to the test by injecting Zika straight into the brains of cancerous
mice.
They were encouraged to find that the experiments seemed to prove their theory.
The procedure prolonged the lives of the infected mice, but the test group was rather small.
The team tested the virus on 18 mice with the glioblastomas GBM and compared the results
with 15 injected with a saline control substance.
After a period of two weeks the tumors in the Zika-infected mice had shrunken.
The team’s idea was workable and the research continues.
In September 2018 Pei-Yong Shi commented “These findings represent major progress toward developing
the Zika vaccine as a safe and effective virotherapeutic treatment for human glioblastoma.”
Now you might be a bit reluctant to have a known dangerous virus injected directly into
your brain and a bit wary of the damage it could likely cause.
But faced with GBM it is a risk most patients would be willing to take.
There is much research to be completed before Zika can be considered a viable option for
cancer patients, but the fact that it attacks those rare adult cells is a relatively good
start.
This different and unconventional approach to treating brain cancer is testament that
creativity is alive and well in the scientific medical research.
What’s the strangest and most unlikely cure that you have heard of?
Are there alternative treatments for cancer that actually work?
Let us know in the comments!
Also, be sure to check out our other video Cannibal Island: The Real Battle Royale.
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See you next time!