Re: Interesting article on B17 and cancer

Thanks for the refs.. did you find those articles by general searching on
the web or is there a good resource or research papers on nutrition out
there?

Incidentally, it seems that almost every nutrient that purportedly has
benefits for some kind of serious disease is contradicted by a subsequent
study.. like the latest article on the beeb today on b-vits:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4218186.stm

It makes it difficult to believe anything really works in the world of
nutritional medicine!

Ian

"MMu" <brilhasti@xxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:431d7e3b$0$12126$3b214f66@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>
> "IanW" <whoever@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> schrieb im Newsbeitrag
> news:dfjqgv$l9l$1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>> http://www.vialls.com/vialls/laetrile1.html
>>
>> No idea whether it's true or not but I've often wondered how Eskimos get
>> away with eating so much meat and not suffering cancer/heart disease..
>> thought it might have been because they eat fresh wild meat, rather than
>> processed/preserved/farmed stuff most of the rest of us do.. but didn't
>> realise B17 was prominent in their diet (what are salmon berries? is that
>> roe?).
>>
>> Do you think there's any merit to these claims? I'm always skeptical of
>> any article that mentions "conspiracy theories", like those about drug
>> companies trying to scaremonger the use of B17 due to the cyanide thing..
>> also, does B12 really contain cyanide in the same way as B17?
>>
> Two studies:
>
> Moertel CG, Fleming TR, Rubin J, et al. A clinical trial of amygdalin
> (Laetrile) in the treatment of human cancer. N Engl J Med 1982; 306:
> 201-206.
>
> "One hundred seventy-eight patients with cancer were treated with
> amygdalin (Laetrile) plus a "metabolic therapy" program consisting of
> diet, enzymes, and vitamins. The great majority of these patients were in
> good general condition before treatment. None was totally disabled or in
> preterminal condition. One third had not received any previous
> chemotherapy. The pharmaceutical preparations of amygdalin, the dosage,
> and the schedule were representative of past and present Laetrile
> practice. No substantive benefit was observed in terms of cure,
> improvement or stabilization of cancer, improvement of symptoms related to
> cancer, or extension of life span. The hazards of amygdalin therapy were
> evidenced in several patients by symptoms of cyanide toxicity or by blood
> cyanide levels approaching the lethal range. Patients exposed to this
> agent should be instructed about the danger of cyanide poisoning, and
> their blood cyanide levels should be carefully monitored. Amygdalin
> (Laetrile) is a toxic drug that is not effective as a cancer treatment. "
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Ann Pharmacother. 2005 Sep;39(9):1566-9. Epub 2005 Jul 12.
>
> Life-threatening interaction between complementary medicines: cyanide
> toxicity
> following ingestion of amygdalin and vitamin C.
>
> Bromley J, Hughes BG, Leong DC, Buckley NA.
>
> Department of Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, The Canberra Hospital,
> Garran, Australia.
>
> OBJECTIVE: To describe a case of severe accidental cyanide poisoning
> following a
> single ingestion of amygdalin with therapeutic intent. CASE SUMMARY: A
> 68-year-old patient with cancer presented to the emergency department
> shortly
> after her first dose (3 g) of amygdalin with a reduced Glasgow Coma Score,
> seizures, and severe lactic acidosis requiring intubation and ventilation.
> The
> patient also ingested 4800 mg of vitamin C per day. She responded rapidly
> to
> hydroxocobalamin treatment. The adverse drug reaction was rated probable
> on the
> Naranjo probability scale. DISCUSSION: Amygdalin and laetrile (a synthetic
> form
> of amygdalin) are commonly used as complementary or alternative medicine
> (CAM)
> for the treatment of cancer. Vitamin C is known to increase the in vitro
> conversion of amygdalin to cyanide and reduce body stores of cysteine,
> which is
> used to detoxify cyanide. Amygdalin has been used for decades by patients
> with
> cancer who are seeking alternative therapies, and severe reactions have
> not been
> reported with this dose. An interaction with vitamin C is a plausible
> explanation for this life-threatening response. CONCLUSIONS: This case
> highlights the fact that CAMs can produce life-threatening toxicity. This
> case
> also adds a further note of caution, namely, the potential for serious
> interactions between CAMs, particularly where there is no tradition of
> concomitant use.
>
>
>


.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Interesting article on B17 and cancer
    ... > companies trying to scaremonger the use of B17 due to the cyanide thing.. ... "One hundred seventy-eight patients with cancer were treated with amygdalin ...
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  • Re: laetrile
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