CARDIOLOGISTS LAUD BLOOD TREATMENT

From: Dr. Jai Maharaj (usenet_at_mantra.com)
Date: 06/30/04 

Date: Wed, 30 Jun 2004 10:04:53 GMT

Cardiologists laud blood treatment
 
Unorthodox 'immune modulation therapy' holds
promise for patients with heart failure

By André Picard
Public Health Reporter
The Globe and Mail
Wednesday, June 30, 2004 - Page A19

It sounds like the brainchild of a mad scientist: Draw
blood from the arm, heat it up, pump it with oxygen and
bombard it with ultraviolet light and then re-inject it
into the patient's ***.

But as strangely unorthodox as it may seem, the process -
- called immune modulation therapy -- may well be a
legitimate and effective means of treating heart failure.

Even cardiologists, a traditionally conservative group,
are excited.

"I remember thinking, when I first heard about this:
'This is very weird,' " said Debra Isaac, an associate
clinical professor of cardiology at the University of
Calgary.

"But, ultimately, I was impressed by the science behind
the idea."

The key scientific notion here is that inflammation plays
a pivotal role in the development and progression of
heart failure.

The new blood-zapping procedure "targets inflammation by
kick-starting the immune system's anti-inflammatory
response," Dr. Isaac said.

Immune modulation therapy, a patented therapy developed
by Toronto-based Vasogen Inc., involves taking about 10
cubic centimetres of blood (two teaspoons), then putting
it into a machine that "stresses" the blood by subjecting
it to heat, oxidation, and UV light.

Those stresses are designed to induce apoptosis (cell
death) in white blood cells, those that influence the
body's immune response.

When this zapped blood is re-injected into the patient,
the dying cells trigger a powerful immune response.

"What it seems to do is change the ratio," Dr. Isaac
said. "It increases the anti-inflammatory response and
decreases the inflammatory response."

Practically, what that means is the inflammatory process,
which can be toxic to the heart, is slowed. Inflammation
can damage the arteries and lead to a narrowing of the
blood vessels, a principal cause of heart disease.

In preliminary research, immune modulation therapy
resulted in a sharp reduction in symptoms among heart
failure patients. This leads researchers to believe the
approach could slow the progression of heart failure, or
even reverse some of the damage.

But a large-scale study is only beginning, so results
will not be available for a few years.

Joan Oulette, a retired waitress who lives in Airdrie,
Alta., has signed up, hoping to do her part to find new
treatments for heart failure.

A lifelong smoker, she was diagnosed with heart failure
in 1999. She underwent her first immune modulation
therapy treatment earlier this week and, while she is a
bit skeptical, she hopes the treatment will improve her
health.

"This sounds like some Dracula science fiction thing,
taking out your blood and then putting it back in you,"
she said.

"But they explained pretty good, saying they want to
kick-start my immune system and make my heart stronger.

"I'm willing to give it a try," Ms. Oulette said.

The 62-year-old retiree said her health is relatively
good, which she credits to "keeping loyal to my meds."
Ms. Oulette takes 18 pills a day already -- for blood
pressure, cholesterol and diuretics -- and said having
blood taken and re-injected once a month will hardly be a
bother.

Dr. Isaac stressed that the new therapy is not designed
to replace existing treatments, but to supplement them.

Heart failure occurs when the heart loses its ability to
pump enough blood. Usually, this loss is a symptom of an
underlying heart problem, such as clogged arteries. While
the term heart failure suggests a sudden and complete
stop of the heart, the condition actually develops
slowly, often over years.

More than 350,000 Canadians suffer from heart failure. It
is a deadly, costly condition, with few effective long-
term treatments. Nearly 40 per cent of patients die
within one year of diagnosis. Heart failure is one of the
leading causes of hospitalization; treatment costs are an
estimated $2.3-billion annually.

More at:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20040630/HBLOOD30/TPHealth/

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