Serotonin Blocker May Blunt Cancer Cell Suicide

[Guest guest]

Next thing you know they will stop giving chemo to cancer patients and just up their dose of Prozac or Paxil. This truly scares the hell out of me what they're trying to prove now. It so smacks of deceit and corruption.

[Guest guest]

Next thing you know they will stop giving chemo to cancer patients and just up their dose of Prozac or Paxil. This truly scares the hell out of me what they're trying to prove now. It so smacks of deceit and corruption.

[Guest guest]

But it's not surprising in the least, is it?The Avenging Angel

Please sign the petitions at:

http://www.petitiononline.com/lilpro

http://www.petitiononline.com/oky71.html

http://www.petitiononline.com/effexor

Please report all adverse drug reactions to:

http://www.fda.gov/medwatch/index.html

----Original Message Follows---- From: glitterari@... Reply-SSRI medications SSRI medications Subject: Re: Serotonin Blocker May Blunt Cancer Cell "Suicide" Date: Fri, 29 Mar 2002 00:26:46 EST

Next thing you know they will stop giving chemo to cancer patients and just up their dose of Prozac or Paxil. This truly scares the hell out of me what they're trying to prove now. It so smacks of deceit and corruption. Chat with friends online, try MSN Messenger: Click Here

[Guest guest]

But it's not surprising in the least, is it?The Avenging Angel

Please sign the petitions at:

http://www.petitiononline.com/lilpro

http://www.petitiononline.com/oky71.html

http://www.petitiononline.com/effexor

Please report all adverse drug reactions to:

http://www.fda.gov/medwatch/index.html

----Original Message Follows---- From: glitterari@... Reply-SSRI medications SSRI medications Subject: Re: Serotonin Blocker May Blunt Cancer Cell "Suicide" Date: Fri, 29 Mar 2002 00:26:46 EST

Next thing you know they will stop giving chemo to cancer patients and just up their dose of Prozac or Paxil. This truly scares the hell out of me what they're trying to prove now. It so smacks of deceit and corruption. Chat with friends online, try MSN Messenger: Click Here

[Guest guest]

I wonder just how long it will be before this study and others similar to it are relegated to some old dusty shelf in archives... never to see the light of day again...

The Avenging Angel

Please sign the petitions at:

http://www.petitiononline.com/lilpro

http://www.petitiononline.com/oky71.html

http://www.petitiononline.com/effexor

Please report all adverse drug reactions to:

http://www.fda.gov/medwatch/index.html

----Original Message Follows---- From: " Creel"

Reply-SSRI medications

Subject: Serotonin Blocker May Blunt Cancer Cell "Suicide" Date: Thu, 28 Mar 2002 23:53:20 -0500

MSN Photos is the easiest way to share and print your photos: Click Here

Read the last four sentences as they scramble to cover their butts...

Serotonin Blocker May Blunt Cancer Cell " Suicide "

Wednesday, March 27, 2002

LONDON, Mar 26 (Reuters Health) - Serotonin, a brain chemical that regulates

mood, has the capacity to cause certain cancer cells to self-destruct, a

British researcher showed on Tuesday. The findings could pave the way for

new treatments for a specific type of cancer called lymphoma.

The research also shows that antidepressant drugs like Prozac block the

ability of serotonin to trigger tumour cell death, raising the theoretical

possibility that the drugs could increase cancer risk. But Professor

Gordon of the University of Birmingham, UK, who conducted the study, said

patients should keep taking their drugs since there is no evidence of any

link in practice.

In test-tube experiments on a type of cancer called Burkitt's lymphoma,

Gordon and others found that serotonin caused cancerous cells to die off.

Burkitt's lymphoma normally forms in the neck or the stomach. It affects 2%

of people with AIDS and is most common in central Africa.

Through a series of experiments, the British researchers clarified the

mechanism by which serotonin enters lymphoma cells and triggers a mechanism

called apoptosis, or programmed cell death. The research is published in the

online edition of the medical journal Blood.

" Because we know the mechanism, we are now in a position to develop drug

analogues of serotonin that will do the same job but have better

pharmacological properties, " Gordon told Reuters.

The work also provides an intriguing insight into the way that " positive

thinking " associated with high serotonin levels may play a key part in

effective cancer care. The mechanism by which serotonin can get inside

cancer cells and tell them to commit suicide suggests there is a clear

" dialogue " between the brain and the immune system, he said.

Eli Lilly and Co.'s Prozac, Glaxo Kline Plc's Paxil and Lundbeck's

Celexa all " substantially blocked " the cancer-killing effects of serotonin.

The finding reopens controversy about the widespread use of the class of

antidepressants called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) that

first went on sale in the 1980s. Millions of people with depression and

anxiety have been prescribed the drugs, which have emerged as one of the

biggest sellers for the international pharmaceutical industry. They work by

stopping the " reuptake, " or reabsorption, of serotonin by brain cells.

" We've shown that, in the test-tube, the SSRIs stop the action of the

serotonin on the cancer cells. But it's nigh on impossible to extrapolate to

what's happening in the body, " Gordon told Reuters.

" We must stress the effects shown for SSRIs on cancer cells is indirect and

should cause no concern whatsoever to the many millions of people throughout

the world who are prescribed this class of antidepressants, " he added.

A spokesman for Britain's Department of Health said the research was at a

very early stage and no increased risk of cancer had been detected.

Drug company officials said they did not believe their pills caused any

increase in cancer and questioned whether the high doses used in Gordon's

experiments may have affected the results.

" These data are from an in vitro (test-tube) study and as such they cannot

be extrapolated to a clinical setting with any degree of certainty, " said

Sutton, a spokesman for GlaxoKline.

[Guest guest]

MEDLINEplus: Serotonin Blocker May Blunt Cancer Cell " Suicide " -

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_6798.html -

Serotonin Blocker May Blunt Cancer Cell " Suicide "

Reuters

Wednesday, March 27, 2002

LONDON, Mar 26 (Reuters Health) - Serotonin, a brain chemical that regulates

mood, has the capacity to cause certain cancer cells to self-destruct, a

British researcher showed on Tuesday. The findings could pave the way for new

treatments for a specific type of cancer called lymphoma.

The research also shows that antidepressant drugs like Prozac block the ability

of serotonin to trigger tumour cell death, raising the theoretical possibility

that the drugs could increase cancer risk. But Professor Gordon of the

University of Birmingham, UK, who conducted the study, said patients should

keep taking their drugs since there is no evidence of any link in practice.

In test-tube experiments on a type of cancer called Burkitt's lymphoma, Gordon

and others found that serotonin caused cancerous cells to die off. Burkitt's

lymphoma normally forms in the neck or the stomach. It affects 2% of people

with AIDS and is most common in central Africa.

Through a series of experiments, the British researchers clarified the

mechanism by which serotonin enters lymphoma cells and triggers a mechanism

called apoptosis, or programmed cell death. The research is published in the

online edition of the medical journal Blood.

" Because we know the mechanism, we are now in a position to develop drug

analogues of serotonin that will do the same job but have better

pharmacological properties, " Gordon told Reuters.

The work also provides an intriguing insight into the way that " positive

thinking " associated with high serotonin levels may play a key part in

effective cancer care. The mechanism by which serotonin can get inside cancer

cells and tell them to commit suicide suggests there is a clear " dialogue "

between the brain and the immune system, he said.

Eli Lilly and Co.'s Prozac, Glaxo Kline Plc's Paxil and Lundbeck's Celexa

all " substantially blocked " the cancer-killing effects of serotonin. The

finding reopens controversy about the widespread use of the class of

antidepressants called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) that

first went on sale in the 1980s. Millions of people with depression and anxiety

have been prescribed the drugs, which have emerged as one of the biggest

sellers for the international pharmaceutical industry. They work by stopping

the " reuptake, " or reabsorption, of serotonin by brain cells.

" We've shown that, in the test-tube, the SSRIs stop the action of the serotonin

on the cancer cells. But it's nigh on impossible to extrapolate to what's

happening in the body, " Gordon told Reuters.

" We must stress the effects shown for SSRIs on cancer cells is indirect and

should cause no concern whatsoever to the many millions of people throughout

the world who are prescribed this class of antidepressants, " he added.

A spokesman for Britain's Department of Health said the research was at a very

early stage and no increased risk of cancer had been detected.

Drug company officials said they did not believe their pills caused any

increase in cancer and questioned whether the high doses used in Gordon's

experiments may have affected the results.

" These data are from an in vitro (test-tube) study and as such they cannot be

extrapolated to a clinical setting with any degree of certainty, " said

Sutton, a spokesman for GlaxoKline.

© 2002 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution

of Reuters content, including by framing, linking or similar means, is

expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters

shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions

taken in reliance thereon.

Related News:

a.. More news on About Your Medicines

b.. More news on Cancer (General)

c.. More news on Drug and Medical Device Safety

[Guest guest]

Agnes,

Could you please explain how this information is relevant to

hypothyroidism? It's not obvious to me.

Celeste

Agnes wrote:

>

> MEDLINEplus: Serotonin Blocker May Blunt Cancer Cell " Suicide " -

[Guest guest]

Celeste, the only e mails that come from her are studies like this. I never

see her name on regular postings. One was on chemicals in water, so they

range in topic. I think she just sends them to many " loosely " related

groups. The only relevance that I can see with us is that hypo's may have

depression. Just my thoughts.

----Original Message Follows----

From: " a1thighmaster " <thighmaster@...>

Reply-hypothyroidism

hypothyroidism

Subject: Re: Serotonin Blocker May Blunt Cancer Cell

" Suicide "

Date: Sun, 31 Mar 2002 23:05:21 -0000

Agnes,

Could you please explain how this information is relevant to

hypothyroidism? It's not obvious to me.

Celeste

Agnes wrote:

>

> MEDLINEplus: Serotonin Blocker May Blunt Cancer Cell " Suicide " -

_________________________________________________________________

Send and receive Hotmail on your mobile device: http://mobile.msn.com