Resveratrol could be key to curing aggressive prostate cancer

Thursday, November 15, 2012 by: Sherry Baker, Health Sciences Editor
Tags: resveratrol, prostate cancer, cure

(NaturalNews) Resveratrol, a natural compound found in red wine, grape skins, blueberries, pomegranates and several other plants, has been found to benefit health in a myriad of ways. For example, as Natural News previously reported, scientists have found evidence showing it prevents heart disease, helps keep weight under control, normalizes cholesterol levels and may prevent diabetes and even help treat neurodegenerative diseases such as dementia. Now, a University of Missouri (MU) scientist has uncovered ways resveratrol might be used to create a cure for even the most aggressive prostate cancers.

"Other studies have noted that resveratrol made tumor cells more susceptible to chemotherapy, and we wanted to see if it had the same effect for radiation therapy," Michael Nicholl, an assistant professor of surgical oncology in the MU School of Medicine," said in a press statement. "We found that when exposed to the compound, the tumor cells were more susceptible to radiation treatment..." In fact, Nicholl found that when resveratrol was used along with radiation, up to 97 percent of all cancer tumor cells completely died -- an extraordinarily higher percentage than treatment with radiation alone.

"It's important to note that this killed all types of prostate tumor cells, including aggressive tumor cells," Nicholl stated.

Resveratrol is available in foods and over-the-counter supplements. While Nicholl's research doesn't delve into whether the natural compound could prevent or treat any malignancies on its own, his findings do suggest that ingesting resveratrol might have an anti-cancer impact. In his press statement, he noted that the dosage needed to have an effect on tumor cells is so great that many people would experience uncomfortable side effects if they consumed that much resveratrol. Note that he doesn't say "all people" might experience side effects or that those effects would be dangerous.

"It's very attractive as a therapeutic agent since it is a natural compound and something that most of us have consumed in our lifetimes," Nicholl said.

"We don't need a large dose at the site of the tumor, but the body processes this compound so efficiently that a person needs to ingest a lot of resveratrol to make sure enough of it ends up at the tumor site," he noted. "Because of that challenge , we have to look at different delivery methods for this compound to be effective."

Nicholl's studies were recently published in the Journal of Andrology and Cancer Science. He plans to move on to animal tests and, if successful, conduct human clinical trials within a few years with the hope of using resveratrol in the development of new treatments for cancer.

Sources:

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-11/uom-cig110912.php
http://www.naturalnews.com
https://www.naturalnews.com/029199_resveratrol_blindness.html
http://www.naturalnews.com
https://www.naturalnews.com/027420_resveratrol_diabetes_brain.html
https://www.naturalnews.com/resveratrol.html

About the author:
Sherry Baker is a widely published writer whose work has appeared in Newsweek, Health, the Atlanta Journal and Constitution, Yoga Journal, Optometry, Atlanta, Arthritis Today, Natural Healing Newsletter, OMNI, UCLA''''s "Healthy Years" newsletter, Mount Sinai School of Medicine''''s "Focus on Health Aging" newsletter, the Cleveland Clinic''''s "Men''''s Health Advisor" newsletter and many others.