Advice Pool - Health and Fitness

People have been talking for years about the effects of shark and bovine cartilage on certain cancers. Here’s some Straight Talk about the subject.

Cartilage is a type of tough, flexible conne

According to USFDA, a combination product is one composed of any combination of a drug and device; biological product and device; drug and biological product

ctive tissue. Various preparations of cartilage from sharks or cows have been studied in the laboratory and in animals for their ability to kill cancer cells, stimulate the immune system, and bl

; or drug, device, and biological product and fixed dose combination would include two or more combinations of drug.

Examples of combination products may in

ock formation of new blood vessels that a cancer needs to grow.

Scientific evidence to date has not proven cartilage to be an effective treatment for cancer. Several clinical trials (research s

lude drug-coated devices, drugs packaged with delivery devices in medical kits, and drugs and devices packaged separately but intended to be used together.

tudies with people) are under way to hear some about cartilage as a cancer treatment for humans.

Many cartilage products are sold in the United States as dietary supplements, which do not requi

here is enormous increase in the number of combination products entering the market in the recent years. Combination products have proven advantages but fixe

e U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval unless the manufacturer makes specific disease prevention or treatment claims.

Questions and Answers About Cartilage (Bovine and Shark)
d dose combinations are still in the process of convincing regulatory authority on their advantages over the single ingredient formulations.

Combination pro
ong>

What is cartilage?

Cartilage is a type of tough, flexible connective tissue that forms parts of the skeleton in many animals. Cartilage contains cells called chondrocytes
ucts have become life saving products for the pharmaceutical companies who doesn’t have many innovative molecules in their product pipeline and have been inc

, which are surrounded by a network of several types of collagen (a fibrous protein) and proteoglycans, which are combinations of protein and glycosaminoglycans (a type of carbohydrate).

easingly used in the product life cycle management. Even the companies having product patents are trying to extend their product life cycle through the combi

>What is the history of the discovery and use of cartilage as a complementary or alternative treatment for cancer?

Cartilage from cows (bovine cartilage) and sharks has been studied as

nation products and maximize the revenues. But the companies involved in this practice are overlooking that they are burdening the patients both economically

a treatment for cancer and other medical conditions for more than 30 years. The mistaken belief that sharks, whose skeletons are made mostly from cartilage, do not develop cancer caused some of

and physically. They need to rightly judge the benefits of the combination products and they have to even look at the risks involved when combining the produ

the initial interest in cartilage as a possible treatment for cancer. Although malignant tumors are rare in sharks, a variety of cancers have been detected in these animals.

Three theories hav

ts. Some of the combination products were well accepted by physicians while others suffered. Companies involved in development of combination products are fi

been proposed to explain how cartilage acts against cancer:
· As cartilage is broken down by the body, it releases products that kill cancer cells.
· Cartilage stimulates the body’s

ding difficulty in defining their combination products and facing various challenges from selecting a combination to marketing it.

Following aspects would a

immune system to kill cancer cells.
· Cartilage produces substances that block angiogenesis (the formation of new blood vessels that a cancer needs to grow).
On the basis of laborato

dd to the challenges in developing combination products:

Which markets to tap where the combination products can do fairly well?
Which combination prod

ry and animal studies, there is more support for the third theory than for the first and second theories.

Cartilage, a tissue that does not contain blood vessels, is relatively resistant to can

cts are meaningful and rational?
Which therapeutic categories to select?
Which Combinations can address unmet needs of the patients?
Do combin

cer cells. If the theory that cartilage can inhibit angiogenesis is correct, the substances in cartilage that stop the formation of new blood vessels might also help prevent the spread of cancer

tions increase the patient compliance?
What would be the developing cost?
How to tackle the risks encountered during combination product developmen

(metastasis). According to this theory, substances in cartilage may block angiogenesis and thus prevent metastasis.

Early studies used extracts of bovine cartilage. The ability of bovine cartil

t?

As combination products don't fit into the traditional categories of drugs, medical devices, or biological products, the USFDA is in the process of devel

age to reduce inflammation (redness, swelling, pain, and feeling of heat) was first described in the early 1960s. The first report that bovine cartilage contains at least one angiogenesis inhibi

ping new procedures for reviewing their safety, efficacy and quality.

Professional from academic institutions, pharmaceutical industries, health care indust

tor was published in the mid 1970s. The use of bovine cartilage extracts to treat cancer patients in clinical trials (research studies with people), and the ability of these extracts to kill can

y and representatives from various regulatory agencies are working out to design the regulatory requirements for manufacture and sale of combination products

er cells directly and to stimulate animal immune systems, were first described in the mid-to-late 1980s.

The first report that shark cartilage contains at least one angiogenesis inhibitor was p

.

As there is an increasing trend of the combination products companies manufacturing such products should be able to tackle the problems involved in the de

ublished in the early 1980s. The only published report to date of a clinical trial of shark cartilage as a treatment for cancer appeared in the late 1990s (see Question 5). The interest in study

elopment. They need to be wiser in analyzing the market trends and the regulatory requirements.

Companies that provide selfless information through particip

ing shark cartilage results in part from the abundance of cartilage in sharks and from the apparently higher level of antiangiogenic activity in shark cartilage as compared with bovine cartilage

tion in industry events and feedback to regulatory authorities would be able to face the challenges and will be successful in developing combination products

HTTP = HTML link (for blogs, profiles,phorums):
<a href="http://www.advicepool.org.ua/article/226424/advicepool-Straight-Talk-About-Cartilage-For-Cancer-Treatment--Is-Cartilage-Right-For-You.html">Straight Talk About Cartilage For Cancer Treatment - Is Cartilage Right For You?</a>

BB link (for phorums):
[url=http://www.advicepool.org.ua/article/226424/advicepool-Straight-Talk-About-Cartilage-For-Cancer-Treatment--Is-Cartilage-Right-For-You.html]Straight Talk About Cartilage For Cancer Treatment - Is Cartilage Right For You?[/url]

Promotional Keyrings - Your Key to Business

People constantly come into your office and you are always sending out mail to new, potential clients.

Real Estate Investing - Research Before Jumping In

These days, a whole lot of people in America are investing money in real estate. Unless all these people have very poor judgment, there must be a good reason for it. Perhaps it's because real estate can climb in value very quickly and return a good profit.

Identification and Treatment of Skin Allergies

Skin allergies are common and easily treatable, as long as you can correctly identify them.

Bookmark it:

Tags

Links

Advice Pool - Straight Talk About Cartilage For Cancer Treatment - Is Cartilage Right For You?

Related Articles: