by Alan Cocchetto, Medical Director, National CFIDS Foundation Inc. © 2013

From Spring 2013 Forum

The National CFIDS Foundation is pleased to announce two recent research publications as the result of our grant funding. The first article is published in the Journal of Cellular Physiology by Dr. Henry Heng and his colleagues at the Wayne State University School of Medicine ^[1].

The publication, titled "Why Imatinib Remains an Exception of Cancer Research", discusses the drug, Imatinib, and its use against chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). The paper also covers the distinguishing features and evolutionary patterns of CML and the success of this drug. Of particular interest are the chromosomal abnormalities associated with CML and its progression that relates to overall stage and prognosis for the disease.

This article provides readers with the following quote that should be of interest to CFIDS/ME patients, "The linkage between genomic instability and poor prognosis has been well documented in both hematologic and solid cancer patients." As you may recall, the National CFIDS Foundation (NCF) along with the Nancy Taylor Foundation for Chronic Diseases (NTFCD) funded Dr. Henry Heng for a genomic instability/chromosomal damage study in CFIDS/ME patients. This work is expected to be completed by summer. In addition to the NCF and the NTFCD as sponsors of this work, the paper also lists the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation as well as the U.S. Department of Defense as sponsors as well.

Our second sponsored medical journal article is titled "Predicting in silico which mixtures of the natural products of plants might most effectively kill human leukemia cells" by Dr. Hany El-Shemy and his colleagues at Cairo University ^[2]. This research discusses the use of various natural products and evaluates their effectiveness in-vitro on several acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) cell lines. The National CFIDS Foundation was responsible for the selection of 90% of the natural products tested by the group. Dr. El-Shemy's extensive evaluation and analysis also included product combinations used to predict synergistic effectiveness. This work should be of particular interest to CFIDS/ME patients due to the fact that ionizing radiation exposure is directly associated with the development of myelodysplasia as well as myeloid leukemias. This work was aimed at directly addressing the urgent need for applicable clinical and translational research in CFIDS/ME. This important article will be made available (no fee) on the NCF's internet webpage at www.ncf-net.org

The National CFIDS Foundation greatly appreciates the medical work of these fine researchers. These publications, and others to follow, reflect the use of generous patient donations to fund this research activity. Help us help you by continuing to donate to the NCF's research grant program!