Potential breakthrough in Cancer treatment using human fat

[jmotivator]

Through a series of serendipitous discoveries, scientists have discovered that the chief competition in the Human body to Cancer cells is Brown Fat.

It turns out that adult humans still have some level of brown fat in their bodies, and through unintended discovery they found out that when it is activated it out competes cancer cells for surplus glucose, starving the cancer.

From this, using genetic modification, scientists have found a way to create "beige fat", white blood cells that consume glucose like brown fat, but with no need for low temperatures. It's believed, at this point, that a small injection of beige fat in the vicinity of a tumor would effectively out compete and kill tumors that almost uniformly survive on glucose.

While it sounds "promising" I can't help but consider the draw backs. For starters, "beige cells", as reported in the video, have the benefit of consuming glucose without needed hypothermic response that brown fat needs. The issue there being that once you inject beige fat into a patient, how do you remove it when the cancer is gone? Don't you introduce a new problem? If the beige fat multiplies you create a glucose sink and a heat source that the body doesn't generally need... you run the risk of hypoglycemia if you allow the beige fat to multiply in the body.

But, while it seems there is still a lot of logistical hurdles to using "beige fat" to treat cancer, it seems like a far more direct way of treating Type 1 diabetes. If you were to extract white fat from a patent with Type 1 Diabetes and then return it as Beige Fat it would give the body a new glucose sink that would at least mitigate blood glucose. The one caveat would be the byproducts of that beige fat metabolism.

Also, I would assume that since beige fat doesn't need to be activated, that the patient would grow less heat tolerant, as well, since it would be a constant source of heat.

Anyway, interesting discovery, I hope they work the kinks out.

 

[MamboDervish]

Potential breakthrough in Cancer treatment using human fat​

Ironic, when one considers how much cancer is tied to humans eating animal fat.

 

[jmotivator]

Potential breakthrough in Cancer treatment using human fat​

Ironic, when one considers how much cancer is tied to humans eating animal fat.

This study shines a light on why that is, actually. Cancer cells don't really metabolize oxygen like normal cells, the theory is that they revert to a primitive metabolism that directly metabolizes glucose, instead of the more efficient glucose + oxygen cycle.

So high blood glucose promotes cancer growth. This is also why diabetics on Metformin have a far lower instance of cancer than those not on the medication.

 

[Risky Thicket]

Thanks, it sounds promising. Having lost my mother and a brother to cancer I am very interested in the subject.

 

[Checkerboard Strangler]

This study shines a light on why that is, actually. Cancer cells don't really metabolize oxygen like normal cells, the theory is that they revert to a primitive metabolism that directly metabolizes glucose, instead of the more efficient glucose + oxygen cycle.

So high blood glucose promotes cancer growth. This is also why diabetics on Metformin have a far lower instance of cancer than those not on the medication.

I was prescribed Metformin a decade ago but when I learned there were moderate to significant kidney risk I switched to Berberine.

 

[jmotivator]

I was prescribed Metformin a decade ago but when I learned there were moderate to significant kidney risk I switched to Berberine.

Based on why it works in this case, I'd assume that any medication that lowers blood glucose has the same effect.

 

[Deuce]

Through a series of serendipitous discoveries, scientists have discovered that the chief competition in the Human body to Cancer cells is Brown Fat.

It turns out that adult humans still have some level of brown fat in their bodies, and through unintended discovery they found out that when it is activated it out competes cancer cells for surplus glucose, starving the cancer.

From this, using genetic modification, scientists have found a way to create "beige fat", white blood cells that consume glucose like brown fat, but with no need for low temperatures. It's believed, at this point, that a small injection of beige fat in the vicinity of a tumor would effectively out compete and kill tumors that almost uniformly survive on glucose.

While it sounds "promising" I can't help but consider the draw backs. For starters, "beige cells", as reported in the video, have the benefit of consuming glucose without needed hypothermic response that brown fat needs. The issue there being that once you inject beige fat into a patient, how do you remove it when the cancer is gone? Don't you introduce a new problem? If the beige fat multiplies you create a glucose sink and a heat source that the body doesn't generally need... you run the risk of hypoglycemia if you allow the beige fat to multiply in the body.

But, while it seems there is still a lot of logistical hurdles to using "beige fat" to treat cancer, it seems like a far more direct way of treating Type 1 diabetes. If you were to extract white fat from a patent with Type 1 Diabetes and then return it as Beige Fat it would give the body a new glucose sink that would at least mitigate blood glucose. The one caveat would be the byproducts of that beige fat metabolism.

Also, I would assume that since beige fat doesn't need to be activated, that the patient would grow less heat tolerant, as well, since it would be a constant source of heat.

Anyway, interesting discovery, I hope they work the kinks out.

...shouldn't those fat cells be able to be eliminated in the usual fashion?

 

[MAGAnificent]

it seems like a far more direct way of treating Type 1 diabetes.

Probably not. Most type 1 diabetics have lost the ability to produce insulin or cannot produce enough. Type 2 perhaps.

 

[jmotivator]

...shouldn't those fat cells be able to be eliminated in the usual fashion?

You don't usually lose fat cells by dieting, they just shrink.

 

[jmotivator]

Probably not. Most type 1 diabetics have lost the ability to produce insulin or cannot produce enough. Type 2 perhaps.

Right, but these "beige fat" cells consume glucose in the blood and produce heat. Having Beige blood cells in the body would, it seem, lower average blood glucose.

Of course, then the danger becomes hypoglycemia.