New Discoveries --a driver for neuroendocrine PCa, and a way to produce cheaper and faster CAR-T--making it more feasible

[NPfisherman]

First, a driver found that changes MCRPC to the deadlier form--neuroendocrine PCa , a more aggressive form of PCa... A transcription factor, BRN4, with BRN2 seem to drive the conversion--a target to keep this conversion from happening ...

clincancerres.aacrjournals....

Second, a microfluidics device that can enhance the production of engineered and CAR-T cells by perforation of the cell membrane creating a pore to introduce genetic material into the cell... a significant cost savings and a way to mass produce CAR-T...making it more affordable...

sciencedaily.com/releases/2...

The Science is Coming !!!!

Don Pescado

[jdm3]

The science is coming. Let's hope it gets here before we leave 🙏

Thanks for keeping us informed and happy holidays.

[NPfisherman in reply to jdm3]

The microfluidics device will enable making CAR-T and other engineered type white blood cells for about 1/4th the cost of current if I understand it correctly...Currently, a one time treatment can cost as much as $375,000....this will make it a bit more feasible...

You and Becky have a happy Thanksgiving....

Fish

[cujoe in reply to NPfisherman]

Senor Pescado, I have always heard that cost was always a limiting factor for Car-T, so this is very good news. It would be nice to think that medical science is advancing according to Moore's Law, but we still have to worry about:

Eroom's law – is a pharmaceutical drug development observation which was deliberately written as Moore's Law spelled backwards in order to contrast it with the exponential advancements of other forms of technology (such as transistors) over time. It states that the cost of developing a new drug roughly doubles every nine years. (Wikipedia)

Development time goes down as cost goes up . . . how's that going to work out for the non-1%ers. Cures we can't afford aren't really cures at all.

Thanks for the continued science postings. Maybe your new tagline should be Mr. Wizard. (Way before your time, but I remember him well - making science fun for all.)

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_H...

Be Well - cujoe

[NPfisherman in reply to cujoe]

I remember Mr. Wizard.... I do think that the cost for CAR-T needs to be 1/16th of current costs...it'll get there over time.... The APCEDEN vaccines cost $25,000 a year... Chris McCue aka Fuzzman77 on the other forum has done it for 3 years and he said it has made a huge difference for him...in the meantime, I hope your weather is better than mine--30's and snow yesterday....ready for spring already....

Don Pescado

[cujoe in reply to NPfisherman]

You're up late for a working stiff! Get some sleep, dude, you got a short week to make that quota. Have a great holiday and may the weather improve for it. Be Well - Captain K9

[NPfisherman in reply to cujoe]

Captain, my Captain....

I was up at 1 am...usually in bed by midnight.... was sick this am but better now...not sure if my 2nd Shingrix injection made a difference on how I felt... 1/2 day quota made--off to home... Margaret felt crummy this morning too so I lean towards a 24 hr flu bug... Happy Thanksgiving, brother... have a great week !!!!

Fish

[cujoe in reply to NPfisherman]

Mr. Fisherman, Sorry for the unwelcomed seasonal bugitis. 2 x medical workers = 10 x more likely exposed to medical bugs. Carry some Raid with you at all times. Hope you and Ms. Margaret recover in time for a fine holiday feast. BTW, Weather today way down here in Coastal NC was spectacular! Be/Get Well - K9

PS Lots of discussion on Shingles & Pneumonia vaxs over at CLL site (due to our generally compromised immune system). Some people seem to have noticeable negative reactions, others nothing at all. Here's what CDC says about side effects:

"Most people got a sore arm with mild or moderate pain after getting Shingrix, and some also had redness and swelling where they got the shot. Some people felt tired, had muscle pain, a headache, shivering, fever, stomach pain, or nausea. About 1 out of 6 people who got Shingrix experienced side effects that prevented them from doing regular activities. Symptoms went away on their own in about 2 to 3 days. Side effects were more common in younger people." (cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd/shingl...

If the crummy feelings are from the vax, it just confirms that you are definitely a "younger" person - and not an old dog like me.

[NPfisherman in reply to cujoe]

K-9 Wonder,

The sore arm I still have from Shingrix, but it is resolving....for my next step, I will wait 3 weeks and order Dukoral....an Ultrasensitive PSA before and after is the plan...Glad you are having great weather...should be in 50's tomorrow here... short week... I love it.... Hope you are having dinner with someone on Thursday... For clarification: I am an old............... dog /NP/ Fisherman... but Life is Good !!!, so no complaints...

Fish

[cujoe in reply to NPfisherman]

Fish - I'll be following your Dukoral 'Clinical Trial' with great interest. (aka, fish-baited breath.)

In the meantime, I just ordered some Neem Leaf Extract to add to my supplements, mainly for CLL, re: Mayo investigated its effect in a trial using blood from 41 patients after 1 patient refused SOC treatment and instead got a long-term remission using NLE 1000mg twice a day. (The full report is worth a read for all cancers, as it shows NLE's effects on ADP-ribose, PARP-1, caspase 3 cleavage, as well as Bcl-2 and p53 proteins - all implicated in PCa.)

ABSTRACT

mayoclinic.pure.elsevier.co...?

FULL REPORT (pdf download)

sci-hub.se/10.3109/10428194...

Patrick also had a PCa post on NLE about 3 years back:

healthunlocked.com/advanced...

I'll keep you posted on any significant positive results. I'll only be on it for about a week before my upcoming Dec 10 appt with my CLL HO, so I wouldn't expect to be able to report much change in labs over that timeframe.

U got it right that - Life really IS good!

Be Well - The Carolina K9 Kid

[tom67inMA in reply to NPfisherman]

My second Shingrix was much rougher than the first. A course of Bactrim was worse still. Literally getting sick of doctors trying to make me healthy

[NPfisherman in reply to tom67inMA]

My second Shingrix was worse than the first, but it is done... I was never a fan of Bactrim....big pills....my urologist put me on thinking that I had a prostatitis at PSA of 5... after 3 months I got a biopsy and a resistant E. coli gave me sepsis... Resistance courtesy of Bactrim and Doxycycline.... I believe the sepsis post biopsy earned me a spot here...oh well....

Don Pescado

[cujoe in reply to tom67inMA]

Just be glad you didn't get a cipro script pre-biopsy. I now believe that two apparent joint issues that showed up about 6 months later were related to the 2 weeks of use to rule out prostatitis.

It's use is now restricted (recommended so) in both the US and EU.

verywellhealth.com/ciproflo...

mims.ie/news/fluoroquinolon...

BTW, "Literally getting sick of doctors trying to make me healthy", is a GREAT line for us patients, Tom.

Be Well - cujoe

[tom67inMA in reply to cujoe]

I get a free Cipro dose with every cystoscopy, and think I may have also had some pre-biopsy, also hoping it was just prostatitis.

Better yet, at the end of chemo it became apparent that a root canal I had a year before was botched and got re-infected. It took about four different antibiotics and four more root canal procedures to get that under control. Of course, it didn't help that I caved in the temporary filling once and let a fresh dose of bacteria into the tooth.

[NPfisherman in reply to cujoe]

I actually did take Cipro pre and post biopsy... LOL... I asked my Urologist why the American Acedy of Urology did not endorse something else with all the Cipro E coli resistance... He shrugged his shoulders... the system in a nutshell...

Don Pescado