China is on the way to find a cure for gastric cancer. Scientists from two of the most prestigious Chinese Universities discovered the way gastric cell cancer can be found and destroyed. The drug was tested only on mice and cell lines so far, but the results appear to be miraculous.
Ferrilridium is the name given to the drug, and it represents the association of the two main elements fighting: Fer (iron) and Iridium. Both metallic chemical elements. Raised levels of iron are consistent with cancerous cells, and Iridium is the spellbinding metal than can defeat iron. The fight between the two elements is hoped to help diagnose the tumors, and then make them disappear, or at least shrink. The two processes happen at the same time.
When the Ferrilridium meets the cell, the latest lets the drug enter, not knowing it is the enemy. It’s a delicate process. The cell has a structural part named lysosome that handles the acidity in the stomach. They are the ones holding inside the iron. Cancerous cells have an increased level of Fe (III).
New Medicine Might Be A Reliable Cure For Gastric Cancer
The new drug selectively binds to Fe (III) from the cell, ionizing it to Fe (II). Iridium’s role is double. First, it increases the phosphorescence of the cell when it meets high levels of Fe (III), this way making the tumor visible. Also, at the same time, its toxicity increases. Iridium’s toxicity is necessary for the cancerous cell membrane to collapse, and this is the second role of Iridium.
The lysosomes’ acidity helps the drug split into an iridium complex and a benzoquinone derivative. This produces a chain reaction of substances: highly reactive hydroxyl radicals, then radical oxygen, and hydrogen peroxide, and finally, hydroxyl radicals. The radicals defeat the lysosomes.
It might take some time before the drug will be available for human trial, and some more before the drug will be available. If it will ever be, but hope seems to be smiling.
