NotEinstein
|
As strange as it may sound, researchers discovered in 2004 that compounds present in human milk can cure common skin warts. The active compound in human milk was named HAMLET by the researchers. HAMLET is an acronym for “human alpha-lactalbumin made lethal to tumor cells.”They found that when applied externally to the skin, the cells infected by the wart-causing human papilloma virus were killed. The same virus also causes genital warts and leads to cervical cancer in women. Doctors are continuing their research in hopes of finding a cure for cervical cancer. Scientists are quick to point out, though, that any hope for treating cancer is still just speculation.
For several years we have known that human milk contained antibiotics created naturally in the mammary glands, but we didn’t know exactly what properties they held against viruses or virus-infected cells. The properties against viruses were discovered accidentally while a team of scientists, led Dr. Catharina Svanborg, was testing milk on cancer cells being attacked by both bacteria and viruses. They were specifically testing a protein from the milk called alpha-lactalbumin. The protein killed both the bacteria and the cancer cells. The strangest thing is that the HAMLET compound is not already present in the milk. The HAMLET compound spontaneously forms from alpha-lactalbumin and another substance in the milk, oleac acid, when the milk is in the presence of cancer cells.
After this surprising development, the team tested the compound on warts on the hands and feet. Warts were reduced by 75% of their original size after three weeks. After a second treatment, 75% of the warts tested disappeared completely. The downside to the new wart treatment is that, when ready, it will be more expensive than the standard treatments that already exist today.
 Posted 5146 day ago
|