Healthcare Industry News: ascites
News Release - November 19, 2007
The Aethlon Hemopurifier(R) Reverses Immune Suppression in Cancer
SAN DIEGO--(HSMN NewsFeed)--Aethlon Medical, Inc. (OTCBB:AEMD ), a pioneer in developing medical devices to treat infectious disease, announced today that researchers have documented the Aethlon Hemopurifier® is able to remove the immunosuppressive activity normally found in the fluid of cancer patients. Aethlon recently discovered the Hemopurifier® efficiently captures tumor secreted exosomes that inhibit the ability of the immune system to combat cancer. In follow-on studies, led by Dr. Douglas Taylor at the University of Louisville, it has now been demonstrated that the capture of exosomes by the Hemopurifier® does result in reversing immunosuppressive activity. Dr. Taylor is a recognized authority on the causative effects of immune suppression in cancer patients. He is credited with the initial characterization of exosomes and is a leading peer reviewed author on the subject.“Based on emerging data, we envision the Hemopurifier® will become a treatment standard that enhances the benefit of therapies administered to those who suffer from cancer,” stated James A. Joyce, Chairman and CEO of Aethlon Medical.
In the studies, the Aethlon Hemopurifier® completely removed the immunosuppressive activity normally found in the ascites fluid of ovarian cancer patients. Immunosuppressive activity in ovarian cancer patients is known to correlate with disease progression and long-term survival. The studies measured the expression of two biological markers required for T-cell activation. The markers, Jak-3 kinase and CD3-zeta chain expression are respectively required for interleukin (cytokine) activation of cell proliferation and T-cell receptor mediated activation. Both markers are highly expressed in T-cell lines. When cells were subjected to ovarian cancer ascites fluid, both markers were consistently absent. However, the circulation of the same ascites fluid through the Aethlon Hemopurifier®, allowed the expression of both biological markers necessary to activate the immune response. Further details of the study will be published in an upcoming report.
“We have significantly increased our market opportunity as studies validate the application of the Hemopurifier® beyond infectious disease,” concluded Joyce. The annual size of the cancer treatment market exceeds $43 billion.
Previously, Dr. Taylor documented that 60% of circulating exosomes were removed from the blood of ovarian cancer patients during first pass (approximately 10-minutes) through a small scale Hemopurifier®. The capture data was consistent over the course of five different studies. Exosomes, are released by solid tumors, lymphomas, and leukemia. They induce T-cell apoptosis (programmed cell death), and block T-cell signaling, proliferation, and cytokine production. High concentrations of circulating exosomes correlate with reduced T-cell production and tumor progression in cancer patients. The ability to reduce the presence of circulating exosomes would reverse immune suppression and increase patient responsiveness to both immunotherapy and chemotherapy. As such, Aethlon believes the Hemopurifier® can address a significant unmet medical need in cancer care. Aethlon further disclosed that Dr. Taylor has not received nor requested any compensation for conducting these research studies.
About Aethlon Medical
Aethlon Medical is the developer of the Hemopurifier®, a first-in-class medical device to treat infectious disease. The Hemopurifier® addresses the largest opportunity in infectious disease, the treatment of drug and vaccine resistant viruses. The Hemopurifier® is a single use extracorporeal device that converges hollow-fiber filtration technology with immobilized affinity agents to capture viruses and soluble glycoproteins from the blood. The device has been designed to mimic the natural immune response of clearing infectious viruses and immunosuppressive proteins from circulation. Regulatory and commercialization initiatives in the United States are focused on bioterror threats, while international initiatives are directed towards naturally evolving pandemic threats, and chronic infectious disease conditions including Hepatitis-C (HCV) and the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). Collaborative studies to demonstrate utility of the Hemopurifier® are being conducted with researchers at the Government of India’s National Institute of Virology (NIV), The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), The United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID), and The Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research (SFBR). Aethlon recently demonstrated safety of the Hemopurifier® in a 24-treatment human study and is now conducting follow-on safety studies at the Fortis Hospital in Delhi, India. The Company has also submitted an Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) related to advancing the Hemopurifier® as a broad-spectrum treatment countermeasure against category “A” bioterror threats. Additional information regarding Aethlon Medical and its Hemopurifier® technology can be accessed online at www.aethlonmedical.com.
Certain of the statements herein may be forward-looking and involve risks and uncertainties. Such forward-looking statements involve assumptions, known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Aethlon Medical, Inc to be materially different from any future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Such potential risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, the Company’s ability to raise capital when needed, the Company’s ability to complete the development of its planned products, the ability of the Company to obtain FDA and other regulatory approvals permitting the sale of its products, the Company’s ability to manufacture its products and provide its services, the impact of government regulations, patent protection on the Company’s proprietary technology, product liability exposure, uncertainty of market acceptance, competition, technological change, and other risk factors. In such instances, actual results could differ materially as a result of a variety of factors, including the risks associated with the effect of changing economic conditions and other risk factors detailed in the Company’s Securities and Exchange Commission filings.
Source: Aethlon Medical
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