U.S. Study Tests Cold-fX for Leukemia Patients
According to reports, Cold-fX will be used in a clinical trial and test by the U.S. National Cancer Institute for use in leukemia patients. The study will determine whether or not Cold-fX would be effective in preventing acute respiratory infections and help to reduce antibiotic use in patients. More than 300 patients suffering from lymphocytic leukemia will take part in the study.
This leukemia study will be conducted throughout the main cold and flu season, which will last from January to April 2009. Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, North Carolina will be serving as the lead researchers in the study and is considered to be one of the world’s leading cancer research centers.
Leukemia Study Details
Dr. Kevin High, the chief of infectious diseases at the School of Medicine will also serve as the trial’s lead investigator. Dr. High says the risk of acquiring a respiratory infection increases in cases of chronic lymphocytic leukemia, an illness those most likely effects the elderly.
“The weakened immune system means vaccines don't work as well, so alternative ways of preventing infection are urgently needed,” explains Dr. High. “Our hypothesis - that Cold-fX could reduce infections by enhancing immune function in chronic lymphocytic leukemia patients - is supported by previous research. We are encouraging results from studies that, importantly, involved older adults, including trials that demonstrated safety and effectiveness in seniors in nursing homes."
How Cold-fX Could Help Leukemia Patients
Cold-fX is an extract of North American ginseng that is designed to boost the immune system in the human body.
Dr. Edward Shaw, the principal of Wake Forest's Comprehensive Cancer Centre, has referred to the Cold-fX study as potentially being the most important clinical trial using a natural product in the 10 years that Wake Forest has been adding to its Community Clinical Oncology Program Research Base.
