04 / 02 / 2014

The term “connective tissue” is frequently discussed in association with skin or joint disorders, and many people are not aware of how important it is in other chronic diseases such as heart disease and cancer.

Over 90% of cancer deaths are due to the extensive spread of cancer (metastasis). Cancer cells metastasize by breaking the connective tissue barrier that surrounds them. The strength and stability of connective tissue depends on an optimum production of collagen fibers and the prevention of uncontrolled tissue destruction. An abundant availability of several micronutrients, especially vitamin C, and the amino acids lysine and proline, is essential for this function. Unlike most animals, humans are not capable of internal production of vitamin C and lysine. Yet, most of the cancer research is conducted on mouse models that do produce vitamin C. To overcome this barrier, our research institute utilized a special type of mice that mimic human metabolism in respect to the lack of internal vitamin C production.

01 / 09 / 2014

Skin cancer is a leading form of cancer in the United States and other industrialized countries. In the US alone 3.5 million new cases of skin cancer are diagnosed every year. Until now no effective treatment is available.
The reason skin cancer is so wildly feared is not the skin tumor itself, but the fact that the cancer cells spread (metastasize) from the skin to other organs and eventually throughout the body. Nine out of ten cancer patients die not at the stage of a single tumor but during the stage of tumor metastasis.