CARDIFF, Wales, Jan. 11 (UPI) -- U.S. and British researchers report they are finding success with a new treatment for kidney tumors in patients with the genetic disorder tuberous sclerosis.
A study, led by researchers at Cardiff University, Wales, examined a new treatment involving the drug Sirolimus, which was first identified from a soil sample taken from
Easter Island. The drug has been shown to control the activity of the protein mTOR.
The protein, normally controlled by the TSC1 and TSC2 genes, becomes too active if the control genes fail -- leading to tuberous sclerosis, an inherited disease that causes tumors to grow in many of the organs of the body, the university said Thursday in a release.
Researchers found that after one year of treatment with Sirolimus, the diameters of kidney tumors in patients had shrunk by an average of 26 percent. A parallel study in the United States reported similar results, the university said.
The findings are published in The New England Journal of Medicine.
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