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Potential Applications
Cartilade contains the essential components for overall joint health. Several human and animal pilot studies confirm the benefits of Cartilade in joint and connective tissues health. New research regarding Cartilade show that it has been proven to be the superior brand of cartilage powder as demonstrated by in vitro assay. Cartilade has been demonstrated to be completely safe when used as directly and over 500 million doses have been used worldwide. Cartilade is appropriate for adults and children over 12 year of age.
Potential Mode of Action
In addition to glycosaminoglycans, proteins such as collagen and elastin, Cartilade® inhibits the enzymatic activity of MMP. MMPs represent a special class of catabolic enzymes that target and cleave fibrous proteins of the extracellular matrix. Cartilade supports the delicate balance of the destruction activity of connective tissues by MMP enzymes and the reconstruction of the same tissues.
Angiogenesis and its Relationship to Cancer and Other Degenerative Diseases
Angiogenesis is a natural physiological function. It refers to the process by which new blood vessels form and grow. Angiogenesis is also involved in the progression of different diseases. Cancerous tumors, for example, require a network of blood vessels to act as conduits for oxygen and nutrients. In addition, this vascular network allows cancerous cells to invade the rest of the body, a process called metastasis.
Angiogenesis inhibitors block the formation of these new blood vessels. Without the nourishment these blood vessels supply, cancerous cells are starved, and tumors cannot grow.
How Angiogenesis Promotes the Development of Cancer
Angiogenesis performs a critical role in the development of cancer.
Solid tumors smaller than 1 to 2 cubic millimeters are not vascularized. To spread, they need to be supplied by blood vessels that bring oxygen and nutrients and remove metabolic wastes.
Beyond the critical volume of 2 cubic millimeters, oxygen and nutrients have difficulty diffusing to the cells in the center of the tumor, causing a state of cellular hypoxia that marks the onset of tumbrel angiogenesis.
New blood vessel development is an important process in tumor progression. It favors the transition from hyperplasia to neoplasm i.e. the passage from a state of cellular multiplication to a state of uncontrolled proliferation characteristic of tumor cells.
Neovascularization also influences the dissemination of cancer cells throughout the entire body eventually leading to metastasis formation. The vascularization level of a solid tumor is thought to be an excellent indicator of its metastatic potential.
Role of Angiogenesis in Psoriasis
Chronic inflammation of the tissue underlying the epidermis in psoriatic skin creates a strong angiogenic signal. Several studies have shown a high detectable blood flow in the psoriatic plaques.
The inducing factors for new blood vessels depends, among other things, on many angiogenic growth factors. These are present in psoriatic patches and produced by keratinocytes.
This supports observations that the psoriasis initiating factor resides in the keratinocyte and that a significant vascular proliferation is required to cause hyperplasia of the epidermis. Hence, inhibiting neovascularization would be an indirect means of counteracting psoriatic plaque formation. Shark cartilage, a angiogenesis inhibitor is currently being studied as potential therapy for psoriasis.
More than six million people suffer from psoriasis in North America. Up to 250,000 new cases are diagnosed every year. The overall cost of treating psoriasis in the United States is about $3 billion to $5 billion per year.
Current systemic treatments for psoriasis have significant side effects. The most used treatments for psoriasis are topical applications. Current treatments include keratolytic agents, corticosteroids, tar (especially coal tar), vitamin D3 derivatives, anthralin and topical antimitotic agents. These treatments, however, are often messy, have an unpleasant odor, and are repetitive and tedious for patients.
More practical systemic treatments are riskier due to potential side effects. The most common is the antimitotic agent, methotrexate. Other treatments are PUVA and UVBs. Some combination of phototherapy and another antipsoriatic agent can be used. All of these treatments have side effects of varying significance. Using antiangiogenic agents to treat psoriasis is a relatively new approach.*
Shark Cartilage as an Angiogenesis Inhibitor and Potential Aid in the Fight Against Cancer and other Angiogenesis-Dependent Diseases
As early as the 1970s, Dr. Judah Folkman of the Harvard Medical School suggested inhibiting new blood vessel formation as a way to fight cancer.
In 1983, two researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology published a study showing that shark cartilage contains a substance that significantly inhibits the development of blood vessels that nourish solid tumors, thereby limiting tumor growth.
Working independently, medical researchers at Harvard University Medical School found that if one could inhibit angiogenesis--the development of a new blood network--one could prevent the development of tumor-based cancer and metastasis.
In his book, SHARKS DON'T GET CANCER--HOW SHARK CARTILAGE COULD SAVE YOUR LIFE, Dr. I. William Lane ties together these two important findings regarding shark cartilage and angiogenesis. Dr. Lane also recounts his own involvement in the search for a truly effective treatment of tumor-based cancer and examines the work of researchers who have conducted studies that indicate that shark cartilage can be effective in reducing cancer related tumors and also reduce the inflammation and pain associated with other conditions, such as arthritis, psoriasis and enteritis.
Because there are so many cancer victims who have been advised, after undergoing "conventional" treatments--surgery, radiation, or chemotherapy--that there is nothing more conventional medicine can do for them, it is clear that research into alternative approaches, such as shark cartilage, should be explored.
Indeed, given the fact that shark cartilage has no toxic side-effects, those who have been advised that conventional medicine can do nothing more to help them have little to lose by exploring shark cartilage as an alternative.
Shark Cartilage: "What Are the Theories for Prevention and Treatment of Cancer and Other Diseases Involving Neovascularization?"
Recently, shark cartilage has generated intense interest in both public and medical circles because of the theoretical justification for its clinical use in diseases, including cancer, psoriasis, age-related macular degeneration and arthritis, which involve neovascularization (angiogenesis). This interest is further fueled by clinical trials and recent patents which have demonstrated its anti-tumor activity and its ability to relieve pain and inflammation associated with tumor activity and diseases involving angiogenesis.
While there are many publications outlining the theories supporting why scientists believe shark cartilage has so many therapeutic benefits, public interest in shark cartilage was first generated by writings and research first tied together by Dr. I. William Lane. We have asked Dr. Lane, and he has been gracious enough to allow us to reprint one of his early papers on the therapeutic benefits of shark cartilage. This article, which follows, is not nearly as informative as his book, SHARKS DON'T GET CANCER. However, in this relatively-brief article, Dr. Lane provides a cogent summary of much of the early research and many of the theories on the therapeutic benefits of shark cartilage.
Shark Cartilage Therapy -- A Personal History of it's Development*
I. William Lane, Ph.D.
The use of shark cartilage in the complementary treatment of non-responsive solid cancer tumors has become widely used worldwide; approximately 25,000 patients are using the therapy today. Initially, shark cartilage usage was strictly patient-driven, but more recently it is suggested by doctors when conventional cancer therapies have not helped patients. Certainly, most oncologists will agree that, despite the progress in treating cancer, the lack of a real breakthrough is frustrating and many oncologists state they themselves would not use chemotherapy if they develop cancer. In fact, many calls that come in to me are from physicians on behalf of themselves or members of their families. Yet, they are reluctant to recommend shark cartilage to patients because of concerns relating to malpractice suits. The book Sharks Don't Get Cancer, which I coauthored, is now published in more than 15 languages and has been widely read, and the therapeutic regimen is followed by countless people who felt hopeless about surviving their cancers. I like to think that the correct, and I must stress the word correct, use of a good shark cartilage, in adequate dosage levels, has helped thousands of such patients. Shark cartilage therapy has caught the attention of all levels of practitioners, but it is hard for many of them to believe that so simple an approach can work with such a stubborn disease. However, despite the controversy, many who have tried and correctly used shark cartilage are talking about it in highly positive terms.
Much more research has been undertaken than most people realize and the undisputable fact is that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)--after carefully weighing the clinical evidence--has recently granted full Investigational New Drug (IND) permission for phase 2 clinical trials on both advanced nonresponsive prostate cancer as well as on advanced Kaposi's sarcoma. This lends material credence to the work. These phase 2 trials will soon be under way in one of the most prestigious medical centers in the Midwest. To date, I have personally funded the research, so inexpensive facilities and groups had to be found. Still, the unusually large and long positive responses should partially offset the lack of peer review.
This history of my work with shark cartilage as well as the benchmarks that originally opened the door of my curiosity will explain why and how interest developed. As a student at Cornell and later at Rutgers I had the good fortune to be exposed to the thinking of two Nobel Laureates, James B. Sumner, Ph.D., and Selman Waksman, M.D., Ph.D. I learned to look for the unusual and ask "Why?" As a so-called fisheries expert, I first became interested in the shark when the Shah of Iran asked me to look into developing, for him, a possible fishery in the Persian Gulf, an area that abounds in shark. As I read and inquired about the topic, it became obvious that this incredible living machine called shark had survived literally unchanged for 300 million years; it was a prehistoric creature, and it rarely got cancer even though almost all other sea creatures get a lot of cancer, especially since pollution of the oceans has increased materially.
The "Why?" was partially answered when I met, and read the work of, John Prudden, M.D., who was working with bovine cartilage as an immune stimulator, wound healing, and anticancer agent. However, the real "Why?" was answered when, in 1983, Anne Lee, Ph.D., and Robert Langer, Ph.D.,5 published a paper that illustrated that shark cartilage inhibited angiogenesis and tumor growth. I learned of this study via CNN NEWS, which, along with many popular newspapers and TV programs, publicized this incredible response. I immediately visited Dr. Langer at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and he told me that, although his work was done with a complex extract, whole but undenatured shark cartilage would probably produce an even better effect. Dr. Langer later denied having this conversation, but it took place in his office in September 1983 and it was the starting point of my piqued interest. I then read much of the work of Judah Folkman, M.D., on the theory of inhibiting angiogenesis as a mechanism to stop tumor growth. I also read the work of another Harvard researcher which said that the avascular tissues were the logical place to find the angiogenic inhibitors. Based on the published work just cited and my own desire to develop a practical "how and why," the concept behind the shark cartilage product developed.
What is Cartilade
Shark Cartilage, in the true sense of the term, is just that -- cartilage tissue from a shark. Cartilage, a translucent elastic tissue, composes most of the skeleton of embryonic and very young vertebrates and, through a process of calcification, is transformed into bones which make up the fully developed skeletal system.
You're probably most familiar with cartilage as the "tough stuff" you don't want in your meat. You most likely refer to it as "gristle." Cartilage is apparent in the human body, as your nose and "Adam's apple."
Cartilage is also found between the segments of the spine and at the ends of long bones, where it acts as a shock absorber and a bearing surface to reduce the friction between moving parts. It is tough and elastic. There are three types.
Fibrocartilage, the first type, is found between the backbones. It is the strongest of the three types. The second, hyaline cartilage, is gristly elastic tissue that thinly covers the moving ends of bones, connects the ribs to the breastbone, and supports the nose, windpipe, and part of the voice box. This type of cartilage is likely to harden in elderly people. Yellow cartilage, the third variety, is the most elastic. It is found in the external ear, Eustachian tube, and throat.
One of the most interesting things about cartilage, however, is not its form but its importance to the body--an importance that is first apparent in the embryo. In an early fetus, there are no bones; it is cartilage that provides the framework on which the major bones of the body--excluding the skull--take form. Eventually, fetal cartilage becomes impregnated with calcium salts so that hard, or "stony," bones become apparent.
The bones of children are relatively pliable because they contain more cartilage--which is found at the tops of bones in zones called growth plates--and less calcium salts than do the bones of adults. (A theory has been postulated that newborn children are resistant to many diseases because of the large amount of cartilage present in their bodies during the early fetal and developmental stages.*) Elderly people have much less soft tissue such as cartilage and a higher proportion of calcium salts, so their bones are more brittle.
A process similar to the one in which fetal cartilage develops into bone takes place throughout life whenever bones are broken. It is believed that when a bone breaks, a substance within the bone signals cells from the circulatory system to clean out the breakage site and summon undifferentiated cells to populate the site and multiply. These undifferentiated cells become chondrocytes, or cartilage cells, which produce an intertwining of cartilaginous fibers that fills the break and joins the bone fragments together. Finally, the cartilage is calcified and becomes new living bone.
Amazingly, cartilage is a tissue that performs its functions without nerves, blood vessels, or a lymphatic system. Nutrients are, therefore, not transported to cartilage via the blood or lymphatic fluid. It is this particular characteristic that seems to hold particular promise in battling cancer and other diseases that cause the formation of malignant tumors.*
In 1983, two researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology published a study showing that shark cartilage contains a substance that significantly inhibits the development of blood vessels that nourish solid tumors, thereby limiting tumor growth. Working independently, medical researchers at Harvard University Medical School found that if one could inhibit angiogenesis--the development of a new blood network--one could prevent the development of tumor-based cancer and metastasis.*
To date, scientists have not identified the specific active components of shark cartilage which are responsible for manipulating the process of angiogenesis. Some in the scientific community (mainly those in a position to gain financially from the opportunities synthesis would yield) criticize advocates of shark cartilage because there has been no identification or synthesis of the active substances within shark cartilage. The fact remains, however, that natural dried shark cartilage powder, though crude, appears to be yielding positive results on numerous medical fronts.*
Components of Powdered Shark Cartilage
Cartilade is made of
Black Tip Shark Carcharhinus limbatus
Blue Shark Prionace glauca
Maco Shark Isurus oxyrinchus
Thresher Shark Alopias vulpinus
White Shark Carcharodon carcharias
Simple chemical analysis shows that unadulterated dry shark cartilage powder is approximately 41 percent ash, 39 percent protein, 12 percent carbohydrates, 7 percent water, less than 1 percent fiber, and less than 0.3 percent fat. The ash is 60 percent calcium and phosphorus at a ratio of two parts calcium to one part phosphorus. Almost no heavy metals are found in the ash because without blood vessels in the cartilage, there is no way for the heavy metals, often found in minimal amounts in shark meat, to be deposited in the shark cartilage. The high levels of calcium and phosphorus are the result of calcification of the cartilage, especially of the backbone cartilage.
Although the protein that is the angiogenesis inhibitor is diluted to some degree by the calcium, phosphorus, carbohydrates, and other natural components, the diluents play an active role in disease control. The mucopolysaccharides in the carbohydrates stimulate the immune system, which works synergistically with the protein in fighting disease, and the organic calcium and phosphorus are used metabolically as nutrients.*
Cartilade® typically contains 12% chondroitin, Type II collagen, 35% protein and 50% minerals essential for connective tissue synthesis. More importantly, Cartilade exhibits the highest activity of MMP inhibition, or the highest inhibition of catabolic activity of the connective tissues and joints. It is the only shark cartilage brand with this proven activity.*
* Cartilade® is 100% pure dried shark cartilage with no additives.
* Contains Calcium and Phosphorus in the ideal 2:1 ratio
* Glucosamine-like compounds, and Type II collagen
* 12% Chondroitin
* Inhibits MMP-2 (gelatinase) enzymatic avtivity
* Contains chondroitin, glycosaminoglycans and other essential nutrients for joint health
| *Six Capsules Contain: | |
|
Active Ingredients |
10 |
| Protein 4% Daily Value |
2 g |
| Calcium 78% Daily Value |
0.78 g |
| Phosphorus 40% Daily Value |
0.4 g |
| Magnesium 3% Daily Value |
12 mg |
| Zinc 3% Daily Value |
0.5 mg |
| Shark Cartilage 100 % Pure Dried Shark Cartilage with no Additives or Fillers |
740 mg
|
|
Other Ingredients |
|
|
Suggested Use |
|
How Is Cartilade Made
How Powdered Shark Cartilage Should Be Produced
Any shark cartilage product, to ensure quality and reliability, must be properly processed. The processing of dry powdered shark cartilage involves four basic steps: (1) Cleaning; (2) Drying; (3) Pulverizing and (4) Sterilizing. These processes must be accomplished without rendering the active protein fibers ineffective.
Much research, testing, and management necessarily is involved in the development and production of high quality shark cartilage products suitable for human consumption. Processing shark cartilage without rendering the active protein fibers ineffective presents major problems, many of which are not addressed by manufacturers of inferior shark cartilage products.*
Conventional cleaning, drying, pulverization, and sterilization processes with their excessive heat and/or use of harsh solvents or chemicals often denature the active protein and render the cartilage therapeutically valueless. Proteins are easily denatured by heat and other manufacturing processes and by various chemicals like solvents and acids that are designed to remove fats and other unneeded components.*
The central strands of protein that make up the heart of shark cartilage are among the largest proteins produced by any cells. It is these strands, called macro proteins, that appear to carry the angiogenesis inhibitor; and it is these strands, so prevalent in shark cartilage, that give the cartilage 1,000 times the antiangiogenesis effect of mammalian cartilage. When looking at a piece of shark cartilage, you can see the strands containing the antiangiogenesis inhibitor in the matrices of all the components.*
These strands are very tough and almost impossible to pulverize, yet they are the material essential to antiangiogenesis. Thus, in order to produce an effective shark cartilage, it is essential that these strands be pulverized without denaturing the protein from which they are made. In addition, the abundant water content of cartilage (cartilage is more than 85 percent water) and the way in which the water is bound within the cartilage also make drying difficult and costly. Heat must be used sparingly since excessive heat is damaging.*
In shark cartilage, at least one of the proteins active as an angiogenesis inhibitor is denatured if processing temperatures are elevated. Furthermore, both the cartilage and the protein within it are inactivated if they are treated with solvents like acetone or submitted to strong acids for extended periods. Fortunately, there is practically no fat attached to shark cartilage, so solvent extraction as a processing step is unnecessary. In the processing of bovine cartilage, which normally has a fairly high amount of fat clinging to it, solvent extraction is needed to keep the product from turning rancid. The acetone used to remove the fat connected to bovine cartilage denatures the already modest amount of angiogenesis-inhibiting protein.*
Particle size, which is dependent on how well pulverized a material is, is another consideration. Shark cartilage must be absorbed into the system as quickly as possible to prevent the protein from being digested by proteolytic enzymes. If digested by these enzymes, the protein is broken down into its constituent amino acids, which are not effective in antiangiogenesis. The preformed protein, rather, is what is effective as the angiogenesis inhibitor. Shark cartilage powder must therefore be pulverized finely enough to be quickly absorbed into the body system as a suspension of preformed protein. Experience has shown that at least 90 percent must pass through a 200-mesh screen for maximum effectiveness. This is finer than most talcum powders.*
After conducting years of research and experimentation, Dr. I. William Lane developed a process for cleaning, drying, pulverizing and sterilizing shark cartilage that ensures quality and reliability without rendering the active protein fibers ineffective.* Dr Lane's process is so effective and innovative, in 1991 he was awarded a patent on the process.
In his book, SHARKS DON'T GET CANCER, Dr Lane had the following to say about his patent:
It is estimated that only about three patents have ever been issued to the health-food industry. Patents are difficult tods because hard evidence about such foods' effectiveness is often not available. Representatives of the health-food industry also do not usually seek patents, as do representatives of the pharmaceutical industry. Many food supplements are effective products, but proving their effectiveness is difficult, and sometimes test procedures don't exist. Since the evidence of shark cartilage's ability to inhibit angiogenesis can be proven by the CAM assay and the results of the xenograft studies conducted at the Institut Jules Bordet, I did apply for a patent. The patent was issued to me on Christmas Eve 1991.o obtain for health fo It reads in part: "This invention relates generally to a method of, and a dosage unit for, inhibiting angiogenesis or vascularization in an animal having an intestinal wall utilizing an effective amount of shark cartilage, particularly finely divided shark cartilage, for passing through the intestinal wall as a suspension for inhibiting, inter alia, tumor growth and metastasis, in particular Kaposi sarcoma; arthritis, in particular rheumatoid arthritis; diabetic retinopathy and neovascular glaucoma; psoriasis and inflammatory diseases with vascular component."
This patent will give the consumer protection against the "copycat" products that often haunt successful health-food products not protected by patent. Copycat products--the manufacturers of which are spurred by the desire to make a profit--may not be produced with the care needed to assure quality. The products may not even undergo the testing necessary to assure effectiveness. This is a particularly serious problem with a shark-cartilage product since the cartilage requires proper processing to ensure quality and reliability. The proper method of processing shark cartilage took months--if not years--to perfect. As the patent says, "It will be understood that the shark cartilage useful in the method of the present invention may be prepared by any suitable means or process to result in shark cartilage that is substantially pure shark cartilage, substantially free from adhering tissue."
With the patent issued on Christmas Eve, I received the best Christmas present I could have, but the United States Patent Office also gave a gift to all hopeful and potential users of shark cartilage. The patent will legally stop copycat manufacturers and distributors so that maximum effort can be devoted to improving the quality of shark cartilage to provide its users with maximum benefit.
Dr. Lane's original patent (US Patent No. 5,075,112) has been assigned to Cartilage Technologies, Inc. (now Atrium Biothreapies, Inc.), the makers of CARTILADE® brand shark cartilage, the world's leading brand of shark cartilage. Dr. Lane has continued to work on new methods of producing shark cartilage and other shark cartilage products.
Cartilade for Dogs and Cats with Arthritis
Articles and Research
Shark Cartilage Brings Arthritis Relief to Dogs
Veterinarians are getting wind of a new nontoxic and effective way to help dogs and cats with arthritis. It's called shark cartilage, a product widely used by alternative medicine practitioners for cancer in humans.
Ben B. Dow, D.V.M., of Putney, Vermont, has used shark cartilage successfully for several of his animal patients.
One case involved a Labrador retriever, 9, named Matthias, who suffered from severe arthritis in his legs and vertebrae. Matthias had been under Dr. Dow's care for four years, during which time he had tried several standard steroidal drugs (azium, flucort, prednisone, and dexasone) to reduce swelling and pain, but they hadn't helped. This shouldn't be surprising because conventional anti-inflammatory drugs try to block the inflammation in the joints without actually treating the main problem.
There are several forms of arthritis (for instance, osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis), but all involve an inflammation of the joints. Cartilage and the synovial membranes work to cushion any impact on the joints, but if these become eroded or soft, then inflammation, accompanied by sometimes severe and chronic pain, is the result. This condition has a variety of causes, including infections, metabolic disturbances, and constitutional imbalances. In animals, nutritional deficiencies are the most likely cause of arthritis.
Matthias became so inactive and moved with such difficulty (the inflamed vertebrae produced a "distinct arch" in his back) that the owners asked Dr. Dow to put the dog down. Instead, he decided to try shark cartilage, a natural substance not generally known in conventional veterinary practice. Dr. Dow gave the dog shark cartilage supplements at the rate of four capsules, three times daily. Shark cartilage provides the body with the nutrients (especially calcium) necessary to repair its own cartilage and reverse deterioration of the joints.
Studies have shown that shark cartilage contains proteins, mucopolysaccharides (which contribute to the formation of joint fluids), calcium, and other ingredients that inhibit the growth of new blood vessels in the joints (which leads to calcification) and promote healing of already damaged joint tissues. After three weeks, the owners called Dr. Dow to report a dramatic improvement in Matthias' condition.
The formerly arthritic dog was moving around more, had a better appetite, and the arch in his back was gone. Even better, Matthias was now able to jump into the back of the owner's pickup truck. Dr. Dow subsequently reduced Matthias' intake to a maintenance dose of two capsules, twice daily.
More than a year later, the owners reported that Matthias was completely healed, "behaving like a puppy." As Dr. Dow saw it, "the use of shark cartilage was the last resort and has saved this pet for now."
A second case involved a 14-year-old female Queensland Blue Heeler. Like Matthias, Dora had severe arthritis in her leg joints and had been given several standard steroidal drugs without any effect. Dora was in such discomfort that the owners were, as with Matthias' owner, ready to have their dog put to sleep. Dr. Dow began giving her shark cartilage at a dosage of three capsules, three times daily. After one month, the owners reported to Dr. Dow that Dora had become more active again, chasing geese, in fact, and had started going on long walks with the owner again. For some time prior to the treatment, she had been unable to do either activity. The owner was delighted that there was no need to put Dora to sleep. "I have been a practicing veterinarian for about 25 years, and this is the first time a product has appeared that produces such significant results in arthritic dogs and without the side effects which often accompany drug therapy," comments Dr. Dow.
A nutritional supplement such as shark cartilage, which promotes the body's own healing processes, may not show an immediate effect and may require two to four weeks before improvement is noticeable. Before starting you pet on any new therapy, it's advisable to consult your veterinarian, particularly if your pet is pregnant or lactating, suffers from any heart condition, is recovering from surgery, or has any other health condition which might be affected by supplementation.
SOURCES-I. William Lane, Ph.D., and Linda Comac, Sharks Still Don't Get Cancer (Garden City Park, NY: Avery Publishing Group, 1996).
Nina Anderson et al., Super Nutrition for Animals (Birds Too!) (1996), Safe Goods, East Canaan, CT.
Shark Cartilage Research with Dogs: Jacques Rauis DVM University of Liege 1991 (excerpt)
Dr. Rauis's first study was conducted with ten dogs, each whom suffered from severe lameness. A dried 100% pure shark cartilage (Cartilade) was used as treatment for secondary osteoarthritis. Each dog was given shark cartilage with their food daily. No other drug, food supplement or treatment was given during the test period. The dogs were evaluated according to the following six parameters:
1. Local swelling; pain.
2. Atrophy of muscles (wasting of regional muscles).
3. Joint crepitation (the rubbing sound characteristic of osteoarthritis).
4. Lameness before action (difficulty walking or running after several hours of immobility).
5. Lameness after action (difficulty walking or running after a half-hour exercise but able to get over an obstacle not previously overcome).
6. Movement over obstacle (difficulty getting over an obstacle).
Dr. Rauis quickly found dramatic decreases in the signs of the disease. The animal's lameness disappeared, and their capacity for getting around obstacles improved tremendously. Swelling, pain and immobilization were negligible. In all cases, when the shark cartilage was discontinued the dogs reverted in large part to their original pained state within fifteen days. Dr. Rauis's observation was that the main effect seemed to against the local swelling. In addition, he felt the effect on the functional signs was "also impressive". His summation: "Shark cartilage appears effective and safe to administer in the treatment of canine osteoarthritis." The owners reported that their pets were more alert, much more alive, very happy, and able to climb stairs alone.
The following is quoted from Dr. Messonier's book The Arthritis Solution for Dogs in "The Natural Vet Series" of books published by Prima Pet.
Shark Cartilage
"Researchers have reported a link between blood vessel growth and the development of arthritis. In the joint fluid of arthritic pets, there is an increasing amount of a chemical called endothelial cell-stimulating angiogenic factor. This chemical encourages growth of new blood vessels in the arthritic joint. It is theorized that by inhibiting new blood vessel growth, further degeneration of cartilage might be prevented.
In the laboratory, shark cartilage has been shown to contain chemicals that inhibit blood vessel formation. Because arthritis is an inflammatory condition, and inflammation requires blood vessels, it has been suggested that shark cartilage can benefit arthritic pets by inhibiting the formation of new blood vessels. And in fact, research has shown this to be the case. In studies in both people and in dogs, significant improvement is seen in patients suffering from arthritis. Arthritic pets and people taking shark cartilage supplements often experience increased mobility and decreased pain.
In one study, 8 of 10 dogs showed improvement when treated at a dosage of 750 mg per 5 kg of body weight for 3 weeks. Improvement was defined a no continuing lameness, lack of swelling and pain, and improved movement. When treatment was temporarily discontinued, pain and lameness returned.
....As a result of studies such as this one, many veterinarians feel it prudent to prescribe shark cartilage, as the supplement can be beneficial in some pets with arthritis and can substitute for therapy with medications liks NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) that have potential side effects."
In comparison to bovine cartilage, Dr. Messonnier points out:
"Like shark cartilage, bovine cartilage is high in glycosaminoglycans that can help the body repair damaged joints. Since shark cartilage was found to be 1,000 times more effective in preventing new blood vessel growth, it has replaced bovince cartilage as a supplement for many doctors."
Shark Cartilage Shows Angiogenesis Inhibiting Properties
WELLINGTON, Aug 20 (Reuter) - Shark cartilage may play a role in curbing blood vessel growth and restricting the spread of cancers, according to new research by New Zealand's Wellington Medical School. ``We have now established that there is some validity to the claim that shark cartilage can inhibit blood vessel growth,'' Paul Davis, leader of a research team at the medical school, told Reuters on Tuesday.
Blood vessel growth is required for tumours to spread. Sharks have a low incidence of cancer, and ground shark cartilage has for years been used as a folk remedy for tumours, arthritis and other ailments. But there has been little scientific evidence of its effectiveness. Davis said that after a year's work his team had found that in rats fed cartilage from sharks, the development of blood vessels in abnormal tissue was reduced by up to 70 percent. ``It's an early step but it's a significant one,'' Davis said.
He stressed the research was a long way from showing that shark cartilage was a ``cure'' for cancer. ``But what we would like to think is that it will at least slow the spread.'' Davis added: ``What it's going to do is, rather than putting people on chemotherapies and radiotherapies to try and stop the progression, you may be able to use a compound like this.'' ``If you can at least hold it while you're trying to kill the cancer cells, then the job in theory should be easier,'' he said.
Excerpts from ...
Shark Cartilage Brings Arthritis Relief to Dogs -- Ben Dow, DVM
Shark Cartilage Research with Dogs: Jacques Rauis DVM University of Liege 1991
The Arthritis Solution for Dogs by Dr. Shawn Messonier
Shark Cartilage Shows Angiogenesis Inhibiting Properties
-- Wellington Medical School, New Zealand
Arthritis Benefits from Shark Cartilage Therapy -- Leon Sculti
Shark Cartilage: Anticancer Agent of Hype?
-- School of Pharmacy, Mercer University, Atlanta, GA
Shark cartilage extract promising; Experimental agent starves tumors' lifelines, study suggests -- MSNBC -- March 2001
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.
This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
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