Scientists have found evidence that tamoxifen, the drug widely used to treat breast cancer, may lose its effectiveness over time and begin to behave like the hormone it is supposed to block. Tamoxifen works by blocking the action of estrogen and keeping it from attaching to a receptor on the surface of the cell.
Researchers at Duke University Medical Center have found that after a period of two to five years, the "anti-estrogen effect of tamoxifen fades, often allowing estorgen-sensitive cancers to start growing again." The primary author of the study, John D. Norris, explained that "over time, the drug causes the estrogen receptor on cells to change and form a pocket-like structure that allows other proteins to bind there. The action of these proteins somehow changed the cell’s reaction to tamoxifen. The drug converts from an anti-estrogen effect to a pro-estrogen effect."
However, the scientists have discovered that the action can be reversed with the use of peptides. They also believe that this will allow them the opportunity to find a new drug anti-estrogen drug that does not have the same effects as tamoxifen
Media Resources: Nando Times and Reuters - July 29, 1999
5/22/2013 Immigration Reform Bill Advances In Senate - Last night, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved a sweeping immigration reform bill in a bipartisan vote of 13 to 5. . . .
5/22/2013 Afghan Women Arrested for 'Moral Crimes' Increases 50% - A new report by the Human Rights Watch shows that in the past 18 months the number of women in Afghanistan incarcerated for 'moral crimes' has increased from 400 to 600, a 50% growth.
Many of the women imprisoned for moral crimes were arrested running away from forced or abusive marriages and families, even though there is no law against leaving. . . .
5/22/2013 Army Commander Suspended for Adultery Amid Wave of Sexual Assaults - On Tuesday, Brigadier General Bryan T Roberts was suspended from his position as commander of the Fort Jackson, South Carolina training camp which trains approximately 60% of incoming female recruits pending an investigation into allegations of adultery.
Roberts was suspended following allegations of "adultery and a physical altercation." Colonel Christian Kubik, an Army spokesperson for the Training and Doctrine Command, told reporters "We don't have any evidence of any sexual assault. . . .
