England – 16/12/2011 – The little known science of glycobiology is proving to be key in the fight against serious diseases including cancer
The science of glycobiology has only been in existence for just over 20 years. It was in 1988 that the biochemist Raymond Dwek coined the phrase. He used the phrase to remind his students of the importance of understanding more than the structure of the sugars they were studying. He, like many others in his field, realised that it was vital to understand and study the role of each sugar in biology. Just how vital is only now becoming apparent as this field of scientific study grows in importance.
Glycobiology is one of the fastest growing scientific disciplines out there. Research crosses over and touches a wide array of areas of research. This includes the immunology, virology, reproductive health and many other areas of science.
Glycobiology is the study of sugars and, most importantly, their role in biology. Simply put sugars are key building blocks of life. They make a wide array of complex molecules which are so important for maintaining a healthy body. The proteins within our bodies use chains of sugar molecules to recognise each other and decide how to interact with each other. They can behave positively and help to keep the body healthy or negatively and begin to destroy the body. In many cases sugar molecules are the trigger for disease or healing.
Diseases Glycobiology is helping to cure or treat
At this very moment glycobiology is being used to treat and, in some cases, prevent asthma, cancer, malaria and arthritis. Great steps forward have been made in the treatment of HIV too. Glycobiologists have developed a drug that disrupts the sugars on the surface of HIV cells. This renders them unable to recognise and infect other cells. The same principle can, theoretically, be applied to many other viral diseases.
Iduron have been involved in Glycobiology and have concentrated their research on GAGS. They believe that understanding this particular group of sugars will lead to cures for degenerative diseases, malignancy, microbial and parasitic infections as well as age-related neural pathologies. Iduron have already brought several important drugs to market.
Contact:
Iduron Ltd,
Wilmslow Road
England, UK
Zip: M20 4BX
Tel: +44 (0)161 446 3205
Tel/Fax: +44 (0)161 918 7030
Web: http://www.iduron.co.uk/