Friday, October 11, 2013

Monoclonal Antibody Treatments Information

By Armand Zeiders


Modern technology has helped countless number of people in their daily lives. With their aid different types of medical treatments were discovered. Custom monoclonal antibodies have been created in labs to treat several types of diseases. A monoclonal antibody is a manufactured antibody that is made to target specific defects in cells. They mimic the natural antibodies of your immune system to ward off germs, vaccines, invaders and other unwanted organisms. Monoclonal antibodies often are made from laboratory mice that are immunized by injecting an antigen in order for them to produce an antibody that will specifically target that antigen.

Monoclonal antibodies have become much recognized today though it is almost impossible to list all of their benefits in this article. Here are some noteworthy advancements and treatments made with the help of monoclonal antibodies. Several diagnostic tests are made to help find traces of drugs and other toxins which uses of monoclonal antibodies. For instance the test that diagnoses a person with HIV or the Human Immunodeficiency Virus has been made using these custom monoclonal antibodies. Monoclonal antibodies have made huge impact in modern medicine and have treated several viral diseases that people once considered to be untreatable before.

Monoclonal antibody treatments have been used to help lessen the symptoms and severity of many diseases and this type of treatment is becoming more and more popular today. This type of treatment works by specifically binding the manufactured antibodies to target cells or proteins. In return, they will stimulate the patient's immune system to attack those cells. This makes treatment a bit more natural and there are fewer risks involved compared to other types of pharmaceutical drugs. It can also help prevent future diseases by destroying malignant tumor cells and stop tumor growth.

Many cancers are treated with monoclonal antibody drugs. Radioimmunodetection and radioimmunotherapy also utilize the antibody treatments. This works by targeting only the cell membranes of cancerous cells which is much safer since it avoids damaging or affecting other vital organs. A cancer medication was created based on monoclonal antibodies that interferes with the growth and spread of cancer cells in the body and it is called Ritoxin. Furthermore, ADEPT or antibody-directed enzyme prodrug therapy is a new form of cancer treatment that uses monoclonal antibodies. It should be noted though that this treatment still under development and not approved yet for treatment among the general population.

Today monoclonal antibody treatments are used for other types of diseases aside from cancer. Further advancement and research have helped develop monoclonal antibodies which are now used for many autoimmune diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis, macular degeneration, Crohn's disease, psoriasis and much more. The drugs used to treat autoimmune diseases that were created using monoclonal antibodies can be easily identified as the drug names all end in -mab, which stands for monoclonal antibody.

Although great strides in monoclonal antibody treatment have been made, many scientists believe that further research will yield even better results. So scientists are still continuing their research and study about these manufactured antibodies. In the future, with the help of modern technology, we hope to learn more about these treatments which potential could stop or slow diseases such as Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease to multiple sclerosis and many more.




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