Limit Chemo Pain with a Chemical Added to Dog Food

There is a chemical added to dog food to keep it fresh that might be able to help prevent painful side effects from the cancer drug Taxol. Four out of five Taxol users experience hand and feet pain, called peripheral neuropathy. Some completely recover, while others have to live with debilitating pain for the rest of their lives. Researchers at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have conducted experiments testing ethoxyquin, originally developed as an antioxidant to prevent foods from becoming discolored and spoiling, as an aid in making cells more resistant to Taxol toxicity. Taxol, a common cancer drug for breast and ovarian cancer, can cause nerve degeneration. By adding ethoxyquin to dosages on a nerve cell line and in mice, researchers observed that the ethoxyquin prevented nerve degeneration two thirds of the time. Researchers would like to expand studies into humans after additional safety testing. These findings will most likely also be applicable to other neurodegenerative issues as well, such as those caused by HIV and Diabetes among others.