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Biotech / Medical : NEXL -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Anthony G. Breuer who wrote (1246)	1/1/1998 6:51:00 PM
From: SIer formerly known as Joe B.	Respond to of 1704

This should work: library.newsday.com St John's wort is underlined because I searched for it to find the article.

To: Anthony G. Breuer who wrote (1246)	1/2/1998 7:58:00 AM
From: John Grabiec	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1704

Sorry about that everyone. Volume is looking good, and stock is miving again. How far, who knows?? This is the only dog that I am holding into 98 (really because it always seems to rebound a bit at the start of the new year). Here's the article: Herb Eyed for HIV / AIDS research focuses on St. John's wort By Judy Fischer. SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT. Judy Fischer is a freelance writer. ST. JOHN'S WORT, an herb used since ancient times to treat wounds and depression, is being studied by scientists to see if it will also kill the AIDS virus. Researchers at Brookhaven National Laboratory, State University at Stony Brook, New York University Medical Center, Iowa State University and other academic insitutions are zapping, tweaking and prodding the molecules and atoms in St. John's wort's active chemical, hypericin, to find out exactly how it works. "We know that the molecule seems to be turned on by light," said Brookhaven physical chemist Edward W. Castner. "We know that it can kill viruses. Now we want to know how it works on the atomic level. We have lasers that provide very, very short bursts of light - fifty quadrillionths of a second - so we can turn the hypericin on and watch it change." Castner explained: "We see a rearrangement of hydrogen atoms that occurs in about seven picoseconds - seven trillionths of a second. The rearrangement causes a proton to move and sometimes fall off, causing the surrounding area to become more acidic. This may be important to hypericin's toxicity to viruses. We already know that certain parts of the HIV virus can be damaged by too much acidity." Carole Carter, a professor in the Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology at Stony Brook, said she is looking at the effect of hypericin on the capsid - the coating - of the HIV protein. Hypericin appears to hold the coating together, which prevents the HIV virus from breaking apart and allowing the genetic material to escape to target other cells. Sick cows in the 1940s and 1950s motivated researchers to begin studying St. John's wort, as scientists realized that the cows became sick after grazing on the plant's yellowflowers in the sun and recovered when put in a dark barn. The cows were suffering from hypericism, or extreme sensitivity to light, caused by the hypericin in the St. John's wort. According to Pill-Soon Song, professor of biochemistry at the University of Nebraska, scientists have known for many years that some substances could kill cells in the presence of light. In 1991 researchers at Stony Brook and Iowa State University showed that hypericin must be exposed to light to kill viruses and was effective against equine infectious anemia virus, which is genetically releated to the human AIDS virus, HIV. "Hypericin is more powerful than other known photo-sensitizers," Song said, "and has a unique specificity for viruses." Castner said consumers should take St. John's wort only under a doctor's orders and at the recommended dosages. Like most chemicals, hypericin in its pure form is toxic. Some of the over-the-counter preparations of St. John's wort carry warnings about light sensitivity. Copyright 1997, Newsday Inc. Herb Eyed for HIV / AIDS research focuses on St. John's wort., 12-30-1997, pp C09.