As per lab studies at the Johns Hopkins Medicine, Maryland, a chemical discovered from the liver of the deadly sharks has been proven to an excellent option for ensuring slowdown of formation of new blood vessels that are destined to feed tumors and brain cancer.

Squalamine, recovered from Sharks, inhibits the growth of brain cancers (gliomas), which are implanted in the flanks of the rats after disabling the growth of blood vessel.

The studies also pointed out that squalamine can also prove to be effective in the treatment of patients with brain tumor and other diseases that are dependent on growth of new blood vessel, as per Henry Brem, M.D., director of neurosurgical oncology at Hopkins and senior author of the study.

From News.Bio-Medicine.Org:

Named for the shark genus Squalus, squalamine was discovered in 1992 by scientists who founded Magainin Pharmaceuticals, which processes the chemical and funded the Hopkins studies. Squalamine is the first of a new class of naturally occurring molecules, aminosterols, under development for human therapies.

Squalamine is isolated from the tissues of the dog shark. It blocks or interferes with several steps in a cascade of events involved in blood vessel growth. Based on the Hopkins laboratory work, it is currently in Phase I clinical trials at the University of Texas (San Antonio) and at Georgetown Cancer Center.

In these lab tests, squalamine proved itself as potent as carmustine (chemotherapeutic agent) when it comes to slowing down the growth of gliomas. It also slows down the future growth of new blood vessels that resulted due to tumors in the eyes of rabbits.

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