Cancer Research And Early Discoveries
In the year 1938, the cancer scientist and researcher in the person of Paul Gerhardt Seeger, M.D., disclosed that the real cause of the cancerous degeneration of a cell is traced from from the damage of a special respiratory enzyme, cytochrome oxidase. In other words, cell malignancy is attributed to the disturbance of oxygen usage, or cell respiration.
Dr. Seeger implemented experimentations with hundreds of histo-chemical methods in the Department of Cell and Virus Research in the Robert Koch Institute of Berlin, Germany. Later work at Humbolt University in Berlin in 1956, after approximately ten years of work at Charite Hospital, corroborated his earlier research results of 1938. What Dr. Seeger found was that inactivation or damage of the enzyme cytochrome oxidase triggers a malfunction of the metabolism in the early phases of the generation of energy in the mitochondria.
Mitochondria complete their function of generating energy thru an oxygen intensive process called oxidative phosphorylation. Through a series of biochemical reactions, carbohydrates, fats, and proteins are chopped down into smaller units. Carbon dioxide and hydrogen are discharged in the process. The carbon dioxide, a form of toxic waste, is rapidly discarded. The hydrogen ion is carried by the electron transport chain, eventually blending with molecular oxygen to produce a water by product . The energy generated from our food components is then saved in the form of a universal energy molecule called adenosine-triphosphate (ATP).
When the enzyme cytochrome oxidase is inactivated or extinguished, excess hydrogen accumulates in the cell as oxidative phosphorylation comes to a stop. The cell still needs energy, however, and is drawn to shift over to a low efficient way of energy synthesis taking place in the area around cytoplasm. This results in the transformation of only about 20% of the potential energy that could be supplied, and only about one fifth of possible ATP storage. Less energy is produced for the cell’s use, and low energy is stored.
With the cell’s main energy generators, syntheses now significantly reduced, the foundation is laid for cancerous degeneration. Any troubles involving the operation and functioning of the mitochondria have a bad implication on all energy-requiring functions of our body. More than just the cell in which the defective mitochondria is located can be affected, the lower energy level can affect other organs, or even the body as a whole.
Jason Myers is a professional writer and he writes mostly about cancer treatment guide news. He’s also interested in cancer treatment research.