Does chocolate hold the key to cure HPV?
Source: Yahoo News Indulgent chocolate treats may be the best-known and most widely appreciated product of the cacao tree, but new scientific research from New York Based Cacao Biotechnologies is uncovering potential new applications for the antioxidant-rich beans which could spur an innovative approach to treating human papillomavirus (HPV), a precursor to cervical cancer. The human papillomavirus is the most common sexually transmitted infection (STI) in the United States, with an estimated 24 million active cases and 5.5 million new cases each year, according to the National Cancer Institute. HPV is the leading cause of cervical cancer in woman with more than 12,000 cases reported in the U.S. each year. HPV vaccines approved by the Food and Drug Administration are available, but they are not a cure and they can’t effectively prevent all strains of HPV infection in those who are sexually active. Existing vaccines are only proven effective against a small number of high-risk, cancer-causing HPV strains and are not free of serious side effects including convulsions and paralysis. While condoms can reduce the risk of HPV infection, the virus can still be transmitted simply through skin contact of areas not covered by the condom. Vaccination will not cure someone who is already infected with the virus, so even with massive public health education campaigns, HPV will not soon be eradicated because it is so widely spread in the adult population. According to Penny Hitchcock, Chief of the Sexually Transmitted Diseases Branch of the U.S. government’s National Division of [...]