Doctors Discover New Organ in Human Body To Help Treat Cancer
Scientists discovered a new organ in the body that turns out to be one of the largest. The interstitium is a series of fluid-filled compartments found beneath the skin, and could hold the key to understanding the spread of one of humanity’s biggest medical dilemmas: cancer.
Originally perceived as connective tissue, the interstitium has eluded doctors and biologists as an organ of its own, with a specific task of transporting and filtering fluids throughout the body.
Before this discovery, it was assumed that our skin was the largest organ, but now the interstitium may prove to be even larger. This new distinction would mark the body’s 80th organ.
The word interstitium derives from the Latin “inter,” meaning between, and “sistere,” meaning to place, –  the place between. Doctors believe this in between organ may also act as a sort of cushioning to keep our organs safe.
The interstitium is the source of lymph, where white blood cells are transmitted to fight infections. It is also important for transporting protein from the blood to a multitude of organs and cells.
Researchers still need to confirm whether it qualifies as an organ, but a new perception of the interstitium seems promising for tracking and advancing the spread of diseases. While the tissue is important for transporting fluids throughout the body, it is also likely to be responsible for spreading cancer.
The organ was originally looked over because of its pervasiveness and the way it was studied. In the past, doctors sliced into the interstitium during biopsies, upon which all of its fluid would drain, leaving it flat and solid.
But now through an endoscopy procedure, in which doctors examine organs using a tiny camera attached to a thin, flexible tube, they gained a new perspective on the interstitium and the important role it plays in supporting bodily functions.
The paper published in the journal Nature says the existence of the location and structure of larger inter- and intra-tissue spaces is described vaguely in literature and that in vivo advances in microscopy were responsible for better understanding it. These advances will likely lead to further discoveries in the future, while also showing just how much we still have to learn about our own anatomy.
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Water-Only Fasting Protocols Found to Enhance Cancer Treatments
Intermittent fasting has become popular for health and weight loss. But could fasting also be a highly effective tool for fighting and reversing cancer?
Across the world, nearly every culture has a tradition of fasting, but in our modern lives we’ve created a world of surplus and with it a constant and easily satiated hunger. With this excess food, our society has become plagued by diseases of excess.
Dr. Alan Goldhamer is the founder of True North Health Foundation, a therapeutic clinic for water-only fasting that helps patients suffering from a range of illnesses including hypertension, inflammation, autoimmune disorders, and cancer.
“We’ve gone from being criminal quacks to cutting-edge researchers because this idea of fasting has definitely gained some popular support,” Goldhamer said. “Our approach is very different, we believe that there is a cause of real health and the cause of health is healthful living. So, we focus on diet, sleep, (and) exercise, and we use fasting to undo the consequences of dietary excess, essentially. That’s why the conditions that respond the best to fasting are the conditions caused by dietary excess – so, obesity, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, Type II diabetes, autoimmune diseases, and certain forms of cancer, including Lymphoma.Â
Studies have shown that fasting acts to help the body’s natural ability to destroy dead or diseased cells — a process called autophagy. Now, doctors have begun to study how fasting protocols in conjunction with drugs, such as chemotherapy, can improve the efficacy of cancer treatment.
“It turns out autophagy is the process the body uses to get rid of cellular debris — aging cells and cancer cells — and it turns out that fasting is one of those things that may profoundly enhance autophagy in, not just humans, but also in other animals. In fact in rats, if you do periodic fasting with rats you can double their lifespan (everything else being equal). So, this is something that’s very interesting and promising. I don’t know that we have what I would consider definitive research on the issue, but it certainly raises one of the mechanisms by which fasting may also be effective,” Goldhamer said.
