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HPV Cream
Human papillomaviruses, or HPVs, are a group of viruses that can infect cells of the skin and mucous membranes, resulting in the production of warts. These warts, or papillomas, are for the most part, benign tumors. They can occur on the skin as common skin warts, on the feet (called plantar warts), on the genitalia (as a sexually transmitted infection), and even on the anus and in the mouth and upper throat as a result of engaging in anal/or oral sexual activities. Genital warts can be particularly problematic in women. This is because both precancerous cervical cell abnormalities and cervical cancer can develop in women persistently infected with specific types of HPV. HPV has been very much in the news lately because of the recent availability of a vaccine, Gardasil, against four sexually transmitted types of this virus. The vaccine is designed to protect against the major HPVs that have been linked to cervical cancer. As it has been acknowledged that HPV infection is a critical factor in the development of the vast majority of cervical cancers, the thinking has been that vaccination of children (mainly females, although males are also protected against HPV infections by these specific HPV types) before they become sexually active will eventually result in protection against cervical cancer. It has been suggested that vaccination of girls as young as 9 years old should be mandatory. Setting aside the ethical concerns regarding the widespread use of Gardasil, the vaccine has several major limitations. First, it is not yet known how long the vaccine will prevent infection by the various types of HPV known to cause genital warts (and by implication, cervical cancer), as there are no long-term effectiveness data available. Secondly, while it is claimed that the vaccine protects against 90 percent of the HPV types that cause genital warts and 70 percent of the types that are linked to cervical cancer, use of the vaccine does not address HPV types other than the four specifically used in the vaccine. There are approximately 30 HPV types known to be sexually transmitted, a dozen of which are associated with cervical cancer. Finally, and most importantly, the vaccine cannot protect persons already infected with these viruses. Estimates of infection rates for adult women are as high as 75 percent. There are, of course, a variety of both physical techniques (cryosurgery, lasers, etc.), drug, and chemical treatments available for dealing with warts, whether they occur on the skin, in the genital areas or around the anus. Topical wart treatments include the chemical salicylic acid, drugs such as the immunomodulator imiquimod (Aldara®), and preparations containing the fairly toxic substances 5-fluorouracil and podophyllotoxin. Unfortunately, while all these treatments can treat the warts themselves, they do not eliminate the virus, so the warts can reappear. But there has been promising research in a novel approach to treating HPV - using an unusual protein-fatty acid complex - alpha-lactalbumin combined with oleic acid - that can selectively kill cells infected with the virus while sparing normal, uninfected cells. Alpha-lactalbumin and oleic acid are the principal ingredients of HPV Topical Cream. How the alpha-lactalbumin-oleic acid combination was found to be effective against HPV-infected cells is an interesting story. One could say there are elements of Shakespearean drama in this tale, since it involves HAMLET and a certain Scandinavian country - in this case, Sweden. Read on: Anders Hakansson, Catharina Svanborg and colleagues from the University of Lund, Sweden, studying the effects of human breast milk on bacterial adhesion to human cells, happened to be using a human lung cancer cell line in their experiments. Because they were using a cancer cell line rather than normal human cells, they made an accidental discovery: Certain human milk proteins killed the lung cancer cells. Specifically, they found that the cancer cells died by a process known as apoptosis, or programmed cell death. Normal cells were not affected by human breast milk, and cancer cells were unaffected by bovine milk. Through further analysis of the breast milk, it was found that the substance responsible for the anticancer activity was a specific protein, alpha-lactalbumin. While the native form of this protein has no cell-killing properties, a specific physical state formed in the presence of calcium induced the cancer cell killing effect. Their findings were subsequently published in the prestigious Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (volume 92, pages 8064-8068, 1995). Next, the same group of researchers set out to produce a stabilized anticancer form of alpha-lactalbumin from the native protein. They achieved this through protein folding changes involving a cofactor, the fatty acid known as oleic acid. The resulting lactalbumin-oleic acid complex was given the name HAMLET, for Human Alpha-lactalbumin Made LEthal to Tumor cells (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 97:4221-226, 2000) Realizing that HPV transforms cells (i.e., makes them cancer-like) and that the resulting warts - papillomas - are benign tumors, the Swedish researchers conducted a placebo-controlled clinical trial involving 40 patients (male and female) to determine if topical alpha-lactalbumin-oleic acid complex applied daily for three weeks could effectively treat skin warts. The results, published in the New England Journal of Medicine (350:2663-2672, 2004) revealed a 75 percent reduction in wart volume in 88 of 92 warts from patients in the treatment group, whereas in the placebo control group there was a comparable volume reduction in only 15 of 74 patients. These were highly statistically significant findings. In a follow-up of these same individuals two years later, the warts had completely healed (resolved) in 83 percent of the treated patients. Furthermore, the time to resolution was only 2.4 months in the treatment group versus 9.9 months in the control group. The authors concluded that "treatment with topical alpha-lactalbumin-oleic acid has a beneficial and lasting effect on skin papillomas." The bonus here is that while topical treatments such as salicylic acid also have high cure rates, the use of a topical preparation containing the alpha-lactalbumin-oleic acid complex has the potential to reduce or eliminate the actual virus-infected cells while not harming the surrounding cells and tissues. The other potential use for this preparation is in the treatment of various types of skin cancers. Based on its mechanism of killing transformed cells, HAMLET is being investigated by a number of research groups as a cancer treatment. HAMLET delivered internally has already shown in vivo activity against various forms of cancer, such as glioblastoma*. Clinical trials with topical alpha-lactalbumin-oleic acid preparations for treating squamous cell cancers and other forms of skin cancer are in progress. One thing is certain: With a product such as HPV Topical Cream available to treat warts, no one will be saying "alas, poor virus"! * Glioblastoma A malignant form of astrocytoma** histologically characterized by pleomorphism of cells, nuclear atypia, microhemorrhage, and necrosis. They may arise in any region of the central nervous system, with a predilection for the cerebral hemispheres, basal ganglia, and commissural pathways. Clinical presentation most frequently occurs in the fifth or sixth decade of life with focal neurologic signs or seizures. ** Astrocytoma Neoplasms of the brain and spinal cord derived from glial cells which vary from histologically benign forms to highly anaplastic and malignant tumors. Fibrillary astrocytomas are the most common type and may be classified in order of increasing malignancy (grades I through IV). In the first two decades of life, astrocytomas tend to originate in the cerebellar hemispheres; in adults, they most frequently arise in the cerebrum and frequently undergo malignant transformation. Ingredients: Deionized Water, Behentrimonium Methosulfate, Cetearyl Alcohol, Alpha-lactalbumin, Medium Chain Triglycerides, Oleic Acid, Shea Butter, Lecithin, Cetyl Alcohol, Sodium Hydroxymethylglycinate, Potassium Sorbate, Citric Acid, Xanthan Gum 2 ounces For external use only. Store in a cool, dry place out of direct sunlight.
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