Thanks for taking the time to read this

The Astro Fund are involved in three studies which I’d like to support:

Katie Sheen, the founder, wrote to me:
“We support a number of brain tumour patients wishing to use ketogenic diet therapy alongside their standard treatment, in partnership with the leading UK Ketogenic Diet Charity, Matthew’s Friends. Together we are about to publish the largest series of case studies in the world, and are working towards a clinical trial in partnership with the charity Brain Tumour Research at Imperial College and Charing Cross Hospital, London. So many people want to know if diet can affect the course of their low-grade brain tumour and we are aiming to find them an answer.

We are also funding a project at University of Nottingham that is testing cannabidiol on low-grade brain tumour cell lines. We are very aware of how many people are adding this unregulated, unlicensed drug to their complementary medicine regimes, so we urgently need to establish the best form of the oil and which dosages are most effective: and indeed, which tumour types are likely to respond best (if at all). The next steps would be into clinical trials and then ultimately gathering evidence that, if positive, could be used to lobby NICE for NHS approval: but there are so many questions that need to be answered in the laboratories before we get to that stage.

Our third funding stream is to support the South West Low-Grade Brain Tumour Centre of Excellence based at University of Plymouth, again in partnership with Brain Tumour Research. Here the team led by Professor Oliver Hanemann have identified genes that trigger the development of low and high-grade brain tumours, as well as those that cause brain tumours to change from low to high-grade.. They are now testing various drugs in the laboratory and some in early stage clinical trials that target these genetic changes. This includes, for example, working towards a combination therapy of temozolomide plus drugs that target the tumour micro-environment in low-grade astrocytomas; such as by affecting the blood vessels that develop in order to help the tumour grow.”

Please donate what you can.