The silybin in milk thistle may help treat Cushing’s disease caused by an adenoma of the pituitary gland, Nature Medicine reports.
Cushing’s disease is caused by excessive secretion of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) by the pituitary gland, accompanied by an increase in the stress hormone cortisol. Patients gain weight quickly, develop high blood pressure and muscle weakness; they are also more prone to osteoporosis and infections, as well as cognitive decline and depression. In 80-85 percent. tumor cases can be removed surgically.
Scientists from the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry in Munich, during studies on human and animal cancer tissues, as well as in laboratory mice, found that silybin restored the level of ACTH secreted to normal, slowed down the development of cancer, and reduced the symptoms of the disease in rodents.
At the start of the study, scientists identified very high levels of HSP90 in the tissues of patients with Cushing’s disease. This protein belongs to the heat shock protein family, i.e. those whose expression is increased by stress factors such as temperature.
Normally, this protein is responsible for the proper folding of another protein, the glucocorticoid receptor (NR3C1), which in turn inhibits the production of ACTH. However, an excess of HSP90 causes the protein to prevent the receptor from working properly. Thanks to the use of silybin, the receptor is able to release the HSP90 target and return to normal functioning, explains the author of the study, Dr. Marcelo Paez-Pereda.
Silybin is a flavonoid with anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. It is used, among others in the treatment of poisoning and liver diseases. Scientists hope that it will also aid in the treatment of Cushing’s disease in the future. (PAP)