Wednesday, 19 June 2019

Boswellia during radiation


Hi Stephen/others,

Do you think it is a bad idea to use Boswellia during radiation? -  A week ago I started Boswellia Serrata Extract (Wokvel) 333mg three times a day after having a seizure on radiation day #11 out of 30 sessions.  There is the thought that the radiation and Temodar 180mg daily are causing some edema.   I have started taking keppra 500mg in AM and 750mg in PM.  I am not on any steroids(dexamethasone).  I have been told that research has shown signs of Boswellia having pretty strong antioxidant properties-  but I do not have the source(s) for that thought.  So now I am concerned that Boswellia may not be great to take right now if it could interfere with the radiation treatments? 

Also, I don’t know if I should actively pursue changing to Valproic Acid to capture any potential benefits it could have as a radio-sensitizer?  Any opinion?

Thanks,
Mike
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2 comments:

  1. Stephen W20 June 2019 at 22:42

    Hi Mike,
    The major evidence in favor of Boswellia in glioma comes from studies where it was given during radiation.
    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21287538

    As you know, the topic of antioxidants and radiation is very complex (see Ben Williams)
    https://virtualtrials.com/pdf/williamssupplements2014.pdf

    Most oncologists say to steer clear of antioxidants during radiation, but there is actually evidence of some agents known as antioxidants to improve outcomes after radiation (for example pterostilbene + radiation in mouse studies, CBD+THC + radiation in mouse studies, melatonin + radiation in small a small GBM trial). I think probably one of the reasons for these findings is that a substance is not JUST an antioxidant. It might do many things and have other important functions that complement radiation. I've never seen hard evidence that Boswellia interferes with radiation.

    I wouldn't trust lower does valproic acid to have reliable radiosensitizing properties. The higher dose they used in the phase 2 clinical trial may though (25 mg/kg/day divided into two daily doses of Depakote). It's possible to take Keppra and Valproic acid at the same time

    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3688020/

    but you might consider tapering the dose of Keppra as you increase the VPA dose. I would also seek doctor supervision for this. How many radiation sessions do you have left?

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  2. Semyon21 June 2019 at 06:51

    By the way, there is a new study on Boswellia in 20 patients with glioblastoma:
    2019 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31096725

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