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Autologous immune enhancement therapy (AIET) is a treatment method in which immune cells are taken out from the patient's body which are cultured and processed to activate them until their resistance to cancer is strengthened and then the cells are put back in the body. The cells, antibodies, and organs of the immune system work to protect and defend the body against not only tumor cells but also bacteria or viruses. Cell division in any living organism is an integral part of life, as worn out cells have to be replaced by newly generated cells. This process of generating new cells varies between organs and the mechanisms involved are highly complex which include the nature and capability of the underlying stem cells, their environment, metabolism, physical and allied biological factors the organ or tissue is subjected to etc., Aberrant cell division takes place that ends up in a cancer cell and such aberrance may be due to faulty stem cell, abnormal genetic components or any other factor such as radiation or a constant irritation. Cancer is still a leading cause of death in the world yet much is still not known about its mechanisms of establishment and destruction. While surgery and/or chemo- and radiotherapies are various treatment modalities available, still in many cases they don’t offer a permanent cure. Another major point to be addressed about this killer disease is the relapse rate which is very high. Researchers have found that these cells mainly target the cancer cells and not the healthy cells whereas in chemotherapy and radiotherapy the healthy cells are also getting destroyed. ==Mechanism of action== Cancer cells are formed in our body almost everyday but we are not affected by them. This is because it is immediately destroyed by the body's immune system. The immune system is a complex network of cells and organs comprising lymphocytes, macrophages, Dendritic cells, Natural Killer cells (NK Cell), Cytotoxic T Lymphocytes (CTL), etc., that work together to defend the body against attacks by "foreign" or "non-self" invaders including cancer cells. Immediately upon a cancer cell is recognized, the Lymphocytes and/or the NK cells attack the cancer cell to kill it .When the immune system is weaker, then cancer evolves as a disease and starts growing. Each type of cancer needs a specific combination of treatments aimed at their particular kind of cancer. When the extent of spread of cancer is deep, total removal of the cancer growth by surgery may not be possible. At times, after surgical removal of a part of the cancer, radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy may be necessary to treat the remnant portion of cancer. It widely known that Chemotherapy has profound toxic side effects and has limitations in efficacy. Radiotherapy is also a very effective mode of treatment in certain types of cancer, but it has its own adverse effects as well. These two modalities affect not only the cancer affected cells, but also the normal cells Now in AIET, specific type of cells mainly the NK cells and T lymphocytes are isolated from the peripheral blood of the cancer patients (during remission in patients who undergo chemotherapy) by proven methods, expanded to 25–30 fold and activated and then reinfused back into the patient’s body. These cells act against the cancer cells effectively and recharge the immune system. Upon encountering a tumor cell, the activated NK cell attaches to the membrane of the cancer cell and injects toxic granules which dissolve the target cell. In less than five minutes, the cancer cell dies and the NK cell moves on to its next target cancer cell. A single NK cell can destroy up to 27 cancer cells before its lifespan. This is the mechanism by which AIET is effective in cancer therapy. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Autologous immune enhancement therapy」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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