Charlotte Gyllenhaal

University of Illinois at Chicago | UIC · Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacognosy

Objectives Cancer patients routinely exhibit dysfunctional circadian organization. Indeed, a dysfunctional circadian organization is a hallmark of advanced cancer. A cohort of advanced cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy was recruited to investigate whether manipulating exposure to blue light could restore or ameliorate their circadian organiza...

A comprehensive approach to integrative treatment of colorectal cancer (CRC) patients involves three spheres of intervention: lifestyle, biology, and conventional treatment. Individualization of treatment is emphasized. The lifestyle sphere includes nutritional therapies, biobehavioral strategies with circadian interventions, and physical care moda...

e21650 Background: Cancer patients develop symptoms that are pathognomonic of a failing circadian organization [CO]. Our concurrent study of 84 advanced cancer patients on randomly timed chemotherapy revealed that each suffered more disrupted circadian rhythms, sleep disorders, anxiety/depression, and quality of life scores compared to healthy age-...

Targeted therapies and the consequent adoption of “personalized” oncology have achieved notable successes in some cancers; however, significant problems remain with this approach. Many targeted therapies are highly toxic, costs are extremely high, and most patients experience relapse after a few disease-free months. Relapses arise from genetic hete...

Targeted therapies and the consequent adoption of “personalized” oncology have achieved notable successes in some cancers; however, significant problems remain with this approach. Many targeted therapies are highly toxic, costs are extremely high, and most patients experience relapse after a few disease-free months. Relapses arise from genetic hete...

Integrative medicine is an approach to health and healing that "makes use of all appropriate therapeutic approaches, health care professionals, and disciplines to achieve optimal health and healing." A comprehensive integrative medicine intervention for cancer patients typically includes nutritional counseling, biobehavioral strategies, and promoti...

The present study reports cases of advanced cancer patient taking an extract of Nerium oleander now in Phase 1 clinical trials in cancer patients. A phytochemical constituent of the extract, oleandrin, has multiple anticancer activities including inhibition of NF-kappaB and induction of apoptosis. We present case reports of 9 metastatic cancer pati...

More and more people living with and beyond cancer seek integrative interventions to complement their conventional cancer care. This second edition of this online resource provides the most updated information available with new chapters on Music and Expressive Arts Therapies, Naturopathic Oncology, and an integrative approach to Lung Cancer. Integ...

Abstract Daily rhythms of light/darkness, activity/rest and feeding/fasting are important in human physiology and their disruption (for example by frequent changes between day and night shifts) increases the risk of disease. Many of the diseases found to be associated with such disrupted circadian lifestyles, including cancer, cardiovascular diseas...

Focus Areas: Integrative Algorithms of Care Integrative cancer treatment fully blends conventional cancer treatment with integrative therapies such as diet, supplements, exercise and biobehavioral approaches. The Life Over Cancer model comprises three spheres of intervention: improving lifestyle, improving biochemical environment (terrain), and imp...

Whether natural product drug discovery programs should rely on wild plants collected "randomly" from the natural environment, or whether they should also include plants collected on the basis of use in traditional medicine remains an open question. This study analyzes whether plants with ethnomedical uses from Vietnam and Laos have a higher hit rat...

An ethnobotany-based approach in the selection of raw plant materials to study was implemented. To acquire raw plant materials using ethnobotanical field interviews as starting point to discover new bioactive compounds from medicinal plants of the Lao People's Democratic Republic. Using semi-structured field interviews with healers in the Lao PDR,...

Recent studies based on epidemiological models published in this journal and elsewhere have demonstrated encouraging patterns suggesting that herbal treatment may improve prognosis in advanced colon and lung cancer patients. Various problems exist with data from nonrandomized studies of this type, but a strong signal of potential positive effect ca...

Recent studies based on epidemiological models published in this journal and elsewhere have demonstrated encouraging patterns suggesting that herbal treatment may improve prognosis in advanced colon and lung cancer patients. Various problems exist with data from nonrandomized studies of this type, but a strong signal of potential positive effect ca...

Practical circadian therapy for the cancer patient involves 3 spheres of intervention-improving lifestyle, optimizing internal biochemical milieu, and adjusting treatment times. The potential value of improving overall circadian functioning is shown in the work of Mormont et al in which pronounced rest-activity rhythms were associated with better s...

Pharmacologically active phytochemicals (botanical therapeutics) have been used historically to treat and prevent diseases. In the US, botanical therapeutics can be developed as food additives, dietary supplements, and drugs containing a single plant-derived bioactive or mixture of bioactives. Conventional approaches to drug discovery from plants,...

Integrative cancer treatment is of substantial interest to many cancer patients. Research is needed to evaluate the effects of integrative treatment on patient outcomes. We report survival data for a consecutive case series of advanced metastatic breast cancer patients who received a comprehensive clinical program combining conventional treatments...

Abstract Lapachol is a naphthaquinone of natural origin with reported oncolytic activity. However, earlier antitumor studies were inhibited by inadequate blood levels, allegedly due to formulation difficulties. This present study shows that water solubility is markedly influenced by pH, varying from 1.5 μg/mL at pH 4.0 to 5 mg/mL at pH 10.0. Evalua...

Much debate has focused on whether antioxidants interfere with the efficacy of cancer chemotherapy. The objective of this study is to systematically review the randomized, controlled clinical trial evidence evaluating the effects of concurrent use of antioxidants with chemotherapy on toxic side effects. We performed a search of literature from 1966...

No abstract necessary for tumor board.

Introduction. The Block Center for Integrative Cancer Treatment is a community based medical center that offers cancer chemotherapy in a setting of integrative medicine, including dietary counseling, use of selected herbs and other supplements, physical care modalities such as massage and yoga, fitness training, support groups and psychological car...

Much debate has arisen about whether antioxidant supplementation alters the efficacy of cancer chemotherapy. Some have argued that antioxidants scavenge the reactive oxygen species integral to the activity of certain chemotherapy drugs, thereby diminishing treatment efficacy. Others suggest antioxidants may mitigate toxicity and thus allow for unin...

This case of a 45-year-old woman with metastatic breast cancer, currently receiving Taxol/Avastin therapy was referred to Gaurang Clinic and Centre for Homeopathic Research (GCCHR), Lucknow, for analysis of the case from the homeopathic point of view and to depict how a homeopathic physician integrates the information from the questionnaire for the...

The impact of the University of Illinois at Chicago-based Vietnam-Laos International Cooperative Biodiversity Group (ICBG) Program "Studies on Biodiversity of Vietnam and Laos", which has been in operation for the period of 1998-2005, touches on five major areas of endeavor: (a) biodiversity inventory and conservation; (b) studies on medicinal plan...

Natural Products have been the most significant source of drugs and drug leads in history. Their dominant role in cancer chemotherapeutics is clear with about 74% of anticancer compounds being either natural products, or natural product-derived. The biodiversity of the world provides a resource of unlimited structural diversity for bioprospecting b...

Amifostine is a pharmacological antioxidant used as a cytoprotectant in cancer chemotherapy and radiotherapy. It is thought to protect normal tissues relative to tumor tissue against oxidative damage inflicted by cancer therapies by becoming concentrated at higher levels in normal tissues. The degree to which amifostine nevertheless accumulates in...

Ethnobotany/ethnopharmacology has contributed to the discovery of many important plant-derived drugs. Field explorations to seek and document indigenous/traditional medical knowledge (IMK/TMK), and/or the biodiversity with which the IMK/TMK is attached, and its conversion into a commercialized product is known as bioprospecting or biodiversity pros...

Integrative cancer care (ICC) is the treatment of patients with cancer, under physician supervision, with appropriate conventional treatments in a healing context based on insights from research on nutrition, biochemistry, exercise, and psycho-oncology. It uses validated techniques and practitioners of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM),...

Insomnia and other sleep disturbances are common in cancer patients. Insomnia is a multifactorial health concern that currently affects at least 1 in 3 cancer patients, and yet most insomnia sufferers do not consult their physician regarding pharmaceutical options for relief. Use of hypnotic drugs (primarily benzodiazepines) is associated with incr...

The Convention on Biodiversity mandates a new approach to the discovery of natural product drugs, one that incorporates concepts of national ownership of genetic resources, intellectual property rights in traditional knowledge, and sharing of economic benefits with countries that are the source of new natural products. The International Cooperative...

Integrative cancer care (ICC) is the treatment of patients with cancer, under physician supervision, with appropriate conventional treatments in a healing context based on insights from research on nutrition, biochemistry, exercise, and psycho-oncology. It uses validated techniques and practitioners of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM),...

Panax ginseng is a plant that has been used in traditional medicine in China for thousands of years. It is used as a general tonic or adaptogen with chronically ill patients and is frequently featured in traditional medicine prescriptions from China, Japan, and Korea used by cancer patients. The putative active compounds are the ginsenosides, of wh...

Interactions between herbal medicines and conventional drugs have recently been reported; the most significant herb with such drug interactions is Saint John's wort, an inducer of cytochrome P450 3A3/4, an enzyme responsible for clearance of many clinically important drugs from the body. Foods (especially grapefruit) and habits or lifestyle factors...

Products containing Echinacea are some of the best selling and most widely used botanical dietary supplements in the United States. Commercial Echinacea extracts are manufactured primarily from 3 Echinacea species, namely Echinacea purpurea (herb, roots, or seeds), E. angustifolia (roots), and E. pallida (roots). Current recommendations for use of...

An International Cooperative Biodiversity Group (ICBG) program based at the University of Illinois at Chicago initiated its activities in 1998, with the following specific objectives: (a) inventory and conservation of plants of Cuc Phuong National Park in Vietnam and of medicinal plants of Laos; (b) drug discovery (and development) based on plants...

Both Korean and Siberian ginseng are used extensively for the enhancement of mental and physical performance. However, results from recent randomized, controlled clinical trials do not substantiate the purported ergogenic effects of ginseng in healthy individuals. Nevertheless, there is some evidence (both human and animal studies) to suggest that...

World-wide use of herbal medicines is increasing, following regulatory and manufacturing developments. Herbs are attractive alternative medications to many patients with sleep disorders, who may be averse to using conventional drugs. We review here the most common herbal stimulants and sedatives. Caffeine, in herbal teas, black tea, coffee, soft dr...

Difficulties with sleep and daytime sleepiness are common complaints among adults in the United States. During the past decade, the use of herbal preparations among adults increased from 2.5% to 12.4%. This article presents relevant aspects of the 1994 Dietary Supplements Health and Education Act that stimulated the proliferation of herbal medicina...

The UIC-based ICBG is a multidisciplinary, international research program, comprised of one academic institution (PCRPS/UIC, the base institution), two research institutions (NCST, Vietnam; RIMP, Laos), one national park (CPNP, Vietnam), and one industrial partner (GW). The goals of this ICBG are (a) to perform inventory and to promote the conserva...

The first Interim Annual Meeting of the American Society of Pharmacognosy was held October 20-22, 1994, in San Jose, Costa Rica. In the symposium, which was the main scientific focus of the meeting, speakers from both developed and developing countries presented their perspectives on issues regarding intellectual property rights in regard to drug d...

NAPRALERT (Natural Products ALERT) is a specialized database which contains information derived from the literature on medicinal folklore, biological activity, and the chemistry of organisms of potential or actual pharmaceutical interest: plants make up about 75 per cent of the organisms included. The database is relational in design and is managed...

Field enquiries on the plants used to treat diseases in villages of Seberida Municipality indicated that a large number of plant species (at least 100) are being used in therapy. Many of the uses, however, are magical in nature. Those in which a cause-effect relationship may be established (56) are presented in this paper. A review of the ethnomedi...

Plant-derived drugs are of major importance to the health and well-being of mankind. Although many of these useful drugs have been synthesized, very few are produced commercially by synthesis. Thus, the plant source remains extremely important, not only in producing drugs, but in providing novel biologically active model compounds from which potent...

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Alabama, 1984. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 325-334). Microfilm of typescript. s