Dose Evaluation Safety STudy IN Individuals With Astrocytoma Taking PolyMVA

This is a Phase I Safety Study which investigates the role of PolyMVA as a supplement in grade IV astrocytoma patients. The primary endpoint of this study is safety/tolerability. This supplement, PolyMVA, is a uniquely formulated combination of minerals, vitamins, and amino acids. The principle ingredient is the Palladium Lipoic Acid Complex (PdLA). There is no free alpha-lipoic acid or free palladium in Poly MVA; they are bound together (Garnett 1995, Krishnan and Garnett 2005). PolyMVA is both water and lipid soluble. It is uniquely arranged in a liquid crystal polymer structure, allowing it to store a great deal of energy, and thus serve as a semi-conductor. The overall function of this polymer is that it provides a unified redox reaction (accepts and donates charge), and acts as a highly effective energy-transferring molecule. It is able to rapidly and efficiently transfer electron charge to DNA, protecting non-cancerous cells from the oxidative damage of radiation and chemotherapy. Over the past years neuroscientists from our institution have used tissue culture techniques to study the effects of PolyMVA (PdLA) on the apoptotic cell death cascade in cancer cells. The work was predicated on the Nobel Prize winning discovery by Dr. Otto Warburg that cancerous tumors are oxygen deficient and rely upon anaerobic metabolism for energy production. Malignant cells have thus adapted to function in a hypoxic environment; however, since anaerobic metabolism produces less energy per unit of fuel, tumor cells are less efficient at energy production than normal healthy cells. PolyMVA (PdLA) takes advantage of this metabolic situation. PolyMVA (PdLA), by transferring excess electrons to malignant cells (which are functioning in a limited oxygen environment), is responsible for the selective generation of free radicals within the mitochondrial membrane of malignant cells. Free radical generation in this region facilitates cytochrome c release, activation of the apoptotic cascade, and, ultimately, cancer cell death. Furthermore, electrochemistry data and ischemia data from our institution both have elucidated that shuttled electrons do not go directly to DNA, but pass via the mitochondria. (This route was determined by competitively blocking the efficiency of PolyMVA (PdLA) with free alpha lipoic acid, which works at complex I of the mitochondria.) Therefore, electrons, en route to DNA, are shunted down the electron transport chain. The result: enhanced cellular energy in a non-malignant cell. (Clinically, this is a process which would not only benefit cancer patients who, as a result of toxic therapeutic regimens and cancerous invasion, are energy-depleted; but this would also benefit normal healthy subjects who experience fatigue, or, who are simply looking for an energy boost.) Poly MVA not only functions as an energy-transferring molecule, but also as a free radical scavenger (it is able to quench radical species). It is the combination of these activities, which may benefit cells exposed to ischemic conditions. During an ischemic insult, Poly MVA has the ability to shuttle electrons from the plasma cell membrane to the mitochondria, and thus stabilize the vulnerable electron transfer chain. Additionally, its liquid crystal polymer activity has the ability to quench any radicals generated upon reperfusion. This non-toxic novel supplement may therefore serve as a potent anti-ischemia agent. Hypothesis: Eight teaspoon daily dosage of PolyMVA in grade IV astrocytoma patients is safe and well-tolerated.