Broccoli Could Treat Devastating Genetic Skin Disorder

Broccoli is good for you. Literally. The chemical compounds found in broccoli have proven beneficial at preventing cancer. Scientists have determined that broccoli can fight yet another disease.

In a recent press release, researchers at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine announced that the chemical compound, sulforaphene, which naturally occurs in broccoli, is effective at treating a skin disease that is genetic named epidermolysis bullosa simplex, or EBS.

EBS is a very rare, genetic disease. Unlike other diseases, you cannot "catch" this from someone or something - it is passed down from parent to child. A person inflicted with epidermolysis bullosa simplex will have blisters that erupt on their skin.

While most people can scratch or rub their skin without concern, this isn't the case for those suffering with EBS. Simply scratching or rubbing on the skin can cause these blisters to appear.

Until now, there were not many treatment options for EBS. This new research appears to open the door to a new range of treatment options that researchers hope to develop to help those suffering from EBS.

One of the compounds that naturally occur in broccoli, sulforaphane, has shown that it is safe to use on human skin, and can help the skin heal from these blisters. Researchers note that they are in the beginning stages of their research, and that additional research, as well as clinical trials, would need to be conducted before this treatment could be released to the general population.

Researchers discovered that EBS was a keratin-based disease over fifteen years ago. This novel research opened the door to the discovery that proteins and genetic defects were related can caused over 40 other disorders in addition to epidermolysis bullosa simplex.

People who have this disease have missing keratins in their skin. Keratins are specific types of proteins that are found in our bodies that have a multitude of different functions. Like other mammals, we have a total of 54 keratin proteins that are considered "conserved."

"Conserved" means that during evolution, processes were at work that assured the survival of these 54 keratins. Their importance cannot be understated since their survival was critical in the evolutionary process.

While many of these keratins have specific functions, others appear to be redundant. That is, specific keratins can have overlapping functions so that if there is a problem with one specific keratin, another keratin can step in and fulfill a similar, function.

People who suffer from EBS are missing the necessary keratins that protect the skin, causing their skin to form blisters from any type of minor irritation. Researchers hope that the compounds found in broccoli, that can heal the skin, will lead to effective treatment for EBS sufferers.

Sources:
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-12/asfc-nci102407.php
http://www.bion-research.com/skin_&_calcium.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epidermolysis_bullosa_simplex
http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition=epidermolysisbullosasimplex