Hi lotusbud,
I am afraid it is quite complicated to really understand our disease
, symptoms and treatment but we can all learn something from the reseachers.
DNA methylation involves the addition of a methyl group (CH3OH) to the 5 position of the cytosine pyrimidine ring or the number 6 nitrogen of the adenine purine ring (cytosine and adenine are two of the four bases of DNA).
Patients with myelodysplastic syndromes show a high prevalence of tumor-suppressor gene hypermethylation. DNA methyltransferase inhibitors, such as Vidaza and Dacogen, are therapeutic options for the treatment of MDS.
There are several methods to analyze DNA hypermethylation. This one - called pyrosequencing - is often used in trials:
http://www.nature.com/nprot/journal/....2007.314.html
I suppose it is very expensive to make this type of DNA methylation quantification so it is only done in trials.
Here are the results from a study of very low dose subcutaneous Dacogen administered daily or weekly times three in patients with lower risk myelodysplastic syndrome. The overall response rate was 32%
for the daily arm and 19% for the weekly (p=0.3).
http://ash.confex.com/ash/2009/webpr...aper20889.html
Kind regards
Birgitta-A