Word: busulfan
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Dates: during 2004-2004
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...conducted several experiments to test it. In one, they looked for and found cells that appeared to be undergoing meiosis, the type of cell division peculiar to sperm and egg cells. They also detected the activity of a gene involved in that process. Then they dosed the mice with busulfan, a cancer drug known to kill the stem cells that produce sperm. Three weeks later, there were virtually no eggs left, suggesting that the drug had found a similar stem-cell target in the ovaries...
...fully accepted, although many scientists are already pretty well convinced. But even if it's true for mice, says Gosden, "you have to beware of extrapolation to humans." Tilly's group does have at least one indication that humans have something similar going on: women treated with busulfan almost always experience premature menopause, compared with fewer than half of women taking other cancer drugs. Says Tilly: "This is definitely a hint that these cells do exist...
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