What is claimed is:
1. A method for minimizing the toxic effects of chemotherapeutic agents or cytotoxic irradiation on the hematopoietic cells of a patient having neoplastic cells or a malignant tumor, comprising the steps of:
A. treating the patient with a dosage of at least one hematopoietic cell stimulating factor, the dosage being sufficient in amount and time to cause a substantial increase in the population of the hematopoietic cells and in differentiated blood cells, and
B. treating the patient with a dosage of chemotherapeutic agents or cytotoxic irradiation sufficient to substantially reduce the population of neoplastic cells.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein Step B is initiated after the cessation of Step A.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein Step B is initiated before the cessation of Step A.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein after Step A and before Step B, further comprising Step C, allowing a sufficient amount of time to elapse so that the hematopoietic cells enter a state of post-mitotic quiescence.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein Step A is performed for a sufficient period of time to stimulate the hematopoietic cells to enter a phase of proliferative activity sufficient to produce a crest in the population of the hematopoietic cells.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one hematopoietic cell stimulating factor is a cytokine, hematopoietic growth factor, fusion protein having functional domains of any of the cytokines or hematopoietic growth factors, or an agonist of any of the cytokines or hematopoietic growth factors.
7. The method of claim 6, wherein the cytokine or hematopoietic growth factor is one or more selected from the group consisting of Colony Stimulating Factors, Interleukins, Interferons, Tumor Necrosis Factor, Erythropoietin, and Thrombopoietin,
8. The method of claim 7 wherein the Colony Stimulating Factors are one or more from the group consisting of Granulocyte Macrophage Colony Stimulating Factor, Macrophage Colony Stimulating Factor and Granulocyte Colony Stimulating Factor.
9. The method of claim 7 wherein the Interleukins are one or more selected from the group consisting of IL-1, IL-2, IL-3, IL-6, IL-6, IL-11 and IL-12.
10. The method of claim 1, wherein Step B is performed while the hematopoietic cells are in a state of post-mitotic quiescence.
11. The method of claim 1, used to treat one or more cancers from the group consisting of lymphomas, Hodgkins disease, Wilm’s tumor, embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma, small cell lung cancer, central nervous system lymphoma, anal carcinoma, bladder carcinoma, breast cancer, laryngeal cancer, osteogenic sarcoma, soft tissue sarcomas, nonsmall cell lung cancer, breast cancer, nasopharyngeal cancer, other cancers of the head and neck region, pancreatic cancer, gastric carcinoma, prostate cancer, and cervical carcinoma.
12. The method of claim 1, wherein the chemotherapeutic drugs are one or more substances selected from the following groups: alkylating agents which interfere with the nucleic acid or protein metabolism of dividing cells, topoisomerase inhibitors, drugs that interfere with DNA synthesis, drugs that interfere with synthesis and assembly of microtubules or the mitotic spindle apparatus, and antibiotics.
13. The method of claim 10, wherein the alkylating agents are one or more selected from the group consisting of Cyclophosphamide, Busalfan, Ifosfamide, Procarbazine, Dacarbazine, Temozolomide, Hexamethylmelamine, and ThioTEPA.
14. The method of claim 10, wherein the topoisomerase inhibitors are one or more from the group consisting of Etoposide, Doxo-rubicin Epirubicin and, Amonafide.
15. The method of claim 10, wherein the antibiotics are one or more selected from the group consisting of Mitomycin C, and Actinomysin D.
16. The method of claim 10, wherein the drugs that interfere with DNA synthesis are one or more selected from the group consisting of Cytosine Arabnoside, Mercaptopurine, Methotrexate, Fluorouracil, Carboplatin, Oxaliplatin, JM216, CI-973, DWA 2114R, JM335, Bisplatinum and analogues thereof.
17. The method of claim 10, wherein the drugs that interfere with synthesis and assembly of microtubules and the mitotic spindle apparatus, are one or more selected from the group consisting of Vincristine and Paclitaxel.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A circuit, comprising:
a plurality of delay elements, each delay element associated with a ring oscillator;
a first logic gate for directly receiving an output of each of the plurality of delay elements;
a second logic gate for directly receiving the output of each of the plurality of delay elements; and
a multiplexer for receiving an output of the first logic gate and an output of the second logic gate and for selecting the output of the first logic gate or the output of the second logic gate, wherein a selection for the multiplexer is based on an output of the multiplexer.
2. The circuit of claim 1, wherein the output of the multiplexer is sent to an input for each of the delay elements.
3. The circuit of claim 1, wherein the first logic gate is a NAND gate.
4. The circuit of claim 3, wherein the second logic gate is a NOR gate.
5. The circuit of claim 1, wherein the multiplexer chooses a slowest of the delay elements.
6. The circuit of claim 1, further comprising a second multiplexer for receiving the output of the first logic gate and the output of the second logic gate.
7. The circuit of claim 6, wherein inputs to the second multiplexer are an inverse to inputs to the first multiplexer.
8. The circuit of claim 7, wherein an output of the second multiplexer is sent as an input to each of the delay elements.
9. The circuit of claim 8, wherein the second multiplexer selects a fastest of the delay elements.
10. The circuit of claim 8, further comprising a selection circuit for enabling the second multiplexer to select one of: a slowest of the delay elements, or a fastest of the delay elements.
11. The circuit of claim 10, wherein the selection circuit includes a plurality of XOR gates, and an input to one of the XOR gates enables the second multiplexer to choose one of: the slowest of the delay elements, or the fastest of the delay elements.
12. A circuit structure, comprising:
a plurality of delay elements, each delay element associated with a ring oscillator;
a first logic gate for directly receiving an output of each of the plurality of delay elements;
a second logic gate for directly receiving the output of each of the plurality of delay elements;
a first multiplexer for receiving an output of the first logic gate and an output of the second logic gate and for selecting the output of the first logic gate or the output of the second logic gate; and
a second multiplexer for receiving the output of the first logic gate and the output of the second logic gate and for selecting the output of the first logic gate or the output of the second logic gate, wherein a selection for the first and second multiplexer is based on an output of the first multiplexer.
13. The circuit structure of claim 12, wherein the output of the second multiplexer is sent to an input for each of the delay elements.
14. The circuit structure of claim 12, wherein the first logic gate is a NAND gate.
15. The circuit structure of claim 14, wherein the second logic gate is a NOR gate.
16. The circuit structure of claim 12, wherein the second multiplexer selects a fastest of the delay elements.