Well established in New York real estate investments and commercial leasing, Peter R. Friedman has guided Friedman Equities, LLC as chairman since 1970. Reflecting a longstanding interest in medical advances, Peter R. Friedman holds a board position with the Weizmann Institute of Science.
Established more than 80 years ago, the public research university is situated in Rehovot, Israel, and works to benefit humanity through research and discovery. One recent Weizmann study in collaboration with the National Cancer Institute found that nitrogen metabolism changes are often tied to the emergence of new cancerous tissue mutations.
After making use of nitrogen, the body creates the nitrogenous waste product urea in the liver through several biochemical reactions. This cycle results in urea being expelled into the bloodstream and it later forms urine, which is excreted.
The research at Weizmann’s Biological Regulation Department focused on a specific enzyme within the urea cycle that had been inactivated in a large number of cancerous tumors. The result was greater amounts of available nitrogen, which allows the organic substance pyrimidine to be synthesized and which supports tumor growth.
Reflecting the complexity of cancer, the pyrimidine-related mutations also have cancer-fighting benefits in increasing their sensitivity to immune system attacks. The bottom line is that either too much or too little nitrogen within the human body has a negative impact.
