Posted on 02/05/2023 8:19:20 AM PST by ConservativeMind
Patients with glioblastoma—the deadliest type of primary brain tumor—may potentially benefit from immunotherapy medications called immune checkpoint inhibitors that stimulate an immune response against cancer cells.
However, they may also experience brain swelling, or cerebral edema, during treatment.
Cerebral edema is currently controlled by steroids that are highly immunosuppressive and thus, counter the benefit of immunotherapy. Thus, new drugs that control edema safely without causing immunosuppression are urgently needed.
New research reveals that the blood pressure drug losartan can prevent immunotherapy-induced edema.
The findings indicate that taking losartan may allow patients to continue receiving immune checkpoint inhibitors without developing adverse effects in the brain.
The scientists demonstrated that immunotherapy-induced edema results from an inflammatory response that disrupts the blood-tumor barrier, a modification of the blood-brain barrier that occurs with brain cancer.
This response involves the enzymes matrix metalloproteinases 14 and 15, which reside in cells lining tumor-associated blood vessels and induce blood vessel leakage to cause edema.
Experiments revealed losartan can prevent immunotherapy-related edema by reducing the expression of these enzymes.
Losartan also had many other beneficial effects in the tumor environment that enhanced the body's anti-tumor immune response.
Combined with an immune checkpoint inhibitor, losartan improved survival in mouse models of glioblastoma, curing 20% of mice, which increased to 40% when combined with the standard of care involving chemoradiation followed by surgery.
"Most patients who experience edema receive steroids to reduce the brain swelling; however, these drugs are highly immunosuppressive and thus counteract the effects of immunotherapy. Therefore, we have identified a viable pharmaceutical option for edema control that addresses the underlying mechanism of immunotherapy-induced edema, and also sensitizes the tumor microenvironment to immune checkpoint blockade therapy."
Jain notes that because losartan is safe, effective, and affordable, it can be readily prescribed along with immunotherapy to patients with glioblastoma.
(Excerpt) Read more at medicalxpress.com ...
Or stop eating garbage and go back to an old style diet.
“Combined with an immune checkpoint inhibitor, losartan improved survival in mouse models of glioblastoma, curing 20% of mice, which increased to 40% when combined with the standard of care involving chemoradiation followed by surgery.”
Stage II? Stage III? Dubious of the use of the term “cure”.
Losartan works well especially in patients who have side affects from Lisinipril. I didn’t know about thise side value. Thanks.
ARBs such as valsartan and losartan may have been very helpful in preventing infection with COVID. The COVID virus portal of entry to a host was by binding with ACE2 receptors in the respiratory tract. The ARBs bind, block and even lessen the number of those receptors.
“Or stop eating garbage and go back to an old style diet.”
Sure. Right. No one died of brain tumors back in the good old days. How about a study showing that there’s any correlation
Old style McBurgers, fries and a large Mountain Dew? If it was good enough for the pioneers in covered wagons exploring the Old West, it's good enough for me.
As many as 45% of ACE-I users have side effects, but they think it’s manageable or just old age.
One is blood pooling around the lower legs.
After some research I did, I couldn’t point to one good reason to stay with an ACE-I over an ARB aside from familiarity or minimal cost difference.
Telmisartan is available as a generic and does really well for people, with fewer side effects than ACE-Inhibitors.
Yes, this.
Interestingly, when the virus first emerged, some "experts" were worried that ARBs would make the condition worse. These claims made no sense, however. Another term for how the ARBs block the virus from entering the host, and which explains what happens, is "competitive inhibition."
Fitting, because “Lo sartan” is Hebrew for “No/not cancer”
Bkmk
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