Posted on 09/03/2022 9:33:31 PM PDT by ConservativeMind
Though chemotherapy can be lifesaving, the cancer treatment often leaves patients suffering from debilitating side effects, including cognitive impairments in processing speed, memory, executive function and attention. Dubbed "chemo brain," these lingering symptoms can dramatically impact patients' quality of life long after they have completed their treatments.
Currently, there are no FDA-approved drugs to mitigate these deficits. In breakthrough findings, renowned researcher Daniela Salvemini, Ph.D., and her team have uncovered some of the molecular events that happen when chemotherapy drugs cause these deficits. More promising still, they've found that an already-approved FDA drug designed to treat multiple sclerosis also appears to work to reduce chemotherapy-related cognitive impairment (CRCI).
CRCI is a major neurotoxic side effect of chemotherapy. These drugs are widely used as part of standard treatment for numerous cancers, including head and neck, testicular, colon, breast, ovarian and non-small cell lung cancers.
When assessed by neuropsychological tests, up to 75% percent of patients treated with chemotherapy for cancers outside the nervous system reported cognitive deficits.
Salvemini notes that in the central nervous system, Cisplatin increases levels of the potent signaling molecule sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P), which contributes to the development of CRCI through activation of S1P receptor subtype 1 (S1PR1) on astrocytes and S1PR1-driven mitochondrial dysfunction and neuroinflammatory processes.
Their findings bridge the gaps in understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying CRCI and identify a novel target for therapeutic intervention with functional S1PR1 antagonists. Importantly, S1PR1 antagonists do not interfere with the efficacy of chemotherapy as they and others have shown in previous work and can also block tumor cell growth, inflammation and metastasis.
"Our findings are fascinating since two functional S1PR1 antagonists are already FDA-approved for treating multiple sclerosis," Salvemini said. "Repurposing these drugs to prevent CRCI would be a groundbreaking shift towards enhancing patient quality of life in cancer treatment."
(Excerpt) Read more at medicalxpress.com ...
it’s been two years, and i still have it...
Would you mind translating why these drugs used to treat MS would either improve cognitive functioning or block the effect of chemo drugs on the brain? Thanks, CM.
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