Posted on 09/21/2024 1:46:55 PM PDT by ConservativeMind
Glioblastoma is a particularly aggressive brain tumor that at present is incurable. Half of patients die within twelve months of diagnosis.
Drugs that are effective against brain tumors are difficult to find, as many cancer drugs often can't cross the blood-brain barrier to reach the brain.
Researchers have now found a substance that effectively combats glioblastomas, at least in the laboratory: an antidepressant called vortioxetine. Scientists know that this inexpensive drug, which has already been approved by agencies such as the FDA in the U.S. and Swissmedic, is capable of crossing the blood-brain barrier.
With pharmacoscopy, researchers can simultaneously test hundreds of active substances on living cells from human cancer tissue. Their study focused primarily on neuroactive substances that cross the blood-brain barrier. In total, the research team tested up to 130 different agents on tumor tissue from 40 patients.
To determine which substances have an effect on the cancer cells, the researchers used imaging techniques and computer analysis.
For the screening, Lee analyzed fresh cancer tissue from patients who had recently undergone surgery. Two days later, the researchers obtained results.
The results made it clear that some of the antidepressants tested were unexpectedly effective against the tumor cells. These drugs worked particularly well when they quickly triggered a signaling cascade, which is important for neuronal progenitor cells, but also suppresses cell division. Vortioxetine proved to be the most effective antidepressant.
The researchers also used a computer model to test. They discovered that the joint signaling cascade of neurons and cancer cells plays a decisive role and explains why some neuroactive drugs work while others don't.
In the last step, researchers at the University Hospital Zurich tested vortioxetine on mice with a glioblastoma. The drug also showed good efficacy in these trials, especially in combination with the current standard treatment.
(Excerpt) Read more at medicalxpress.com ...
Yeah, it’s that standard stupid disclaimer, but it’s possible it kills off too many cells too quickly, which causes real problems, as well.
It should be monitored, when taken.
Don’t worry. Off-patent generics are almost never prescribed for cancer treatments. No money in it for Big Pharma.
Yep, dead cells spill a truck load of nasty chemicals in to the blood stream that cause all kinds of problems if there are too much of them.
Doubt it
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