Tag: Brain Tumor

Nanotherapeutic Penetrates Blood-Brain Barrier, Shows Promise in Glioblastoma

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – In a first-in-human trial, a nanotherapeutic, NU-0129, penetrated the blood-brain barrier after infusion into eight patients with recurrent glioblastoma, showing some efficacy and no severe side effects. “This is the first time a nanotherapeutic has been shown to cross the blood-brain barrier when given through intravenous infusion,” Dr. Priya Kumthekar

Brain Cancer Symptoms

It is important to remember that no two persons with brain cancer tend to show same symptoms or signs. In addition, brain tumors and cancers may be sometimes difficult to diagnose as most of their symptoms and signs are commonplace and sometimes overlap with other ailments. That said, the severity and extent of symptoms caused

Combination therapies could help treat fatal lung cancers: Combining a new class of drug with two other compounds can significantly shrink lung tumors in mice and human cancer cells

Combining a new class of drug with two other compounds can significantly shrink lung tumours in mice and human cancer cells, finds a new study led by the Francis Crick Institute and The Institute of Cancer Research, London. The study, published in Science Translational Medicine, looked at G12C KRAS inhibitors. This new type of drug

Electromagnetic fields may hinder spread of breast cancer cells: Early findings in lab show reduced ability of cells to migrate

Electromagnetic fields might help prevent some breast cancers from spreading to other parts of the body, new research has found. The study showed that low intensity electromagnetic fields hindered the mobility of specific breast cancer cells by preventing the formation of long, thin extensions at the edge of a migrating cancer cell. The research was

Slowing metabolic rate can prevent detrimental effects of genetic mutations: Finding appears to be universal across hundreds of tested mutations

Just by slowing their metabolism, mutant fruit flies can go from zero to hero. In a new Northwestern University study, researchers slowed mutant fruit flies’ metabolic rates by 50%, and the expected detrimental effects of many mutations never manifested. After experimentally testing fruit flies’ many different genetic mutations, the researchers found the same result each

Transfer of oncogene in colon cancer cells demonstrated

For years, doctors and scientists have known very little about why patients can receive drugs successfully for months, or even years, before developing a drug resistance. New University of Minnesota Medical School research proposes that there is a cellular as well as molecular cause to this phenomenon in colon cancer, with potential application to other

Helping transplanted stem cells stick around and do their jobs: New microgel encapsulation method paves the way for more efficient cell therapies

Bone marrow transplants of hematopoietic stem cells have become standard treatment for a host of conditions including cancers of the blood and lymphatic systems, sickle cell anemia, inherited metabolic disorders, and radiation damage. Unfortunately, many bone marrow transplants fail due to rejection by the patient’s immune system or graft-versus-host disease (in which the transplanted marrow

Exercise improves brain function in overweight and obese individuals

New findings out of the University of Tübingen show that, on top of its benefits for metabolism, mood, and general health, exercise also improves brain function. In recent studies, researchers learned that obese and overweight individuals are prone to insulin resistance in the brain, where it provides information about current nutritional status, as well as

The brain consumes half of a child’s energy — and that could matter for weight gain: New paper proposes that variation in brain energy expenditure during childhood could be linked to obesity risk

Weight gain occurs when an individual’s energy intake exceeds their energy expenditure — in other words, when calories in exceed calories out. What is less well understood is the fact that, on average, nearly half of the body’s energy is used by the brain during early childhood. In a new paper published in the journal

Special fibroblasts help pancreatic cancer cells evade immune detection

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is the fourth leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the world. Mostly chemoresistant, PDAC so far has no effective treatment. Understanding the connective tissue, called stroma, that surrounds, nurtures, and even protects PDAC tumors, is key to developing effective therapeutics. “PDAC patients are diagnosed really late, so we don’t know they’re

Macrophages’ pathway to nurture PTEN-deficient glioblastoma

A common genetic deficiency empowers glioblastoma to broadcast a molecular message to the wrong type of immune cell, summoning macrophages that protect and nurture the brain tumor instead of attacking it, researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center report in Cancer Cell. The team’s work in mouse models of glioblastoma that lack

Broken brain cells repaired in dementia mouse model: If translated to humans, results suggest new directions for combating cognitive decline in elderly

Dysfunctional neurons in the hippocampus of adult female mice modeling dementia can be repaired and reconnected to distant parts of the brain, reports a new study published in JNeurosci. The similarity between the mouse model and the human condition underscores the therapeutic potential of targeting these cells in dementia patients. The hippocampus generates new brain

Brain network activity can improve in epilepsy patients after surgery

Successful epilepsy surgery can improve brain connectivity similar to patterns seen in people without epilepsy, according to a new study published in the journal Neurosurgery. The Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) study of 15 people with temporal lobe epilepsy is the first to show improvements in brain networks after surgery compared to a group of

New strategy of reprogramming regulatory T cells may improve cancer therapies: Converting immunosuppressive cells into inflammatory cells appears to prime tumors for immune checkpoint blockade

While therapies that harness the power of the immune system against cancer have made remarkable progress against certain types of tumors, they still remain ineffective in most cancer patients. A new study from the Center for Immunology and Inflammatory Diseases (CIID) at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) describes a method of reprogramming the regulatory T cells

Detecting dementia’s damaging effects before it’s too late

Scientists might have found an early detection method for some forms of dementia, according to new research by the University of Arizona and the University of Toronto’s Baycrest Health Sciences Centre. According to the study published in the journal Neuropsychologia last month, patients with a rare neurodegenerative brain disorder called Primary Progressive Aphasia, or PPA,

Image-based computer model reveals finer details of tumor blood flow

Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers say they have developed something akin to a “Google Maps” approach for more accurately computing and visualizing the structural and functional blood vessel changes needed for tumor growth. By pairing high-quality 3D imaging data of tumor specimens from animal models with sophisticated mathematical formulas, the researchers say they now have a

Mechanism of resistance to BRAF inhibitors in melanoma identified: A conserved stress response mechanism leads to BRAF inhibitor resistance through AP-1 activation

Melanoma is one of the most aggressive types of skin cancer, but recent advances in targeted therapies have improved the prognosis for many patients. Unfortunately, for some patients these positive outcomes are not long lasting, due to the development of drug resistance and tumor recurrence. Moffitt Cancer Center researchers have discovered a mechanism by which