Researchers at the Penn State College of Medicine have found that treating brain cancer can turn more efficient if the expression of an iron-storing protein is reduced. Iron is essential for general cell health and cancer cells use high levels of iron for increasing in numbers and spreading out. By targeting ferritin, a protein that stores iron in all cells, researchers found that the energy requirements of the cancer cells were not met making them more responsive to chemotherapy. It makes cancer therapy more effective without causing any significant neurological damage as well as enhancing the sensitivity of brain cancer cells to chemotherapeutic agent. The research team, led by Prof. James Connor, used liposomes or small lipid vessels to deliver a fragment of RNA called siRNA, to tumor cells. The siRNA helps in downsizing the ferretin content thereby reducing iron supply to cancer cells and also enhancing their drug sensitivity making the treatment more effective.

Via: psu.edu

As cancer cells invade the space within the brain, they hinder the flow of cerebrospinal fluid which leads to an increase in pressure within, and thus results in seizures, headaches, pain, followed by visual complexities and inconvenience in consuming food/drink. Researchers at the San Diego School of Medicine, University of California, have used a new technique to treat cancer patients by inserting a valve that can be operated externally to switch on/off with a dual purpose. The valve uses a small plastic device to carry medicine to spinal fluid in the brain hence chemotherapy reaches directly to the brain’s surfaces. On the other hand, it drains excess fluids from there to the abdomen via an internal catheter. The team of researchers led by Santosh Kesari, chief of neuro-oncology, opined that in a single intervention the brain cancer patient gets a relief from pain as well gets treated.

Via: usd.edu

One of the most standard therapies for treating brain cancer is radiation therapy which has deadly side effects affecting mental conditions of patients. The therapy affects cognitive processes of the patients affecting their quality of life by hindering IQ levels, awareness of surroundings, memory, attention, perception, reasoning and judgment. A new research by Professor Charles Limoli, department of radiation oncology, University of California, has revealed that a stem cell therapy might be the answer to remove this hurdle and give the patients a better life quality without influencing their treatment process. The team used human neural stem cell transplants on rats subjected to radiation and found considerable improvement in their cognition, helping them arrive at such a conclusion. However, extensive tests are yet to be conducted on humans to come to a decisive conclusion.

Via: ScienceDaily.com