Chemobrain Memory Loss
ironj...@aol.com
Potential remedy for the ‘mental fog’ in cancer patients
Study suggests a possible way to offset chemobrain memory loss
Cancer patients have complained for years about the mental fog known
as chemobrain. Now in animal studies at West Virginia University
(WVU), researchers have discovered that injections of N-acetyl
cysteine (NAC), an antioxidant, can prevent the memory loss that
breast cancer chemotherapy drugs sometimes induce. The WVU
researchers’ study has just been published in the September issue of
the Springer journal Metabolic Brain Disease.
Rats were given the commonly used chemotherapy drugs adriamycin and
cyclophosphamide. When on the drugs, rats who were trained to prefer a
light room to a dark room forgot their training.
“When animals are treated with chemotherapy drugs, they lose memory,”
said Gregory Konat, Ph.D., professor of neurobiology and anatomy at
WVU. “When we add NAC during treatment, they don’t lose memory.”
Chosen for its antioxidant properties, NAC is a modified form of the
dietary amino acid cysteine.
Jame Abraham, M.D., director of the Comprehensive Breast Cancer
Program at WVU’s Mary Babb Randolph Cancer Center, said as
“chemobrain” entered the national lexicon, many patients expressed
frustration about doctors not taking the complaints seriously.
“In the past, there was a lot of ignorance among doctors about chemo-
induced cognitive problems,” Dr. Abraham said. “In some patients,
problems can persist for up to two years.”
The WVU authors say as many as 40 percent of cancer patients
undergoing chemotherapy complain of symptoms such as severe memory and
attention deficits. Previously, scientists suspected the cancer,
rather than chemo drugs, might be the cause.
Earlier this year, Dr. Abraham’s team of researchers used MRI scans to
document the extent of changes to the brain in women who received
chemotherapy for breast cancer. Now the connection between drugs and
memory loss is clear, and a potential remedy is suggested as well.
“At this point, we have no evidence to say that NAC is safe in
patients who are getting chemotherapy,” Abraham said. “We need more
studies to confirm the role of NAC in patients.”
References
1. Konat GW et al (2008). Cognitive dysfunction induced by chronic
administration of common cancer chemotherapeutics in rats. Metabolic
Brain Disease. DOI 10.1007/s11011-008-9100-y
2. In addition to the Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy,
researchers from WVU’s Mary Babb Randolph Cancer Center and Department
of Behavioral Medicine and Psychiatry collaborated on the study. The
study was funded as part of a $275,000 grant over three years from the
U.S. Department of Defense. Abraham is principle investigator on the
studies.
The full-text article is available to journalists as a pdf.
Contact
Joan Robinson
Springer
tel +49-6221-487-8130
Who loves ya.
Tom
Jesus Was A Vegetarian!
http://tinyurl.com/634q5a
Man Is A Herbivore!
http://tinyurl.com/4rq595
DEAD PEOPLE WALKING
http://tinyurl.com/zk9fk