New substance 'may slow growth of brain tumours'RSS Feed

A newly developed substance could prove key to better treatment of brain tumours, researchers have said.

Scientists from the German Cancer Research Center investigated the effect of a combination of radiation treatment and newly developed substance LY2109761 on the brain injury.

The substance is known to block the signals transmitted into cells by a receptor.

Researchers transplanted the human gliobastoma cells into the brains of mice and found that the animals which received the combination therapy survived longer than those treated by radiotherapy alone.

Under the combination therapy, tumours also grew more slowly, less invasively and exhibited a lower density of newly formed blood vessels.

"Paradoxically, radiation therapy can provoke aggressive growth behaviour in surviving tumour cells. LY2109761 seems to prevent this fatal effect," explained Dr Peter Huber, head of the Radiation Oncology unit at the centre.

This follows a study published in the journal Cancer Cell, which revealed that brain tumours in children operate on a two-tier system - explaining why surgery and radiotherapy halts tumour growth in some patients but not in others.

Written by John Sherrington
 

Bioengineering 'could diagnose and treat traumatic brain injury'

23 November 2011

Bioengineering could provide a new approach for the diagnosis and treatment of traumatic brain injury, scientists have said.Articles published in the Journal of Neurotrauma reported a broad sample of new,...

Read More...

Pine bark extract 'may treat traumatic brain injury'

22 November 2011

An extract of pine bark could be used to treat traumatic brain injury, researchers in New Zealand have found.Sixty people with ongoing cognitive difficulties due to traumatic brain injury received a dose...

Read More...

New brain scan 'could diagnose Alzheimer's'

18 November 2011

A new brain scanning method could be used to accurately diagnose Alzheimer's disease, scientists have said.The brain injury could be better identified by innovative MRI technique arterial spin labelling...

Read More...