National Comprehensive Cancer Network Shares New Recommendations for Treating Children with Brain Tumors

Newly-published NCCN Guidelines for Pediatric Central Nervous System Cancers synthesize latest evidence to help care teams ensure children with high-grade gliomas have best possible outcomes; available free at NCCN.org.

Combining Two ‘Old Therapies’ Packs a Powerful Punch Against Pediatric Brain Tumors

Researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine and Italy’s Catholic University of the Sacred Heart medical school have provided solid evidence that copper, the first metal used medicinally, may now have a new role — helping save children from a devastating central nervous system cancer known as medulloblastoma.

Analyzing Outcomes of Older Patients with Primary Central Nervous System Lymphoma

Older individuals are at an increased risk of developing primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL). In a retrospective study of patients with newly diagnosed PCNSL, researchers at Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey and colleagues used geriatric assessments to analyze detailed characteristics, treatment, and outcomes in patients across 17 academic centers.

Poison control: Chasing the antidote

A fast-acting antidote to mitigate the effects of organophosphate poisoning requires a reactivator that can effectively and efficiently cross the blood-brain barrier, bind loosely to the enzyme, chemically snatch the poison and then leave quickly. Oak Ridge National Laboratory is using neutron diffraction data towards improving a novel reactivator design.

Spinal cord injuries: Scientists probe individual cells to find better treatments

Two top scientists are seeking answers to questions about spinal cord injuries that have long frustrated the development of effective treatments.

Brain discovery suggests source of lifelong behavioral issues

Improper removal of faulty brain cells during neurodevelopment may cause lifelong behavioral issues, new research from the University of Virginia School of Medicine suggests. The finding also could have important implications for a wide range of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

Study Reveals New Way to Treat Stroke Using an Already FDA-Approved Drug

Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (GCSF) is currently used to treat neutropenia due to chemotherapy and has been successfully used for patients who require bone marrow transplants. The study is the first to report on the neuroprotective effect of GCSF in vivo and showed that it improved neurological deficits that occur in the first few days following cerebral ischemia. GCSF improved long-term behavioral outcomes while also stimulating a neural progenitor recovery response in a mouse model.