BrainBlog

Impaired Cognitive Function and Hippocampal Neurogenesis Following Cancer Chemotherapy Clin Cancer Res . 2012 Feb 14; Christie LA, Acharya MM, Parihar VK, Nguyen A, Martirosian V, Limoli CL Abstract PURPOSE: A substantial proportion of breast cancer survivors report significant, long-lasting impairments in cognitive function, often referred to as "chemobrain." Advances in detection and treatment mean that many more patients are surviving long-term following diagnosis of invasive breast cancer. Thus, it is important to define the types, extent and persistence of cognitive impairments following treatment with cytotoxic cancer drugs. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: We examined the effects of chronic treatment with two agents commonly used in breast cancer patients, cyclophosphamide and doxorubicin (Adriamycin). Athymic nude rats were given 50mg/kg cyclophosphamide, 2mg/kg doxorubicin or saline injections once per week for 4 weeks. A novel place recognition task and contextual and cued fear...

From yesterday's Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel : Lost in cancer's fog 'Chemobrain' impairs thinking, memory after chemotherapy; anecdotal brain effects are just starting to get serious study By JOHN FAUBER 01 September 2007 Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel [snip] In two small groups of testicular and breast cancer patients, between 60% and 70% of the patients experienced some cognitive decline that was tied to the onset of their chemotherapy, said Christina Meyers, a professor and chief of neuropsychology at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. "It's subtle," she said. "We are not talking about dementia or anything grossly obvious." Within one year, about half of the patients were back to their pretreatment levels of cognitive ability, Meyers said. [snip] [ ... Read the full article ... ]