Blocking Glioblastoma-Triggered Brain Damage Could Slow the Aggressive Tumor’s Growth

According to new research conducted by a team at University College London, blocking the brain damage caused by glioblastoma could keep the patient’s brain working better for a much longer time and also slow the pace at which the tumor grows. 

The study used a mouse model and found that when glioblastoma tumors are in their early stage, they damage axons (parts of the nerves in the brain). When this damage occurs, according to the findings of the researchers, the brain responds to this injury to its nerve cells by first breaking down and then removing those damaged axons from the brain. Unfortunately, these two natural responses only serve to accelerate the rate at which the tumor grows due to the increased inflammation in the brain. 

The researchers found that when they disabled the brain’s natural response to axon damage, the mice with glioblastoma had tumors that weren’t as aggressive as the tumors in mice that were left to respond to the injury to their axons in the natural way. For the mice whose natural response to injury was suppressed, brain function was retained for almost their entire lives and the lifespan of these mice was longer despite having glioblastoma. 

The mice that didn’t have their response to brain injury blocked exhibited progressive disability and their tumors grew more aggressively, as is typical in glioblastoma cases. 

The protein responsible for destroying any damaged axons is called SARM1. A number of drugs targeting this protein are being developed to be tested in the treatment of neurodegenerative conditions like MND (motor neuron disease) and TBI (traumatic brain injury). The development of these drugs is still in the initial stages and no clinical trials have yet been conducted to ascertain their safety and efficacy. 

Prof. Simona Parrinello, the study’s senior author, explains that their study has the potential to open a new way could prevent or at least slow glioblastoma progression to an advanced level of the disease. She adds that such a result would be extremely important given that existing treatments for glioblastoma haven’t had much success in containing the progression of the disease or even averting the disability resulting from the tumor. 

Prof. Parrinello adds that given their findings, it is now necessary to conduct tests to explore whether the different therapies targeting SARM1 can have beneficial effects in patients diagnosed with glioblastoma since the UCL study has shown that damage to axons plays a key role in disease progression and the resultant disability patients suffer. 

With this new link discovered between glioblastoma and neurodegeneration, the methods being studied to treat neurodegenerative diseases could have a role in the treatment of early-stage GBM. 

Different approaches are being explored by many companies like CNS Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: CNSP) to develop treatments that will be effective against glioblastoma. Hopefully, a breakthrough treatment may be commercialized over the coming years to improve the treatment outcomes of the people diagnosed with this aggressive form of brain cancer. 

NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to CNS Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: CNSP) are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/CNSP 

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