Study Suggests a Possible Way to Offset Chemobrain Memory Loss

MORGANTOWN, W.Va., Sept. 5 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Cancer patients have
complained for years about the mental fog known as chemobrain. Now in animal
studies at West Virginia University, researchers have discovered that
injections of N-acetyl cysteine (NAC), an antioxidant, can prevent the memory
loss that breast cancer chemotherapy drugs sometimes induce.

In the WVU researchers' study, published in the September issue of the journal
Metabolic Brain Disease, rats were given the commonly used chemotherapy drugs
adriamycin and cyclophosphamide. When on the drugs, rats 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."

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.

This news release was issued on behalf of Newswise(TM). For more information,
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SOURCE West Virginia University Health Sciences Center

Andrea Brunais, West Virginia University Health Sciences Center News Service,
+1-304-293-7087, brunaisa@wvuh.com