A new study out of the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York and Harvard Medical School has found that a treatment commonly used chemotherapy drug causes memory problems and other cognitive difficulties which is referred to as "chemo brain".
The researchers believe they have discovered how the chemotherapy drug 5-Fluorouracil can affect the central nervous system even long after treatments are completed.
"What we found is the damage done short-term is much less than the damage that occurs long-term," said Mark Noble, senior author of the study published in the April 22 issue of the Journal of Biology. "After the drug is stopped, the cellular damage gets worse."
Noble exposed cell lines and in mice to doses of 5-Fluorouracil and found that it damages the immature cells in the central nervous system known as progenitor cells. The drug is used to treat breast, ovarian, stomach and colon cancer.
The scientists hope that the discovery will develop to a method to decrease or eliminate the damage so cognitive function is preserved.
[Source: MedlinePlus]
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