Publications by authors named "R Merrell"
Current treatment outcome of patients with glioblastoma (GBM) remains poor. Following standard therapy, recurrence is universal with limited survival. Tumors from 173 GBM patients are analysed for somatic mutations to generate a personalized peptide vaccine targeting tumor-specific neoantigens.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe movement toward prevention trials in people at-risk for Parkinson's disease (PD) is rapidly becoming a reality. The authors of this article include a genetically at-risk advocate with the LRRK2 G2019 S variant and two patients with rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder (RBD), one of whom has now been diagnosed with PD. These authors participated as speakers, panelists, and moderators in the "Planning for Prevention of Parkinson's: A Trial Design Forum" hosted by Massachusetts General Hospital in 2021 and 2022.
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- There is a significant need for new treatments for glioblastoma (GBM), and acetazolamide has shown promise in enhancing the effectiveness of the existing treatment, temozolomide (TMZ), by addressing resistance mechanisms.
- This phase I trial involved 24 patients with high-grade gliomas, administering acetazolamide alongside TMZ, and observed no dose-limiting toxicities while monitoring common side effects.
- Results indicated a median overall survival of about 30 months for GBM patients, with a notable survival rate that suggests acetazolamide could be beneficial, warranting further investigation in randomized trials and highlighting BCL-3 expression as a potential prognostic marker.
Congenital DNA mismatch repair defects (dMMR), such as Lynch Syndrome, predispose patients to a variety of cancers and account for approximately 1% of glioblastoma cases. While few therapeutic options exist for glioblastoma, checkpoint blockade therapy has proven effective in dMMR tumors. Here we present a case study of a male in their 30s diagnosed with dMMR glioblastoma treated with pembrolizumab who experienced a partial response to therapy.
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- * The researchers tested different flip angles and bandwidths of editing pulses, finding that larger angles (over 180°) maximize lactate signals while minimizing threonine interference during magnetic resonance spectroscopy at 3T.
- * Results from both simulations and real patient data showed a significant increase in lactate signal yield with these optimized pulse settings, proving effective in brain tumor assessments where elevated lactate levels were present.