Levetiracetam, trade name Keppra, is a new second generation antiepileptic drug that is being increasingly used in brain tumor patients. In patients suffering with brain tumors, seizures are one of the leading neurologic complications being seen in more than 30% of patients. Unlike other antiepileptic drugs, levetiracetam is proposed to bind to a synaptic vesicle protein inhibiting calcium release. Brain tumor patients are frequently on chemotherapy or other drugs that induce cytochrome P450, causing significant drug interactions. However, levetiracetam does not induce the P450 system and does not exhibit any relevant drug interactions. Intravenous delivery is as bioavailable as the oral medication allowing it to be used in emergency situations. Levetiracetam is an attractive option for brain tumor patients suffering from seizures, but also can be used prophylactically in patients with brain tumors, or patients undergoing neurological surgery. Emerging studies have also demonstrated that levetiracetam can increase the sensitivity of Glioblastoma tumors to the chemotherapy drug temozolomide. Levetiracetam is a safe alternative to conventional antiepileptic drugs and an emerging tool for brain tumor patients combating seizures.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fneur.2013.00153 | DOI Listing |
Acta Pharmacol Sin
January 2025
Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Neuropsychiatric Diseases and College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, The Fourth Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Jiangsu Province Engineering Research Center of Precision Diagnostics and Therapeutics Development, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Preventive and Translational Medicine for Geriatric Diseases, Suzhou Key Laboratory of Drug Research for Prevention and Treatment of Hyperlipidemic Diseases, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215123, China.
Gastric cancer is a malignant gastrointestinal disease characterized by high morbidity and mortality rates worldwide. The occurrence and progression of gastric cancer are influenced by various factors, including the abnormal alternative splicing of key genes. Recently, RBM39 has emerged as a tumor biomarker that regulates alternative splicing in several types of cancer.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNat Genet
January 2025
Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Transcription factors are frequent cancer driver genes, exhibiting noted specificity based on the precise cell of origin. We demonstrate that ZIC1 exhibits loss-of-function (LOF) somatic events in group 4 (G4) medulloblastoma through recurrent point mutations, subchromosomal deletions and mono-allelic epigenetic repression (60% of G4 medulloblastoma). In contrast, highly similar SHH medulloblastoma exhibits distinct and diametrically opposed gain-of-function mutations and copy number gains (20% of SHH medulloblastoma).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNPJ Precis Oncol
January 2025
Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, 149 13th St, Charlestown, MA, 02129, USA.
Recent progress in deep learning (DL) is producing a new generation of tools across numerous clinical applications. Within the analysis of brain tumors in magnetic resonance imaging, DL finds applications in tumor segmentation, quantification, and classification. It facilitates objective and reproducible measurements crucial for diagnosis, treatment planning, and disease monitoring.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: To explore the impact of the SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 pandemic on the diagnosis, management and patient journey for children and young people with a newly diagnosed brain tumour in the UK.
Design: Exploratory qualitative study focused on patient journeys from multiple perspectives, conducted as part of a wider mixed-methods study.
Setting: Three paediatric oncology tertiary centres in the UK.
Drug Resist Updat
December 2024
Department of General Surgery, The Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Nanjing Medical University & Jiangsu Cancer Hospital & Jiangsu Institute of Cancer Research, Nanjing, China. Electronic address:
The balance between CD8 T cells and regulatory T (Treg) cells in the tumor microenvironment (TME) plays a crucial role in the immune checkpoint inhibition (ICI) therapy in gastric carcinoma (GC). However, related factors leading to the disturbance of TME and resistance to ICI therapy remain unknown. In this study, we applied N6-methyladenosine (m6A) small RNA Epitranscriptomic Microarray and screened out 3'tRF-AlaAGC based on its highest differential expression level and lowest inter-group variance.
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