New Research Helps Explain Mental-sharpness Decline in Cancer Patients

In an effort to solve the mystery behind why as many as half of patients taking cancer-related drugs experience a decrease in mental sharpness, scientists at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) conducted an experiment in an animal memory model, published in The Journal of Neuroscience. In the study involving a sea snail — they share many of the same memory mechanisms as humans do — the scientists identified memory mechanisms blocked by a drug used to treat a variety of cancers. After that, they were able to counteract or unblock the mechanisms by administering another agent. “Our research has implications in the care of people given to cognitive deficits following drug treatment for cancer,” said the study’s senior author. “There is no satisfactory treatment at this time.” Understanding how these drugs impact the brain is an important first step in alleviating this condition characterized by forgetfulness, trouble concentrating and difficulty multitasking. To read more about this study, click here.