Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0012833 (dizziness)
 9,689 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Chemotherapeutic regimens in present use for recurrent glioma have substantial toxicity. Activity against recurrent gliomas has been reported for both tamoxifen and interferon alpha, agents that have more acceptable toxicity profiles and that can be administered in an outpatient setting. We tested the efficacy and toxicity of the combination of high-dose tamoxifen and interferon alpha in adults with recurrent glioma in a phase II trial. Eligible patients had radiographically measurable recurrent gliomas of any grade after initial radiation therapy. Interferon-alpha [6 x 10(6) U subcutaneously three times per week] and tamoxifen (240 mg/m2/day orally) were administered continuously. Treatment response was assessed at 6 week intervals using clinical and radiographic criteria. Eighteen patients (11 males and 7 females) were enrolled. Median age was 41 years (range 23-61 years). All patients had gliomas that progressed after radiation therapy and nitrosourea chemotherapy. The histologic diagnosis of the original tumor was glioblastoma multiforme in 8 patients, anaplastic astrocytoma in 5 patients, astrocytoma in 4 patients and mixed malignant glioma in 1 patient. Reversible moderate to severe neurological toxicity manifested by dizziness and unsteady gait was seen at tamoxifen doses of 240 mg/m2/day. Although the initial tamoxifen dose was reduced to 120 mg/m2/day, moderate neurotoxicity was noted at this dose as well and the trial was closed early. The combination of oral tamoxifen (120 to 240 mg/m2/day) and subcutaneous interferon-alpha [6 x 10(6) U three times per week] was associated with significant neurotoxicity in this group of recurrent glioma patients, resulting in early study closure. Of 16 evaluable patients, 12 had progressive disease after one cycle of treatment, 3 had stable disease, and there was one minor response. Gradual dose escalation may be required if similar patients are to be treated with high dose tamoxifen in conjunction with interferon.
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PMID:High dose oral tamoxifen and subcutaneous interferon alpha-2a for recurrent glioma. 952 96

Nimotuzumab, a humanized antibody targeting epidermal growth factor receptor, has potent anti-proliferative, anti-angiogenic, and pro-apoptotic effects in vitro and in vivo. It also reduces the number of radio-resistant CD133(+) glioma stem cells. The antibody has been extensively evaluated in patients with advanced head and neck, glioma, lung, esophageal, pancreatic, and gastric cancer. In this single institution experience, 35 patients with anaplastic astrocytoma (AA) or glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) were treated with irradiation and 200 mg doses of nimotuzumab. The first 6 doses were administered weekly, together with radiotherapy, and then treatment continued every 21 days until 1 year. The median number of doses was 12, and the median cumulative dose was thus 2400 mg of nimotuzumab. The most frequent treatment-related toxicities were increase in liver function tests, fever, nausea, anorexia, asthenia, dizziness, and tremors. These adverse reactions were classified as mild and moderate. The median survival time was 12.4 mo or 27.0 mo for patients with GBM or AA patients, respectively, who received curative-intent radiotherapy in combination with the antibody. The survival time of a matched population treated at the same hospital with irradiation alone was decreased (median 8.0 and 12.2 mo for GBM and AA patients, respectively) compared with that of the patients who received nimotuzumab and curative-intent radiotherapy. We have thus confirmed that nimotuzumab is a very well-tolerated drug, lacking cumulative toxicity after maintenance doses. This study, in a poor prognosis population, validates the previous data of survival gain after combining nimotuzumab and radiotherapy, in newly diagnosed high-grade glioma patients.
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PMID:Nimotuzumab in combination with radiotherapy in high grade glioma patients: a single institution experience. 2452 95

Astrocytoma is the most common childhood brain tumor. Anaplastic astrocytoma (AA) are high grade gliomas (HGG), found very rarely in pediatric patients. AA mainly results from a dedifferentiation of a low grade astrocytoma. Clinical features of supra-tentorial tumors vary according to their anatomic location, biologic aggressiveness and age of the patient. They can be either completely asymptomatic or present with signs of raised intracranial pressure, seizures (about 40% of cases), behavior changes, speech disorders, declining school performance, or hemiparesis. There have been published adult cases of brain tumor misdiagnosed as viral encephalitis. Due to variety of clinical presentations, diagnosis of AA can be challenging. Here we report a case of a 13 year old girl who presented with clinical features suggestive of viral encephalitis, such as fever, headache, dizziness, and first seizure with postictal sleep and prolonged drowsiness. However, her brain MRI findings were consistent with long standing mass effect from the underlying intracranial contents and that coupled with her history of unusual taste led to further investigations and the diagnosis of the AA. In retrospect, this presentation could have been a temporal epileptic aura. High grade astrocytomas are particularly difficult to treat with a two-year survival rates range from 10% to 30%. The treatment is multimodal with gross total surgical resection of the tumor, followed by radiotherapy with or without nitrosourea-containing chemotherapy regimen. Recent promising results seen with the use of temozolamide in adults has not been yet demonstrated in the pediatric patients. The extent of tumor resection remains the most significant indicator of survival and early recognition of this tumor is essential. This case report emphasizes the fact that mass lesions in the temporal lobe, including high-grade astrocytoma, should be considered in the differential diagnosis of suspected herpes simplex encephalitis, especially those not responding to therapy. Remodeling of the calvarium adjacent to an intracranial lesion suggests a long standing process.
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PMID:Anaplastic astrocytoma mimicking herpes simplex encephalitis in 13-year old girl. 2627 84