MIAMI – Researchers at the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center now have a greater understanding into why a deadly form of brain cancer is so hard to fight.
Dr. Antonio Iavarone, a pediatric oncologist and Deputy Director of the Center, led the study along with a Korean researcher.
They discovered that Glioblastoma brain cancer cells can mimic healthy neurons and essentially hide from treatment.
“They basically establish these type of connections all throughout the normal brain, and by doing that, they hide. They hide from the therapy and they remain somehow dormant, we believe, during the therapy, but then as soon as the therapy is removed, they start growing again,” Iavarone said.
He said specialists can now design therapies to target these hidden cancer cells.
Approximately 15,000 Americans are diagnosed with Glioblastoma every year, making it the second most frequent type of brain tumor.
STUDY INVESTIGATES LINK BETWEEN SLEEP AND MIGRAINES
Researchers are learning more about how sleep impacts migraine headaches.
Participants in a recent study reported on both their perceived sleep quality and sleep duration which allowed researchers to compare it to their actual sleep time and sleep quality.
It turns out participants who perceived poor sleep quality and duration had a 22 percent higher chance of a migraine attack the next morning.
Researchers were also surprised to find that there was no increased risk of migraine from mood issues, such as depression and anxiety.
Nearly 500 people, ranging from age 7 to 84, were enrolled in the study.