Antidepressant effective against aggressive brain tumor according to initial tests
Published: Friday, Sep 20th 2024, 11:10
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An antidepressant could also help against aggressive brain tumors. In tests in cell culture dishes and on mice, the antidepressant vortioxetine proved effective against glioblastoma cells.
Human trials are currently being planned, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH Zurich) announced on Thursday. Patients with glioblastoma are to receive the antidepressant in addition to standard treatment with surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
However, the researchers warn against self-medication with the antidepressant. This would represent an incalculable risk.
Glioblastoma is considered a particularly dangerous brain tumor. According to ETH Zurich, half of patients die within the first twelve months of diagnosis. According to the university, it is difficult to find effective drugs against tumors in the brain, as many drugs are unable to cross the blood-brain barrier.
Parkinson's medication also tested
Researchers led by ETH Professor Berend Snijder discovered that the antidepressant could also kill brain tumors with the help of a special screening platform. With this method, known as pharmacoscopy and developed at ETH, scientists can simultaneously test hundreds of active substances on living cells from human cancer tissue.
They have now tested over 130 existing drugs that have been proven to cross the blood-brain barrier, such as antidepressants, antiparkinsonian drugs or antipsychotics, for their effectiveness against glioblastoma. Some of the antidepressants tested turned out to be surprisingly effective against the tumor cells, wrote the ETH. Vortioxetine performed best in the tests. The results of the tests were published on Friday in the journal "Nature Medicine".
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