Glioblastoma is one form of deadly brain cancer. Surgery, radiation and chemotherapy waste patients’ precious time and in most cases they do not provide a cure. Now, researchers have found a high-tech laser surgery that may have an added benefit for patients. Laser surgery can open the protective blood-brain barrier, which enables chemotherapy drugs to reach brain tumors. The laser keeps the barrier open for about four weeks after the surgery, allowing time for drugs to work. Thus, the new technique might improve treatment of deadly brain cancer. The researchers said the discovery was not intentional and they are surprised to find that the laser therapy penetrated the protective blood-brain barrier.
膠芽腫は致命的な脳がんの1つの形態です。 手術、放射線、化学療法は患者の貴重な時間を浪費し、ほとんどの場合それらは治療を提供しません。 現在、研究者達は患者に更なる利益をもたらすかもしれないハイテクレーザー手術を発見しました。 レーザー手術は、防御の堅い血液脳関門を開くことができ、化学療法薬が脳腫瘍に到達できるようにします。 レーザーは、手術後約4週間脳関門を開いたままにし、薬剤が作用する時間を与えます。 したがって、この新しい技術は致命的な脳癌の治療を改善するかもしれません。 研究者らは、この発見は意図的なものではなく、レーザー治療が防御性の高い血液脳関門を通過したことを発見して驚いたと述べている。
1. Potentially helpful chemotherapy drugs are blocked by the blood-brain barrier.
T [ This statement is true, as line 3-7 states that the blood-brain barrier also keeps out potentially lifesaving chemotherapy drugs. ]
2. Professor Eric Leuthardt intentionally conducted laser therapy to break down a patient's blood-brain barrier.
F [This statement is false because the effect on the blood-brain barrier was an unintentional discovery, as line 17 states: during the procedure it was discovered the therapy had an unintended effect on the blood-brain barrier. ]
3.Laser therapy breaks down the blood-brain barrier but leaves it open for only a short time to effectively deliver chemotherapy drugs.
F [ We know from line 21 that there is enough time to be treated with medication : We were basically able to show that this blood-brain barrier is broken down for around four weeks after… ]
4. Doxorubicin is a powerful unapproved chemotherapy drug that is unlikely to penetrate the blood-brain barrier.
T [This statement is true because it matches the contents of line 29: In Kathy’s case, a powerful, experimental chemotherapy drug called doxorubicin, which has been notoriously hard to get past the barrier was delivered directly into her brain.]
5. The new technique is so safe and effective that it could be a new treatment option for patients with the deadly disease.
F [In line 42, it is stated that the procedure by destruction of the blood-brain barrier is not guaranteed to be safe: The procedure is dangerous, a compromised blood-brain barrier puts the brain at risk]