Magnetic nanoparticles may be used to deliver chemotherapy drugs to difficult-to-reach spinal cord tumors, according to a proof-of-concept study in an animal model published in Scientific Reports.
Here are five things to know:
1. University of Illinois at Chicago researchers used a rat model with implanted, human intramedullary spinal cord tumors to demonstrate determine ifthat magnetic nanoparticles could kill tumor cells.
2. The researchers created nanoparticles made up of metallic magnets bound to particles of the chemotherapy drug doxorubicin. They first implanted magnets under the rats' skin to covering the spinal vertebrae. in the rat models and They then injected the magnetic nanoparticles into the space around the spinal cord where the tumor was located.
3. The magnets guided the nanoparticles to the tumor sites, where the cells took up the nanoparticles and underwent apoptosis.
4. According to neurosurgeon and corresponding author Ankit Mehta, MD, the impact of the nanoparticles on nearby healthy cells was minimal. "This proof-of-concept study shows that magnetic nanoparticles are an effective way to deliver chemotherapy to an area of the body that has been difficult to reach with available treatments," he said. "We will continue to investigate the potential of this therapy and hope to enter human trials if it continues to show promise."
5. Intramedullary spinal cord tumors account for 8 percent to 10 percent of all spinal cord tumors and are common among children and adolescents. Patients with these tumors survive an average of 15.5 months. Patients with these tumors survive an average of 15.5 months. The average lifetime for patients with these tumors is 15.5 months.
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