Health & Medicine
Heart Drug Protects Fertility In Mice Under Chemotherapy
Kathleen Lees
First Posted: Nov 07, 2015 09:19 AM EST
The heart medication dexrazoxane--or dexra for short--may improve survival and prevent ovarian damage after chemotherapy, according to a recent study.
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison found that the mice given dexra while on chemo lived much longer than those on chemo only. Furthermore, they showed higher survival rates, ovarian protection and birthing successes when compared to counterparts not on the drug.
"What really surprised us is that a very small dose of dexra was enough to give full ovarian protection," Sana Salih, an assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, said in a news release. Researchers also found that mice treated with the drug also gave birth to healthier litters in general that typically had more pups that were of higher birth weights than those that received DXR alone.
Right now, Salih, who directs the Oncofertility Program in the School of Medicine and Public Health, is working to see if safe doses of dexra can protect developing primate ovaries. Nonhuman primate ovarian development, cycle time and gestation similar to that in humans, researchers say.
"My goal is to present data so that physicians can come up with dosage recommendations and safety profiles for early clinical trials in humans," Salih added. "Up to 6 percent of young girls with childhood cancers and 50 percent of women with breast cancer who endure chemotherapy face ovarian failure. We need to give more cancer survivors real hope that they can conceive a healthy child."
In the future, researchers hope to find more ways to protect the ovaries as well as other tissues and organs as part of cancer treatment in order to increase overall health and survival.
The study is published in the journal PLOS ONE.
Related Articles
Pelvic Prolapse Lower In Women Who Have Their Ovaries Removed
For more great science stories and general news, please visit our sister site, Headlines and Global News (HNGN).
See Now:
NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone
TagsHealth, Human, Ovarian, Damage, Chemotherapy, PLOS ONE, Dexrazoxane, Survival, Dexra, Chemo, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Protection, DXR, Uncofertility Program in the School of Medicine and Public Health ©2024 ScienceWorldReport.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The window to the world of science news.
More on SCIENCEwr
First Posted: Nov 07, 2015 09:19 AM EST
The heart medication dexrazoxane--or dexra for short--may improve survival and prevent ovarian damage after chemotherapy, according to a recent study.
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison found that the mice given dexra while on chemo lived much longer than those on chemo only. Furthermore, they showed higher survival rates, ovarian protection and birthing successes when compared to counterparts not on the drug.
"What really surprised us is that a very small dose of dexra was enough to give full ovarian protection," Sana Salih, an assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, said in a news release. Researchers also found that mice treated with the drug also gave birth to healthier litters in general that typically had more pups that were of higher birth weights than those that received DXR alone.
Right now, Salih, who directs the Oncofertility Program in the School of Medicine and Public Health, is working to see if safe doses of dexra can protect developing primate ovaries. Nonhuman primate ovarian development, cycle time and gestation similar to that in humans, researchers say.
"My goal is to present data so that physicians can come up with dosage recommendations and safety profiles for early clinical trials in humans," Salih added. "Up to 6 percent of young girls with childhood cancers and 50 percent of women with breast cancer who endure chemotherapy face ovarian failure. We need to give more cancer survivors real hope that they can conceive a healthy child."
In the future, researchers hope to find more ways to protect the ovaries as well as other tissues and organs as part of cancer treatment in order to increase overall health and survival.
The study is published in the journal PLOS ONE.
Related Articles
Pelvic Prolapse Lower In Women Who Have Their Ovaries Removed
For more great science stories and general news, please visit our sister site, Headlines and Global News (HNGN).
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone