Common Anti-Diarrhea Drug Found to Kill Brain Cancer Cells
Sometimes, finding a treatment for
previously incurable health conditions doesn’t require the invention of
new medications at all. There are those rare cases when existing
medications are found to be effective in treating other seemingly
unrelated conditions. This is exactly what had happened in the case of
loperamide, better known under its commercial name Imodium, a common
diarrhea medication.
According to a German research group from
the Institute of Experimental Cancer Research in Paediatrics at Goethe
University, this affordable and widely-accessible drug can kill the
cells of glioblastoma tumors, the most aggressive type of brain cancer.
According to Mayo Clinic, glioblastoma is
“an aggressive type of cancer that can occur in the brain or spinal
cord. Glioblastoma forms from cells called astrocytes that support nerve
cells”. Although glioblastoma can occur at any age, it is more
widespread in older adults, and it is sometimes confused with a stroke
since often the first symptoms of the condition are worsening headaches,
nausea, vomiting, and seizures.
These dangerous brain tumors are infamous for being resistant to
treatment and practically incurable. So often, the only way doctors can
help a patient with glioblastoma is by reducing the disease's signs and
symptoms. Thus, effective alternative treatments are urgently required,
and the German research team led by Dr. Sjoerd van Wijk believes they
have found one. According to a study published in the Autophagy journal
at the end of October 2020, researchers started injecting loperamide
into glioblastoma cells and found that it induces the cells' death.
Furthermore, the researchers also
discovered why the drug is effective: introducing loperamide in the cell
causes a stress response in the part of the cell called the endoplasmic
reticulum (ER), an organelle that synthesizes the building blocks of
cells - proteins. As a result, the cancer cells start to degrade and
ultimately go into self-destruction mode.
This specific mechanism of self-induced cancer cell death is known as
autophagy-dependent cell death, from the Ancient Greek autóphagos
meaning "self-devouring". To some extent, autophagy is a normal part of a
cell’s life cycle that removes unnecessary or dysfunctional components
from the cell. But when cancer cells were exposed to loperamide, it
caused a process of self-degradation in the membrane of the ER and
ultimately the entire cell. “Our experiments with cell lines show that
autophagy could support the treatment of glioblastoma brain tumors,”
stated van Wijk.
Moreover, the researchers point out that the drug may be a feasible
option for other difficult-to-treat neurological disorders or even
dementia. At this point, the German research team is working on making a
stronger customized version of loperamide that would be used
specifically in the brain and ways to safely deliver the medication into
the tumor without harming the healthy surrounding brain tissues. You
see, simply taking the drug as you would normally to treat diarrhea
would not help, as loperamide is actually not absorbed into the blood at
all.
Of course, we’ll keep you updated on any further developments of this
new exciting treatment.