BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Cranial irradiation may lead to accelerated atherosclerosis over several years. Stroke has been described after cranial irradiation administered for a number of conditions. However, pituitary irradiation has only rarely been associated with stroke. CASE DESCRIPTIONS Two patients, 39 and 46 years of age, suffered strokes 13 and 20 years, respectively, after irradiation f...

L-carnitine (LC) protects cells from peroxidative damage. In this study, we tested whether L-carnitine (LC) prevents radiation-induced cochlear damage after total cranial irradiation (radiotherapy; RT). Male albino guinea pigs were randomly distributed in 3 groups. The Control group (n = 11) received neither LC nor irradiation, but saline solution ip and sham irradiation for 5 days. The RT grou...

BACKGROUND Previous research has indicated that children who have received treatment for leukaemia which includes cranial irradiation exhibit deficits in their ability to focus attention. It has been suggested that the use of cranial irradiation may have a role to play in long term sequelae. AIMS To investigate neuropsychological functioning among children treated for leukaemia without crania...

In this issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Lee et al present a rather unique and useful statistical interpretation of the waxing question of prophylactic cranial irradiation (PCI) for patients with small-cell lung cancer (SCLC). The concept of PCI for SCLC has its origins in the comparison of the behavior of this disease with childhood leukemia, a disease that is essentially systemic in...

The concept of CNS preventive therapy in childhood all is based on the assumption that undetectable CNS leukemia is present in most patients at the time of diagnosis, residing in that "sdnctuary site" protected by the blood-brain barrier from cytotoxic concentrations of most systemically ad­ministered antileukemic agents. Studies in the 1960s demonstrated that administration of 2400 rad cranial...

Cranial irradiation can lead to long-lasting cognitive impairments in patients receiving radiotherapy for the treatment of malignant brain tumors. Recent studies have suggested inflammation as a major contributor to these deficits; we determined if the chemokine (C-C motif) receptor 2 (CCR2) was a mediator of cognitive impairments induced by irradiation. Two-month-old male Ccr2 knockout (-/-) a...

Ninety three children (51 boys, 42 girls) who had been treated for brain tumours not affecting the hypothalamopituitary axis, were studied for evidence of gonadal dysfunction. All had received cranial irradiation, 59 spinal irradiation, and 28 adjuvant chemotherapy. Mean age at treatment was 6.3 years (range 1.5-15). Mean follow up after completion of radiotherapy was 8.5 years (range 1-27). Pr...