TERPENE COMPOUNDS AS A TREATMENT FOR CHEMOTHERAPY INDUCED NEUROTOXICITY
by Likhitha Selvan
Category: Medicine
Abstract – A recent cancer study highlighted the alarming prevalence of chemotherapy-associated cognitive impairment, or "chemobrain," affecting up to 75% of patients during treatment and 35% post-treatment. To address this urgent issue, three antioxidant and anti-cancer terpenes that are able to cross the blood-brain barrier (beta-Ionone, alpha-Pinene, and Terpinen-4-ol) were evaluated for their ability to mitigate cisplatin-induced neurotoxicity. Results indicate that Terpinen-4-ol, at low concentrations, reduces apoptotic protein expression, diminishing cisplatin cytotoxicity. This research offers a promising approach for Terpinen-4-ol as a pre-treatment, potentially alleviating a critical limitation in cisplatin-based chemotherapy, with clinical testing prospects due to favorable pharmacokinetics.