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Original Publication Date
2018
Document Type
Presentation
Abstract
Julie Meade’s research investigates how to treat long-term emotional side effects caused by a common chemotherapy drug, paclitaxel. While chemotherapy has transformed cancer from a fatal disease into a treatable one, paclitaxel—used by more than half a million patients each year—can lead to lasting depression, anxiety, and cognitive deficits that persist long after treatment ends. By the end of the next decade, an estimated 20 million cancer survivors will have been treated with this drug, putting them at risk for these debilitating mood changes. Unfortunately, traditional antidepressants do not work for this form of depression. Meade’s research uses mouse models treated with paclitaxel to study how the drug alters the brain and identify biological mechanisms behind these emotional changes. She is currently testing a new class of antidepressants that shows promise in reversing paclitaxel-induced depression. This work could lead to the first effective treatment for depression in cancer survivors—and potentially benefit millions of others living with major depressive disorder.
Transcription
By a show of hands how many of you know someone who has had cancer. That's a lot of hands and that number is only going to go up there are more senior citizens are alive today than anytime in the world's history. What that means is that people living longer so they have more opportunities to get cancer but that they also live into an age where cancer is more common. What this means is that cancer is of reality of life but because we've had all these advancements in chemotherapy over the last few decades cancer is no longer a death sentence people are living longer healthier lives to get you chemo and you done you good. But I'm going to level with you one of the best chemotherapeutic Packel Taxil has horrible side effects and the side effect I'm talking about is emotional changes. Patients who get treated with this particular chemotherapeutic can experience anxiety and of passion and cognitive deficit and this can last for weeks months or even years after finishing chemo. Imagine that you'd beat cancer but you're depressed for the best the life that's not fair you might be thinking it's only a few people who get this medicine but really it's a lot half a million people each year a treated with Pack Taxil and because Packle Taxil it's so good at fighting cancer that means that there will be about 20 million cancer survivors who received this drug alive by the end of the next decade. That's 20 million people at risk for a long term changes in mood like depression so why can't they just take antidepressants because that I know anti-depressants that what for this type of depression just nothing works on the market. So here's my research comes in, I get my laboratory mice and I give a Packle Taxil the same stuff that the patients use I even buy it from the hospital and these mice become depressed. hey stop grooming they stop liking tasty foods they stop doing mouse tasks it's like they just give up on life. So what I do now from my research is I look in their brains and I figure out what is different in these mice and how can we fix it. I am currently experimenting with a new class of antidepressants and so far it looks like it might work to treat this depression what this means is that there might be a treatment for these depressed cancer survivors. But not just those who received Packle Taxil also humans who have depression for non-cancer related to the essence individuals may individuals with major depression disorder might now have a treatment this could change lives millions of lives that's all. Thanks.
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Second place winner, 4th Annual VCU 3MT® Competition, held on October 18-19, 2018.