Significant Revelation Regarding Memory Loss Due to Cancer
Salt Lake City: A new study reveals that certain cancerous growths, when releasing virus-like proteins, can potentially disrupt the immune system, causing damage to brain cells.
Anti-EM2 paraneoplastic neurological syndrome, characterized by rapidly advancing symptoms, includes memory loss, changes in behavior, compromised communication skills, and even difficulty in reading others.
Published in the Journal of Cell Science, researchers suggest that this rare neurological condition affects less than one individual out of ten thousand cancer patients. While specific symptoms may vary in each person, a consistent immediate defensive response against the nervous system is always present, causing rapid damage.
According to scientists, the observation of these neurological symptoms in patients can precede the diagnosis of cancer. These symptoms arise when the immune system rapidly targets specific proteins, including PNMA2 (Paraneoplastic Antigen Ma2), present in the brain.
Using a novel microscopy technique, researchers attempted to examine the structure of the protein, revealing that multiple PNMA2 can form complexes resembling 12-sided virus-like capsids when extracted from the outer shells of certain viruses.
Since the primary function of the immune system is to attack viruses, the virus-like structure of PNMA2 makes it an easy target. According to researchers, the findings of this study could aid in discovering ways to prevent antibodies from blocking the brain in cancer patients facing neurological symptoms.
