Health
Chemotherapy drug could have a serious and surprising side effect, study finds
A chemotherapy drug could cause “significant” hearing loss among cancer survivors, according to a study from the University of South Florida and Indiana University.
Researchers tracked 100 testicular cancer survivors who received a chemo drug called cisplatin for an average of 14 years, as a press release from USF noted.
Among the participants, who averaged 48 years of age, 78% of them reported experiencing “significant difficulties in everyday listening situations.”
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This was reportedly the first study to assess potential hearing loss among cancer survivors.
“Patients receiving cisplatin-based chemotherapy are at high risk for permanent hearing loss, and for some, that hearing loss will progress years after chemo treatment,” lead author Victoria Sanchez, associate professor in the USF Health Department of Otolaryngology Head & Neck Surgery, told Fox News Digital in an email.
A chemotherapy drug could cause “significant” hearing loss among cancer survivors, according to a study. (iStock)
“This hearing loss affects how people hear in everyday life, like a noisy restaurant or other social gatherings.”
Cisplatin is a type of chemotherapy drug that contains the metal platinum, according to the National Cancer Institute’s website.
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The IV-administered drug is approved to treat bladder cancer, ovarian cancer and testicular cancer, the NCI states, either alone or in combination with other medications.
Higher doses of cisplatin were linked to more severe cases of hearing loss, the researchers found.
Cisplatin is a type of chemotherapy drug that contains the metal platinum, according to the National Cancer Institute’s website. (iStock)
Those at highest risk included patients with poor heart health or high blood pressure.
“It was surprising to see that cardiovascular conditions are related to increased hearing loss and progression of hearing loss, which speaks to the need for patients to consider healthy lifestyle choices to help protect their ears,” Sanchez said.
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The ears are especially vulnerable to the drug because they cannot filter it out, according to the USF researchers.
“This leads to inflammation and the destruction of sensory cells that are critical for coding sound, causing permanent hearing loss that can progressively get worse well after cisplatin treatments are completed,” the release stated.
Researchers tracked 100 testicular cancer survivors who received a chemo drug called cisplatin for an average of 14 years. (iStock)
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved cisplatin for testicular cancer treatment in 1978, according to the NIH.
Packaging labels for the drug warn of the potential for ototoxicity, which involves damage to the inner ear as a side effect of medication.
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“Hearing loss can be unilateral or bilateral and tends to become more frequent and severe with repeated doses,” the packaging stated.
“Decreased ability to hear normal conversational tones may occur.”
It is unclear whether the drug-induced ototoxicity is reversible, according to the packaging.
“If a hearing loss is identified, treatment and help for hearing loss is available,” the lead study author said. “Health care providers can talk to patients about their risk of hearing loss and a plan for survivorship.” (iStock)
Based on the findings, the researcher recommends that cancer patients talk to their health care providers about possible hearing loss as a side effect of treatment and to receive hearing evaluations while receiving chemotherapy.
“Check your hearing if you have any concerns,” Sanchez advised.
“If hearing loss is identified, treatment and help for hearing loss is available. Health care providers can talk to patients about their risk of hearing loss and a plan for survivorship.”
The ears are especially vulnerable to the drug because they cannot filter it out, according to the USF researchers. (iStock)
Dr. Marc Siegel, clinical professor of medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center and a Fox News medical contributor, noted that cisplatin is a “highly effective treatment” for testicular cancer, improving the cure rate from 10% to 90% when used in combination with other drugs.
“[The drug has a] very high degree of side effects, [including] hearing loss, which is very well-known, in up to 80% of patients,” Siegel, who was not involved in the study, told Fox News Digital via email.
A cost-benefit analysis should be performed for all treatments, the doctor advised.
“High doses of chemotherapy (especially ones that are platinum-based) and radiation to the head, ear or brain can cause damage and hearing problems in one or both ears,” the ACS stated. (iStock)
“Since this is a potentially deadly cancer, the benefits are generally worth the side effects, until newer, less toxic and equally effective treatments are developed,” Siegel said.
The main limitation of the study, according to Sanchez, is that all of the patients were very similar — males treated for testicular cancer.
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“We need to conduct additional studies to understand women treated with cisplatin and for other types of cancers,” she said.
The goal is that the research will lead to alternatives in chemotherapy treatment plans and preventative medications to reduce the risk of hearing loss, according to USF.
“Hearing loss related to cancer treatment is often permanent (doesn’t go away), but a hearing aid might help.”
The American Cancer Society warns on its website of the potential for chemotherapy drugs to impact hearing.
“High doses of chemotherapy (especially ones that are platinum-based) and radiation to the head, ear or brain can cause damage and hearing problems in one or both ears,” the ACS stated.
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“Hearing loss related to cancer treatment is often permanent (doesn’t go away), but a hearing aid might help.”
Fox News Digital reached out to the FDA, the ACS and several manufacturers of branded cisplatin medications requesting comment.
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Nearsightedness (myopia) is skyrocketing globally, with nearly half of the world’s population expected to be myopic by 2050, according to the World Health Organization.
Heavy use of smartphones and other devices is associated with an 80% higher risk of myopia when combined with excessive computer use, but a new study suggests that dim indoor lighting could also be a factor.
For years, scientists have been puzzled by the different ways myopia is triggered. In lab settings, it can be induced by blurring vision or using different lenses. Conversely, it can be slowed by something as simple as spending time outdoors, research suggests.
Nearsightedness occurs when the eyeball grows too long from front to back, according to the American Optometric Association (AOA). This physical elongation causes light to focus in front of the retina rather than directly on it, making distant objects appear blurry.
The study suggests that myopia isn’t caused by the digital devices themselves, but by the low-light environments where they are typically used. (iStock)
Researchers at the State University of New York (SUNY) College of Optometry identified a potential specific trigger for this growth. When someone looks at a phone or a book up close, the pupil naturally constricts.
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“In bright outdoor light, the pupil constricts to protect the eye while still allowing ample light to reach the retina,” Urusha Maharjan, a SUNY Optometry doctoral student who conducted the study, said in a press release.
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“When people focus on close objects indoors, such as phones, tablets or books, the pupil can also constrict — not because of brightness, but to sharpen the image,” she went on. “In dim lighting, this combination may significantly reduce retinal illumination.”
High-intensity natural light prevents myopia because it provides enough retinal stimulation to override the “stop growing” signal, even when pupils are constricted. (iStock)
The hypothesis suggests that when the retina is deprived of light during extended close-up work, it sends a signal for the eye to grow.
In a dim environment, the narrowed pupil allows so little light through that the retinal activity isn’t strong enough to signal the eye to stop growing, the researchers found.
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In contrast, being outdoors provides light levels much brighter than indoors. This ensures that even when the pupil narrows to focus on a nearby object, the retina still receives a strong signal, maintaining healthy eye development.
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The team noted some limitations of the study, including the small subject group and the inability to directly measure internal lens changes, as the bright backgrounds used to mimic the outdoors made pupils too small for standard equipment.
Researchers believe that increasing indoor brightness during close-up work could be a simple, testable way to slow the global nearsightedness epidemic. (iStock)
“This is not a final answer,” Jose-Manuel Alonso, MD, PhD, SUNY distinguished professor and senior author of the study, said in the release.
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“But the study offers a testable hypothesis that reframes how visual habits, lighting and eye focusing interact.”
The study was published in the journal Cell Reports.
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Older adults classified as “SuperAgers” generate at least twice as many neurons in the hippocampus than their typical aging peers, a new study has revealed.
These findings, released on Wednesday by the University of Illinois Chicago and Northwestern University, could help explain why SuperAgers have exceptional memory and cognitive resilience even well past 80 years old.
Northwestern has been studying SuperAgers for decades, defining them as “extraordinary individuals aged 80 and above whose memory performance rivals that of people three decades younger.” The researchers use special memory recall tests to make this determination.
In this study, they analyzed post-mortem brain tissue — nearly 356,000 individual cell nuclei — with a focus on the hippocampus, which is essential for forming new memories and supporting learning and spatial navigation.
They compared tissue from SuperAgers, typical older adults, older adults with early dementia/Alzheimer’s and younger healthy adults.
SuperAger Ralph Rehbock sits with his wife in his home. New findings from the University of Illinois Chicago and Northwestern University could help explain why SuperAgers have exceptional memory and cognitive resilience well past 80 years old. (Shane Collins, Northwestern University)
The researchers found that SuperAgers produced at least twice as many new neurons compared to “cognitively normal” older adults and those with Alzheimer’s pathology.
They also found that changes in certain brain support cells (astrocytes) and key memory cells (CA1 neurons) are linked to preserved cognitive ability, helping to keep the brain sharp with age.
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The SuperAgers also had different genetic activity patterns in their brains compared to those in Alzheimer’s disease.
“SuperAgers have more immature neurons and neuroblasts in the hippocampus, which is an indication of stronger neurogenesis when compared with other groups,” study co-author Changiz Geula, research professor of cell and developmental biology and neuroscience at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, told Fox News Digital.
Northwestern University study co-author Ivan Ayala examines a SuperAger brain sample on a slide. (Shane Collins, Northwestern University)
“The study also showed that specific cells in the hippocampus show unique gene expression profiles that relate to neuronal function and transmission and are associated with superior cognitive function.”
The findings were published in the journal Nature.
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“We’ve always said that SuperAgers show that the aging brain can be biologically active, adaptable and flexible, but we didn’t know why,” said co-author Tamar Gefen, associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and a neuropsychologist at Northwestern’s Mesulam Institute for Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer’s Disease, in the release.
“This is biological proof that their brains are more plastic, and a real discovery that shows that neurogenesis of young neurons in the hippocampus may be a contributing factor.”
Dr. Tamar Gefen examines a slide of a SuperAger brain. (Shane Collins, Northwestern University)
Dr. Marc Siegel, Fox News senior medical analyst, commented that the study discovered signs of plasticity and regeneration in SuperAgers.
“It confirmed not only preservation of brain tissue in the hippocampus, which is crucial for memory and cognition, but also regeneration and increased development of brain cells in that area,” Siegel, who was not involved in the study, told Fox News Digital.
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“This is an important study because it may lead to certain cell gene treatments that could lead to more SuperAgers,” the doctor said. “It may also lead to more advanced testing to determine who will be a SuperAger and guide clinical treatment and management.”
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The study did have some limitations, primarily that the research relied on tissue samples taken at one specific point, instead of tracking changes over time.
Brain samples are fixed in blocks of wax so they can be stored and examined. (Shane Collins, Northwestern University)
Geula noted that studies using human brain tissue typically involve fewer cases than animal research, which can be a limitation. However, he emphasized that each case in this study was analyzed thoroughly.
“While these findings are not directly translatable to changes in everyday life and activities, they suggest that cognitive resilience is associated with greater integrity of many brain systems,” he told Fox News Digital. “This implies that attending to brain health is crucial for maintaining cognitive function in old age.”
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“Thus, maintaining good overall health by keeping systemic diseases in check, maintaining a healthy diet and exercise, and ensuring the elderly remain mentally active assume more importance.”
The study was funded by the National Institute on Aging, which is part of the National Institutes of Health.
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