The WorldCare Wire – 2024 Fall/Winter
This edition of WorldCare’s quarterly e-newsletter highlights the benefits of mental health medical second opinions (MSOs), important facts about brain tumors, and the latest research advances from The WorldCare Consortium® research institutions.
For Your Health: What is a Mental Health MSO?
Mental illness is more common than you may think, in fact 1 in 5 live with a mental illness.
Obtaining the correct diagnosis is essential, but getting an accurate diagnosis can be challenging. There are nearly 300 recognized mental health disorders, many with overlapping symptoms. Diagnoses can also be complicated by comorbidities, as many individuals suffer from more than one condition, such as anxiety and depression, or bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.
Consider getting an MSO if your mental health diagnosis is uncertain, if you are not responding to a prescribed treatment plan, or if your doctor does not specialize in treating your condition.
A confidential WorldCare Mental Health MSO gives you access to experts from The WorldCare Consortium® of world-renowned teaching and research hospitals. They will review your case and provide an opinion on your original diagnosis. They will also provide guidance on the latest evidence-based treatments, therapies, and clinical trials. A Registered Nurse Case manager assigned to your case will advocate for you throughout the MSO process.
Brain Tumors
Brain tumors are masses of abnormal cells that have grown out of control. Whether they are malignant or benign, brain tumors can destroy normal brain tissue as they grow.1
There are different types of brain tumors, depending on the cell type(s) involved:1
• Gliomas develop from glial cells and are the most common. There are three main types:
1. Glioblastoma or astrocytoma begin in astrocytes, star-shaped cells that support nerve cells and their function.
2. Medulloblastomas develop in the cerebellum, the brain area involved in muscle coordination and movement. It is the most common brain cancer in children.1, 2
3. Ependymoma originates in ependymal cells that line areas of the brain where cerebrospinal fluid flows
• Medulloblastomas Tdevelop in the cerebellum, the brain area involved in muscle coordination and movement. It is the most common brain cancer in children.1, 2
• Meningiomas begin in the meninges, the layers of tissue that line the brain.
The cause of most adult brain tumors is unknown.3 Signs and symptoms vary, depending on tumor location, and may include morning headache, seizures, loss of appetite, frequent nausea and vomiting, changes in mood or personality, and loss of balance.3
Brain imaging will almost always show a brain tumor if one is present.4 Treatment for brain tumors may include surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, and targeted therapy. Patients with very slow-growing, asymptomatic tumors may be watched closely and not treated until their condition worsens, delaying potential treatment side effects.3
1 American Cancer Society. What are Adult Brain and Spinal Cord Tumors? Accessed at https://www.cancer.org/cancer/types/brain-spinal-cord-tumors-adults/about/what-are-brain-spinal-tumors.html
2 Mayo Clinic. Medulloblastoma. Accessed at https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/medulloblastoma/cdc-20363524
3 National Cancer Institute. National Cancer Institute. Adult Central Nervous System Tumors Treatment (PDQ®) – Patient Version. Accessed at https://www.cancer.gov/types/brain/patient/adult-brain-treatment-pdq
4 American Cancer Society. Tests for Brain and Spinal Cord Tumors in Adults. Accessed at https://www.cancer.org/cancer/types/brain-spinal-cord-tumors-adults/detection-diagnosis-staging/how-diagnosed.html
The WorldCare Consortium® Research Update: Next-Generation CAR T-Cell Therapy Shows Promise in Glioblastoma Clinical Trial
A next-generation CAR T-cell therapy dramatically shrank tumors within a few days in the first three patients with glioblastoma treated in a phase 1 clinical trial at Mass General Cancer Center, according to results published recently in The New England Journal of Medicine. This news is exciting because glioblastoma is an aggressive brain cancer with a poor prognosis.
CAR T-cell therapy involves reengineering a patient’s immune cells, called T cells, in the lab to contain receptors that attach to cancer cells. After the treatment is injected back into the patient, the T cells bind to cancer cells and attack them.
First-generation CAR T-cell therapy is already approved for blood cancers but does not work well in solid tumors like glioblastoma. Solid tumors often contain a mix of cancer cells, some of which can continue to evade detection by immune cells.
In this study, the researchers engineered a next-generation CAR T-cell therapy to contain a bispecific antibody that binds to a protein on glioblastoma cancer cells and a protein on T cells, forcing the T cells to recognize the cancer and attack.
All three patients showed remarkable early treatment responses, with one patient having no cancer progression for more than six months. Since all eventually relapsed over time, the researchers are working on strategies to prolong responses.
The WorldCare Consortium® Research News:
New Hope for Reducing Breast Cancer Metastasis
Researchers at the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center – Jefferson Health have discovered a new biological mechanism that may represent an exciting treatment target for controlling breast cancer metastasis.
Lymph vessels are thin tubes that collect lymph fluid from tissues in your body and return it to your bloodstream. The vessels are connected by nodes, small structures that filter substances from the fluid. When cancer spreads from an original tumor, it usually spreads first through the lymph vessels and can be found in tumor-draining lymph nodes. Cancer processes can also lead to the growth of new lymph vessels.
The Jefferson Health investigators discovered that a protein called decorin found in connective tissue limits the growth of new lymph vessels. Additionally, they found that treatment with decorin reduced tumor growth and inhibited breast cancer metastasis in mouse and cell models of breast cancer. Their findings were published recently in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The WorldCare Consortium® Research News:
Experimental Molecule Restored Cognition and Memory in Mouse Model of Alzheimer’s Disease
A new molecule developed by UCLA Health researchers restored cognitive function and memory in mice with Alzheimer’s disease symptoms.
Gamma oscillations are high-frequency rhythms of electrical signals in the brain that are essential for cognition and memory. Individuals with mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease have lower gamma oscillations than people without those conditions. The experimental compound, called DDL-920, works by allowing fast-firing neurons to re-establish gamma oscillations.
The researchers found that mice with Alzheimer’s disease symptoms treated with DDL-920 demonstrated similar cognitive function and memory as normal mice.
While the treatment worked well in mice, more research is needed to determine if the drug is safe and effective in humans. If so, it may also be helpful for treating other conditions that involve lower gamma oscillations, such as depression, schizophrenia, and autism spectrum disorder.
Our Member MSO Experience
“We are proud to have pioneered life-changing, clinically rigorous expert medical second opinions. As the gold standard in MSOs, it is an honor to help our members on their journey to wellness as we celebrate our 30th anniversary.”
— Hassan S. Sharif, MD, FRCR
Chief Medical Officer and Chief Executive Officer
As a covered member, if you or a loved one is diagnosed with a serious and complex illness, contact WorldCare.
WorldCare is the benefit that saves lives.
