Neural correlates in functional brain mapping among breast cancer survivors receiving different chemotherapy regimens: a qEEG/HEG-based investigation.

BACKGROUND: Post-chemotherapy cognitive impairment commonly known as 'chemobrain' or 'chemofog' is a well-established clinical disorder affecting various cognitive domains including attention, visuospatial working memory, executive function, etc. Although several studies have confirmed the chemobrain in recent years, scant experiments have evaluated the potential neurotoxicity of different chemotherapy regimens and agents. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the extent of attention deficits, one of the commonly affected cognitive domains, among breast cancer patients treated with different chemotherapy regimens through neuroimaging techniques. METHODS: Breast cancer patients treated with two commonly prescribed chemotherapy regimens, Adriamycin, Cyclophosphamide and Taxol and Taxotere, Adriamycin and Cyclophosphamide, and healthy volunteers were recruited. Near-infrared hemoencephalography and quantitative electroencephalography assessments were recorded for each participant at rest and during task performance to compare the functional cortical changes associated with each chemotherapy regimen. RESULTS: Although no differences were observed in hemoencephalography results across groups, the quantitative electroencephalography analysis revealed increased power of high alpha/low beta in left fronto-centro-parietal regions involved in dorsal and ventral attention networks in the Adriamycin, Cyclophosphamide and Taxol-treated group compared with the Taxotere, Adriamycin and Cyclophosphamide and control group. The Adriamycin, Cyclophosphamide and Taxol-treated cases had the highest current source density values in dorsal attention network and ventral attention network and ventral attention network-related centers in 10 and 15 Hz associated with the lowest Z-scored Fast Fourier Transform coherence in the mentioned regions. CONCLUSIONS: The negatively affected neurocognitive profile in breast cancer patients treated with the Adriamycin, Cyclophosphamide and Taxol regimen proposes presumably neurotoxic sequelae of this chemotherapy regimen as compared with the Taxotere, Adriamycin and Cyclophosphamide regimen.

Comparative Analysis of the Chemotherapy-Related Cognitive Impairments in Patients with Breast Cancer: A Community-Based Research.

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of two common chemotherapy regimens on breast cancer (BC) survivors' cognition. The participants comprised 35 patients with BC who underwent two chemotherapy regimens, AC-T and TAC, and 24 matched healthy volunteers. The participants were assessed regarding cognitive function through Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination and Cambridge Brain Science tests. The results represent the AC-T regimen to be more toxic than the TAC in domains of language, concentration, and visuospatial working memory (P-value = 0.036, 0.008, and 0.031, respectively) and should be prescribed with caution in patients with BC suffering from baseline cognitive impairments.

The Hospitalization Rate of Cerebral Venous Sinus Thrombosis before and during COVID-19 Pandemic Era: A Single-Center Retrospective Cohort Study.

OBJECTIVES: There are several reports of the association between SARS-CoV-2 infection (COVID-19) and cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST). In this study, we aimed to compare the hospitalization rate of CVST before and during the COVID-19 pandemic (before vaccination program). MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this retrospective cohort study, the hospitalization rate of adult CVST patients in Namazi hospital, a tertiary referral center in the south of Iran, was compared in two periods of time. We defined March 2018 to March 2019 as the pre-COVID-19 period and March 2020 to March 2021 as the COVID-19 period. RESULTS: 50 and 77 adult CVST patients were hospitalized in the pre-COVID-19 and COVID-19 periods, respectively. The crude CVST hospitalization rate increased from 14.33 in the pre-COVID-19 period to 21.7 per million in the COVID-19 era (P = 0.021). However, after age and sex adjustment, the incremental trend in hospitalization rate was not significant (95% CrI: -2.2, 5.14). Patients > 50-year-old were more often hospitalized in the COVID-19 period (P = 0.042). SARS-CoV-2 PCR test was done in 49.3% out of all COVID-19 period patients, which were positive in 6.5%. Modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score ≥3 at three-month follow-up was associated with age (P = 0.015) and malignancy (P = 0.014) in pre-COVID period; and was associated with age (P = 0.025), altered mental status on admission time (P<0.001), malignancy (P = 0.041) and COVID-19 infection (P = 0.008) in COVID-19 period. CONCLUSION: Since there was a more dismal outcome in COVID-19 associated CVST, a high index of suspicion for CVST among COVID-19 positive is recommended.