Cognitive effects of pegylated interferon in individuals with primary brain tumors
Dickinson MD et al. - In a trial to assess the cognitive effects of pegylated interferon in brain tumor pts, it was found that participants may not have been starting at their baseline cognitive status and the potential neurotoxic effects of interferon may have been obscured by prior treatments. An alternative explanation is that treatment with pegylated interferon did not produce further impairment and pts experienced stability in their cognitive functioning. Methods- Participants in this study were 35 primary brain tumor pts who received pegylated interferon at tumor recurrence.
- A neuropsychological battery assessed verbal memory, executive functioning, attention, information processing speed, and language functioning.
- Individual growth curve analyses were used to estimate cognitive change throughout treatment with interferon.
Results- Results revealed performance declined on a task of psychomotor speed and upper extremity dexterity.
- Although decline in a few tests was found, its degree may have been reduced because individuals were tested after tumor recurrence where a substantial amount of cognitive change had already potentially occurred due to surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy.
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