Meningiomas are the most common type of intracranial brain tumors in adults. The majority of meningiomas are benign with a low risk of recurrence after resection. However, meningiomas defined as grades II or III, according to the 2016 World Health Organization (WHO) classification, termed high-grade meningiomas, frequently recur, even after gross total resection with or without adjuvant radiotherapy. Boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) and photodynamic therapy (PDT) are novel treatment modalities for malignant brain tumors, represented by glioblastomas. Although BNCT is based on a nuclear reaction and PDT uses a photochemical reaction, both of these therapies result in cellular damage to only the tumor cells. The aim of this literature review is to investigate the possibility and efficacy of BNCT and PDT as novel treatment modalities for high-grade meningiomas. The present review was conducted by searching PubMed and Scopus databases. The search was conducted in December 2019. Early clinical studies of BNCT have demonstrated activity for high-grade meningiomas, and a phase II clinical trial is in progress in Japan. As for PDT, studies have investigated the effect of PDT in malignant meningioma cell lines to establish PDT as a treatment for malignant meningiomas. Further laboratory research combined with proper controlled trials investigating the effects of these therapies is warranted.

The present paper investigates the pharmacokinetics of etoposide (VP-16) and carboplatin (CBDCA) in plasma and the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), in the space left by tumor removal, of patients with glioma. Eight Japanese patients with glioma received a course of hyperosmotic disruption of the blood-brain barrier (HODBBB) and intraarterial combination chemotherapy with 60 mg/m2 of VP-16 and 300 mg/m2 of CBDCA. All patients were initially administered mannitol, followed by infusion of the anticancer drugs into the right internal carotid artery. Blood samples and samples of CSF in the space left by tumor removal were obtained. VP-16 and CBDCA concentration were measured by HPLC, and the pharmacokinetic parameters of these drugs estimated in CSF and plasma. The plasma concentrations of VP-16 and CBDCA peaked at the end of infusion, then decreased in a bi-exponential decay pattern during the remainder of the treatment period. Both VP-16 and CBDCA were detectable in CSF beginning 0.5 h after the initiation of each infusion, and were then slowly eliminated from the space left by tumor removal. The mean maximum CSF concentration of VP-16 and CBDCA was 0.17 and 15.25% of that in plasma, respectively. The mean area under the time-CSF concentration curve from 0 to 24 h after VP-16 and CBDCA infusion was 1.91 and 113.6% of plasma, respectively. In two of the eight patients, the clinical response to treatment was a partial response and other patients showed no change. HODBBB and intraarterial combination chemotherapy with VP-16 and CBDCA may be useful in patients with brain tumors for maintenance chemotherapy.

The development of potent and selective therapeutic approaches to glioblastoma (GBM) requires the identification of molecular pathways that critically regulate the survival and proliferation of GBM. Glioblastoma stem-like cells (GSCs) possess stem-cell-like properties, self-renewal, and differentiation into multiple neural cell lineages. From a clinical point of view, GSCs have been reported to resist radiation and chemotherapy. GSCs are influenced by the microenvironment, especially the hypoxic condition. N-myc downstream-regulated gene 1 (NDRG1) is a tumor suppressor with the potential to suppress the proliferation, invasion, and migration of cancer cells. Previous studies have reported that deregulated expression of NDRG1 affects tumor growth and clinical outcomes of patients with GBM. This literature review aimed to clarify the critical role of NDRG1 in tumorigenesis and acquirement of resistance for anti-GBM therapies, further to discussing the possibility and efficacy of NDRG1 as a novel target of treatment for GBM. The present review was conducted by searching the PubMed and Scopus databases. The search was conducted in February 2022. We review current knowledge on the regulation and signaling of NDRG1 in neuro-oncology. Finally, the role of NDRG1 in GBM and potential clinical applications are discussed.

Dopamine agonists are the standard first-line medical therapy for prolactinoma. We report a rare case of giant prolactinoma with a first epileptic seizure due to rapid reduction of the tumor as a complication of dopamine agonist therapy. A 27-year-old Japanese man presented to our institution with a history of visual disturbance for 1 year and general fatigue for 3 months. Magnetic resonance imaging showed a tumor that arose from the pituitary and extended to the bilateral anterior skull base, the clivus, and the cavernous sinus, with compression of the optic chiasm and the bilateral frontal and temporal lobes. On the basis of the patient’s serum concentration of prolactin, we diagnosed a prolactinoma and started dopamine agonist therapy with cabergoline. The patient had a general seizure immediately after starting dopamine agonist therapy and required general anesthetic treatment following the rapid reduction of the tumor. We speculated that the rapid reduction of the tumor resulted in the retraction of the surrounding brain structure, and the epileptic seizure was then induced by dopamine agonist therapy. We report a rare case of giant prolactinoma with a first epileptic seizure immediately after the initiation of dopamine agonist therapy. Clinicians need to be aware that the rapid reduction of a giant prolactinoma by dopamine agonist therapy may cause an epileptic seizure.

The magnetic properties of 0.15-3%Si non-oriented electrical steel sheets were measured at temperatures ranging from 4 K to 200°C. Except for the 3%Si sheet, all the sheets were more easily magnetized at higher temperatures. The hysteresis losses increased at lower temperatures, but the changes were less than those due to the crystalline grain size. The eddy current loss can be estimated as W_RTeρ_RT/ρ_T,where W_RTe, ρ_RT, and ρ_T are the eddy current loss at room temperature and the electric resistivities at room temperature and T°C, respectively. The magnetic properties of a 6.5%Si steel sheet were also measured at the same temperatures.The 6.5%Si steel was the easiest to magnetize at room temperature. The change in the eddy current loss with temperature was proportional to those of resistivities,but the hysteresis loss increased very markedly at lower temperatures, because of the large change in magnetostriction.