Molecules
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The zebrafish has been in the forefront of developmental biology for three decades and has become a favorite of geneticists. Due to the accumulated genetic knowledge and tools developed for the zebrafish it is gaining popularity in other disciplines, including neuroscience. The zebrafish offers a compromise between system complexity (it is a vertebrate similar in many ways to our own species) and practical simplicity (it is small, easy to keep, and prolific). ⋯ The behavioral test examples presented are biased according to the personal interests of the author. They will cover research areas including learning and memory, fear and anxiety, and social behavior. Nevertheless, the general principles will apply to other functional domains and should represent a snapshot of the rapidly evolving behavioral screening field with zebrafish.
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Malignant gliomas (glioblastoma multiforme and anaplastic astrocytoma) which have a combined incidence of 5-8/100,000 population, represent the most common primary central nervous system tumors. The treatment outcomes even with aggressive approach including surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy are dismal with median reported survival is less than 1 year. Temozolomide is a new drug which has shown promise in treating malignant gliomas and other difficult-to-treat tumors. ⋯ At the present time temozolomide is approved in the United States for the treatment of adult patients with refractory anaplastic astrocytoma and, in the European Union, for treatment of glioblastoma multiforme showing progression or recurrence after standard therapy. Temozolomide's characteristics which make it a candidate for a wide range of clinical testing to evaluate the potential of combination treatments in different tumor types are its predictable bioavailability and minimal toxicity. An overview of the mechanism of action of temozolomide and a summary of results from more important randomized controlled clinical trials in high grade gliomas are presented here.