A new study is showing that children may do even worse with Intrathecal Methotrexate. Based on these findings, the use of intrathecal methotrexate for medulloblastoma and other malignancies should be reevaluated, study author Dr. Daria Riva, from the Istituto Nazionale Neurologico in Milano, Italy, and colleagues note. Dr. Riva's team compared the cognitive abilities of two medulloblastoma groups with those of their age-matched control siblings. Two groups of 10 children each were compared. The researchers' findings are published in the July 9th issue of Neurology. Among children 3 to 10 years of age, those in the MTX+ group performed significantly worse on all cognitive tests than matched control subjects. In contrast, similarly aged patients in the MTX- group only performed worse than controls on two measures of executive function and on performance IQ. Among children older than 10 years, MTX+ patients performed significantly worse than controls on one measure of short-term memory. In this age group, no significant differences in cognitive ability were noted between MTX- patients and their controls. The study looked at a small number of patients BUT survival results were the same for each group. In a related editorial, Dr. Roger J. Packer, from The George Washington University in Washington, DC, and Dr. Minesh Mehta, from the University of Wisconsin in Madison, comment that the findings are particularly relevant as various intrathecal regimens are currently being studied as a way of reducing radiotherapy doses. The editorialists note that although methotrexate has received much of the attention, other chemotherapeutic agents may also cause cognitive damage when given intrathecally. Thanks to Reuters Health J Cancer Cell, 9/04 Remember we are NOT Doctors and have NO medical training. This site is like an Encylopedia - there are many pages, many links on many topics. Support our work with any size DONATION - see left side of any page - for how to donate. You can help raise awareness of CAM.