Virtualtrials Newsletter

Clinical Trials And Noteworthy Treatment For Brain Tumors

I just heard about an exciting clinical trial going on at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Texas. This one is for patients with Glioblastoma Multiforme where the tumor is deemed "inoperable". The name of the treatment is: DTI-015. It is the drug BCNU dissolved in a liquid solvent that allows the drug to better enter the tumor cells. It is injected directly into the tumor in a manner similar to the way a biopsy is done. According to their website, at directtherapeutics.com:

"To date, more than 30 patients have been enrolled and four additional patients have received DTI-015 on a compassionate use basis. Preliminary analysis of the results from this pilot trial indicates that localized administration of DTI-015 appears tolerable in most patients. The systemic side effects of BCNU were generally absent, indicating that at the doses tested to date significant amounts of BCNU did not reach the systemic circulation.

Median patient survival following treatment was 45 weeks among the DTI-treated patients with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). This compares with an historical survival rate of 20 to 26 weeks in patients with recurrent GBM at M.D. Anderson. Most patients in the historical comparison group had surgical treatment for their diseases, while the DTI-015-treated patients had been deemed inoperable. "

Check our website for more information. Do a keyword search for DTI-015

It is now available in: Houston, Tx; San Francisco, Ca; Los Angles, Ca; Cincinnati, OH 2. A reminder: Brain Tumor Awareness Week is almost here! May 6 - 12th. Go to http://www.paonline.com/nmlarson for details on the events! 3. For those of you in the NY/NJ area, Hackensack University Medical Center is sponsoring a FREE 1/2 day conference on "Breakthroughs in Epilepsy Therapies", this Saturday, May 5th , At the Marriott Glenpointe, Teaneck, NJ..

Topics include: drug therapy, epilepsy in children, surgical options, vagus nerve stimulator, and a panel discussion presented by MDs, nurses, patients and other health professionals from the Hackensack University Medical Center Comprehensive Epilepsy Center.

For details and To RSVP, call 201-996-3205. 4. WHEN A CHILD HAS A NEUROLOGICAL DISORDER: A Conference for Families and Physicians

There is a very special FREE web event this Saturday, May 5th, 9:30AM, Pacific Time (12:30pm, Eastern Time) (presented by the The Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute at Cedars -Sinai Medical Center. You can participate from your home!

You, the "cyber audience", will be able to submit questions during and after each lecture and have them answered live over the Net.

There are three parallel lecture series 10:10 A.M. - 12:40: please RSVP to Paulz@cshs.org and tell them which track you prefer to watch (A,B or C):
- Track A EPILEPSY,
- Track B BRAIN TUMORS, or
- Track C GENETICS AND DEVELOPMENTAL DISORDERS
Agenda

9:30 - 9:35 a.m.
Welcome and Introduction Video
Keith L. Black, MD
Director, Maxine Dunitz
Neurosurgical Institute and
Director, Division of Neurosurgery
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

9:35 - 10:05 a.m.
Overview of Clinical Treatment
Options for Brain Tumors and
Other Neurological disorders
Moise Danielpour, MD
Director, Pediatric Neurosurgery
Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

TRACK A - EPILEPSY

10:10 - 10:45 a.m.
Brain Function and Epilepsy
Dawn Eliashiv, MD
Department of Neurology
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

10:50 - 11:20 a.m.
Surgery for Pediatric Epilepsy-Why
or Why Not?
Moise Danielpour, MD

11:20 - 11:35 a.m.
Break

11:35 - 12:05 p.m.
Surgical Treatment of Pediatric
Epilepsy from Vagal Nerve Stimulators
to Disconnective Hemispherectomy
Warwick Peacock, MD
Professor and Director of
Pediatric Neurosurgery
University of California, San Francisco

12:10 - 12:40 p.m.
Medical Management of Epilepsy
and Current Drugs and Dietary Regimen
Charles Niesen, MD
Acting Director of Pediatric Neurology
Department of Pediatrics
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

TRACK B - BRAIN TUMORS

10:15 - 10:45 a.m.
Clinical Trials for Brain Tumors
Moise Danielpour, MD

10:50 - 11:20 a.m.
Pediatric Brain Tumors
Carole Hurvitz, MD
Department of Pediatrics
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

11:20 - 11:35 a.m.
Break

11:35 - 12:05 p.m.
Radiation and the Growing Brain
William M. Wara, MD, FACR
Professor and Chairman
Department of Radiation Oncology
University of California, San Francisco

12:10 - 12:40 p.m.
Finding the Right Physician
Paul Zeltzer, MD
Neuro-Oncology for Adults and Pediatrics
Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

TRACK C - GENETICS
& DEVELOPMENTAL DISORDERS

10:10 - 10:45 a.m.
Fetal Surgery for Myelomeningocele
Diana Farmer, MD
Associate Professor
Clinical Surgery, Pediatrics and Obstetrics,
Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences
Division of Pediatric Surgery and the Fetal Treatment Center
University of California, San Francisco

10:50 - 11:20 a.m.
Craniosynostosis
Jeffrey Resnick, MD
Assistant Clinical Professor
University of California, Los Angeles
and University of Southern California

11:20 - 11:35 a.m.
Break

11:35 - 12:05 p.m.
Neurological Complications in Patients
with Skeletal Dysplasia
David Rimoin, MD, PhD
Chairman, Ahmanson Pediatric
& Medical Genetics Birth Defects Center
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

12:10 - 12:40 p.m.
Occult Spinal Dysraphism
Moise Danielpour, MD

12:45 - 1:45 pm
Lunch Panel

o How to Find Help on the Internet
Paul Zeltzer, MD

o How Neurological Disorders Affect the Mind, Emotion and Personality of Your Child
Leah Ellenberg, PhD
Clinical Neuropsychologist
Clinical Associate Professor of Pediatrics
University of Southern California

o Helping Children to Cope and Adapt
Successfully with Illness and Treatments
Victoria Brunn, MS, CCLS
Coordinator, Child Life Services
Department of Pediatrics
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

o Pediatric Brain Tumor Network
Gigi McMillan
Director, WE CAN, Pediatric Brain Tumor Network
Manhattan Beach, CA

1:45 - 2:15 p.m.
Holding Your Family Together During Crisis:
The Emotional Impact of a Child's Illness
on the Family
Linda Squire, LCSW
Clinical Social Worker
Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

2:15 - 2:45 p.m.
Reading Your Child's Radiology Scans
Marcel Maya, MD
Department of Imaging
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

2:45 - 2:55 p.m.
Closing Remarks
Moise Danielpour, MD

3:00 - 4:00 p.m.
Consultants Corner: 10-minute appointments
For those of you attending Please bring your child's imaging and radiology scans

To participate, you need to install a plug-in to your browser (don't worry - it is very simple:). Do it now, so if there are any problems, you can resolve them in time for the conference.

Go to http://cedar-nsi.webex.com
Click on "New user" and it will show you how to install the plug-in. When it asks if you want to install the plug-in, click YES (or GRANT). If you have any problem, call 1-408-435-7088.
Then, on the day of the conference,
1. Go to http://cedar-nsi.webex.com (do not use www)
2. Find the meeting "WHEN A CHILD HAS A NEUROLOGICAL DISORDER" under the Meetings in Progress List and click Join now.
3. Type in your name and email then click join.
4. Type in the password "cedars" and click enter.
5. Click yes or grant to set-up WebEx if you are a new user.

Al Musella, DPM
President
Musella Foundation
Brain Tumor Research & Information
www.virtualtrials.com
516-295-4740