ntebyanian
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Posts:11
Hello,
My mother had whole brain radiation for multiple brain mets from lung cancer. It has been about 2 months since her last dose. I just found the articles about Namenda. Would it be beneficial to start now or is it only if affective if started during the radiation therapy?
Thank you
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Reply # - July 2, 2016, 09:30 AM
Hi ntebyanian,
Hi ntebyanian,
Welcome to GRACE. In the study of Namenda with WBR, Namenda was started within 3 days of starting radiation and continued for 24 weeks. Although there's no evidence about whether it's essential to begin during radiation therapy, since the Nameda treatment in the trial extended for months beyond the conclusion of WBR, it's not unreasonable to assume that it may be at least somewhat beneficial even if begun a couple of months after WBR. The countervailing argument would be that starting Namenda during WBR helps prevent damage to healthy brain cells right from the start, while beginning it later may allow some damage prior to initiating it. The trial also did not test the question of whether it might be better to continue Namenda beyond 24 weeks. I wish that there was a more definitive answer for you.
JimC
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