Intrinsic brain tumors, those that originate from neural cells within the brain and spinal cord, occur more frequently in older adults and children than they do in the general population. The main feature that makes intrinsic brain tumors different from cancers arising from other organs in the body is the fact that they rarely, if ever, metastasize outside the brain. Some cells in brain tumors do, however, stop dividing long enough to migrate a few millimeters away from the parent tumor to form new intracranial tumors. The most malignant of these is called glioblastoma multiforme (GBM).
Brain tumors are the second most common cause of cancer deaths in males and females under the age of 20. After leukemia, intrinsic brain tumors are the second leading cause of cancer deaths in men between the ages of 20 and 29. They are the fifth most frequent cause of cancer deaths among females between the ages of 20 and 39.
Luckily, GBM is infrequent; there are no more than two or three new cases per 100,000 individuals and account for only 20% of all intracranial neoplasms. Their propensity to invade the surrounding brain tissue means that it is not possible for them to be completely eradicated by surgical means. Try scraping off every bit of butter from a slice of toast.
GBM starts in glial cells within the brain, the so-called "helper" cells. While nerve cells stop dividing once they achieve terminal differentiation, glial cells retain the ability to divide throughout the life of the parent organism, i. E., you and me. In vivo studies in the 1960s and in vitro research from the early 2000s seems to indicate that most, if not all, intrinsic brain tumors originate in the developing fetus.
Glial cells come in three different forms: microglia, astrocytes and oligodendrocytes. Of these, astrocytes and astrocytic tumors, are the most common. The nastiest, most malignant and most deadly variant of astrocytoma is the GBM, which has a median time of survival without treatment of less than five months.
Astrocytes are star-shaped glial cells found in the brain and spinal cord. The provide support to the endothelial cells that form the blood brain barrier, provide nutrients to nervous tissue and form a part of the repair process following trauma to the central nervous system. There is evidence to suggest that astrocytes communicate with nerve cells by releasing a neurotransmitter called glutamate.
Oligodendrocytes are less spiny than their astrocytic cousins. Their main role in the nervous system is to provide a fatty sheath of insulation that makes more rapid nerve transmission possible. One oligodendrocyte can ensheath up to 50 neurons. The fatty sheath, called myelin, comes under attack from immune system cells in the debilitating condition known as multiple sclerosis (MS).
Microglia are the macrophages of the central nervous system. These cells act quickly recognize and destroy foreign bodies, engulf them and present them to other cells of the immune system, called T-cells, before they get the chance to interfere with healthy brain tissue. Microglia exist in two different forms. Resting cells, which resemble tiny astrocytes, and activated microglia, which are more bloated in appearance.
Brain tumors are the second most common cause of cancer deaths in males and females under the age of 20. After leukemia, intrinsic brain tumors are the second leading cause of cancer deaths in men between the ages of 20 and 29. They are the fifth most frequent cause of cancer deaths among females between the ages of 20 and 39.
Luckily, GBM is infrequent; there are no more than two or three new cases per 100,000 individuals and account for only 20% of all intracranial neoplasms. Their propensity to invade the surrounding brain tissue means that it is not possible for them to be completely eradicated by surgical means. Try scraping off every bit of butter from a slice of toast.
GBM starts in glial cells within the brain, the so-called "helper" cells. While nerve cells stop dividing once they achieve terminal differentiation, glial cells retain the ability to divide throughout the life of the parent organism, i. E., you and me. In vivo studies in the 1960s and in vitro research from the early 2000s seems to indicate that most, if not all, intrinsic brain tumors originate in the developing fetus.
Glial cells come in three different forms: microglia, astrocytes and oligodendrocytes. Of these, astrocytes and astrocytic tumors, are the most common. The nastiest, most malignant and most deadly variant of astrocytoma is the GBM, which has a median time of survival without treatment of less than five months.
Astrocytes are star-shaped glial cells found in the brain and spinal cord. The provide support to the endothelial cells that form the blood brain barrier, provide nutrients to nervous tissue and form a part of the repair process following trauma to the central nervous system. There is evidence to suggest that astrocytes communicate with nerve cells by releasing a neurotransmitter called glutamate.
Oligodendrocytes are less spiny than their astrocytic cousins. Their main role in the nervous system is to provide a fatty sheath of insulation that makes more rapid nerve transmission possible. One oligodendrocyte can ensheath up to 50 neurons. The fatty sheath, called myelin, comes under attack from immune system cells in the debilitating condition known as multiple sclerosis (MS).
Microglia are the macrophages of the central nervous system. These cells act quickly recognize and destroy foreign bodies, engulf them and present them to other cells of the immune system, called T-cells, before they get the chance to interfere with healthy brain tissue. Microglia exist in two different forms. Resting cells, which resemble tiny astrocytes, and activated microglia, which are more bloated in appearance.
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