In this issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, Frédéric Batteux and colleagues at the Laboratoire d'Immunologie evaluated use of the MRI contrast agent mangafodipir, which has antioxidant properties, for relief of oxaliplatin-associated neuropathies. In a mouse model of oxaliplatin-induced neurologic damage, administration of mangafodipir reduced neurotoxicity and the presence of oxidized protein products. Furthermore, in a cohort of 22 patients with oxaliplatin-associated neuropathy, mangafodipir treatment appeared to decrease neurological symptoms.
In their accompanying commentary, Charles Loprinzi and colleagues at the May Clinic caution that even though these results seem promising, larger clinical trails have not been able to confirm similar results from other agents that have shown promise for treating chemotherapy-induced neuropathy in animal models and small phase II trials.
Coriat et al., (2014). Treatment of oxaliplatin-induced peripheral neuropathy by intravenous mangafodipir. J. Clin.Invest., 124:262–272. doi:10.1172/JCI68730 [Article]
Pachman et al., (2014). The search for treatments to reduce chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy. J. Clin. Invest., 124:72-74. doi:10.1172/JCI73908 [Abstract]