0000000000925267
AUTHOR
Ulrike Kämmerer
ERGO: A pilot study of ketogenic diet in recurrent glioblastoma
Limiting dietary carbohydrates inhibits glioma growth in preclinical models. Therefore, the ERGO trial (NCT00575146) examined feasibility of a ketogenic diet in 20 patients with recurrent glioblastoma. Patients were put on a low-carbohydrate, ketogenic diet containing plant oils. Feasibility was the primary endpoint, secondary endpoints included the percentage of patients reaching urinary ketosis, progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival. The effects of a ketogenic diet alone or in combination with bevacizumab was also explored in an orthotopic U87MG glioblastoma model in nude mice. Three patients (15%) discontinued the diet for poor tolerability. No serious adverse events attri…
Expression of Transketolase-like 1 and Activation of Akt in Grade IV Glioblastomas Compared With Grades II and III Astrocytic Gliomas
Transketolases link the Embden-Meyerhof pathway to the pentose phosphate pathway. An influence of p-Akt on this metabolism was described. This study was performed to compare the expression of transketolase-like 1 (TKTL1) and p-Akt in glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) and other astrocytic gliomas (AGs, grades II and III). We analyzed 15 GBMs, 15 AGs (grade II), and 3 normal brain samples for TKTL1 expression by semiquantitative reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction and Western blotting and 23 GBMs, 9 grade III AGs, and 7 grade II AGs immunohistochemically (TKTL1 and p-Akt). On the protein level, TKTL1 was significantly overexpressed in tumors. Immunohistochemically, the tumor grade sig…