Thursday, January 16, 2014

Particle Accelerators In Relation To Brain Tumors

By Robert Sutter


Particle accelerators are the kinds of aspects that are more than worthy of note, if you would like to know. Particle physics seem to make the most out of this, as there have been a multitude of studies in this realm where this technology has been implemented. It seems like other fields can benefit from it, even the one in which brain tumors are greatly focused on. It may seem like a stretch but a recent study has shown that there are results to be spoken of.

As spoken of in an article within Symmetry Magazine, brain tumors have been treated in the past but the results may not be as tremendous as expected. Keep in mind that your standard methods of surgery can leave the surrounding brain tissue with instances of damage. This has been noted, as a study done by a group of scientists in Fermilab displayed. In fact, this story is so unique that it wouldn't surprise me if it would attract the attention of various organizations, Voices against Brain Cancer among them.

The article also spoke about how the key to BNCT could lie within the idea of particle technology. The way that BNCT works is that a patient is given a tumor-seeking compound that will work within their bloodstream. The compound, which contains non-radioactive boron, can then enter the membrane - moving through the blood-brain barrier in the process - in order to target the tumor. Not only does the drug make its way into the growth in question but it will rest within the tissue surrounding it as well.

Once this is done, the patient is then given exposure to a beam of neurons, which is a strong pointto say the least. Keep in mind that boron itself is great when it comes to claiming neurons, being able to catch them not unlike a giant net in the face of one soccer ball after another. Once a neuron is secured, a boron atom will be split and this will allow energy to be carried out. The impact that this can have is about the same as an effective dose of radiation.

Science is the name of the game when concerning this particular method. In fact, anyone who focuses on brain tumors has, at the very least, mild interest in the field of science and the same can be said about the procedures made in order to help matters. The fact that this procedure has been seen for decades around the world goes to show that there is potential to be had. It's just a matter of it being realized in order to help patients across the board.




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