title: Treatment with ImuVert/N-acetylcysteine protects rats from cyclophosphamide/cytarabine-induced alopecia.
abstract: Chemotherapy-induced alopecia is a distressing problem to the cancer patient for which currently there is no effective preventive measure. Recently ImuVert, a biologic response modifier, has been shown to protect from cytarabine-induced alopecia in the young rat model, but not from alopecia induced by cyclophosphamide. In the present study, the rat model was used to examine the effect of N-acetylcysteine on the course of alopecia from cyclophosphamide and of ImuVert plus N-acetylcysteine on alopecia induced by cytarabine-cyclophosphamide combination. The following observations were made: (1) Cyclophosphamide-induced alopecia could be effectively prevented by N-acetylcysteine, administered parenterally or applied topically in liposomes. (2) Alopecia caused by the combination of cyclophosphamide and cytarabine could be prevented by the parenteral or topical administration of ImuVert plus N-acetylcysteine. The potential applicability of these observations to the clinical settings remains to be determined.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University of Miami School of Medicine, Florida 33101.
authors.forename: J J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Jiménez
authors.forename: H S
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: A A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Yunis
mesh_terms: D000111:Acetylcysteine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000287:Administration, Topical; D000505:Alopecia / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000517:prevention & control*; D000818:Animals; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000009:adverse effects; D001688:Biological Products; D003520:Cyclophosphamide / Q000009:adverse effects*; D003561:Cytarabine / Q000009:adverse effects*; D007155:Immunologic Factors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D007274:Injections, Intraperitoneal; D007279:Injections, Subcutaneous; D011897:Random Allocation; D051381:Rats; D011916:Rats, Inbred F344; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains
chemical_list: D001688:Biological Products; D007155:Immunologic Factors; C062792:ImuVert; D003561:Cytarabine; D003520:Cyclophosphamide; D000111:Acetylcysteine