Cerebrospinal Fluid Changes in the Excitatory Amino Acids Concentration Caused by the Standard Treatment of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia in Children do not Correlate with their Later Cognitive Functioning

Abstract

The aim of this study was to ascertain whether changes in the concentrations of cerebrospinal fluid excitatory amino acids (EAAs) contribute to neurotoxicity of the standard acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) treatment protocols. We found a statistically significant increase in glutamate and aspartate in 12 ALL patients during their treatment. Cognitive functioning was examined in all patients at an average of 3.7 years after the disease diagnosis. Importantly, the levels of EAAs during the therapy were not correlated with the results of the cognitive test. This study suggests that standard ALL treatment-induced neurotoxicity may not lead to persistent neurocognitive deficits.

Monitoring and Assessment of Neuropsychological Outcomes as a Standard of Care in Pediatric Oncology

“…Key domains of neuropsychological assessment that were supported by the pediatric cancer literature included the following: intelligence, attention, memory, language, executive functions (including inhibitory control, cognitive flexibility, working memory),[] neurosensory functioning, perceptual processing, and processing speed …”