Charles L. Limoli: the study of brain irradiation is a labor of love

While radiation therapy is believed to be a safe and effective approach to treat a wide range of cancers, the safety of cranial radiotherapy remains contentious due to the side effects it causes such as poor memory, confusion, problems in thinking, altered mood and an overall debilitating cognitive dysfunction of patients. Over the past decade, this unresolved problem has driven many scientists’ efforts to examine the impacts on cognitive performance of various brain irradiation paradigms as well as the underlying cellular mechanisms considered to be affecting these processes (1).