Category Archives: Brain Injury Treatment

SAN DIEGO, CA--(Marketwire - Feb 25, 2013) - Lpath, Inc. ( NASDAQ : LPTN ), the industry leader in bioactive lipid-targeted therapeutics, has been invited to present data from its Lpathomab program in models of central nervous system injury, including traumatic brain injury (TBI), at Arrowhead's 3rd Annual Traumatic Brain Injury Conference. Lpathomab is a first-in-class monoclonal antibody that binds to and neutralizes lysophosphatidic acid (LPA), a bioactive lipid that has been implicated in neuropathic pain, neurotrauma, and various other disorders. Lpath's vice president and founder, Roger Sabbadini, Ph.D., will present at the Sheraton Crystal City Hotel in Washington, DC on March 7, 2013, at 11:15 a.m. Eastern time. He will discuss a study entitled, "Monoclonal Anti-lysophosphatidic Acid Antibodies Are Neuroprotective after Experimental TBI." The study is part of a collaboration between Lpath and scientists at the University of Melbourne (Alice Pebay, Ph.D. and Peter Crack, Ph.D.), UCLA Brain Injury Research Center (Neil Harris, Ph.D.), and University of Kentucky (Andrew Morris, Ph.D.). The presentation will demonstrate that: (i) LPA receptors are increased after human brain injury; (ii) LPA levels are upregulated in the cerebrospinal fluid of TBI patients; (iii) Lpathomab administered systemically (single dose post-injury) in mouse models of TBI … Continue reading →

Editor's Choice Academic Journal Main Category: Stroke Article Date: 24 Feb 2013 - 0:00 PST Current ratings for: Cannabinoid Trans-Caryophyllene Protects Brain Cells From Ischemia 5 (1 votes) 5 (1 votes) TC is derived from the essential oils of the Cannabis sativa plant, but its structure is very different to other classical cannabinoids - it is not associated with any psychoactive side effects. Researchers conducted tests in both in vivo and in vitro animal models and found that TC is successfully able to protect brain cells from ischemia. Brain ischemia occurs when there is a lack of blood flow to the brain, this can sometimes lead to irreversible damage in the form of vascular dementia. It can be quite deadly, according to researchers from the University of California - Los Angeles, around 62% of ischemic stroke patients are re-hospitalized within 12 months and 15% die within a month of being hospitalized. In cell cultures consisting of oxygen deprived rat cortical neurons and glia, TC reduced neuronal injury and mitochondrial depolarization. The lead author of the study, Won-Ki Kim, PhD, of the Department of Neuroscience, College of Medicine, Korea University in Seoul, said: The study is the first of its kind … Continue reading →

ANCHORAGE - Jeffry Kellerman suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI) almost 25 years ago when his car veered off the road and hit a ditch in Butte, Alaska. A lot of things were seriously damaged including my head. My face was crushed on the right side. The upper palate cracked all the way around and I had a large enough crack in on my forehead to where they didn't have to remove anything from my skull to release pressure off of my brain. And then at that point it was just getting me to survive everything else in the meantime, said Kellerman. He said recovery really didnt begin until he discovered support groups for people living with traumatic brain injures. It was just a major relief to be in a group in a room with other people who understood. And words need not be said in that group. Just walking into the room was like I am with familiar people, he explained. Jim Beck, Executive Director of Access Alaska, said having a TBI can be isolating. It can be a really really lonely place to be and thats one of the things that peer support does. It makes you realize … Continue reading →

Newswise Washington University in St. Louis engineering researchers have received a five-year, $2.25 million grant to better understand traumatic brain injuries in efforts to improve methods for prevention and treatment. Philip Bayly, PhD, the Lilyan and E. Lisle Hughes Professor of Mechanical Engineering and chair of the Department of Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science, is principal investigator of the grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The grant will allow Bayly and his research team to develop 3-D computer models of brain biomechanics that will give researchers and clinicians a better understanding about what happens to the brain during traumatic brain injury. Previously, Bayly and his research team measured brain motion and mechanical properties of the brain in 2-D. Head injuries, concussions and the resulting trauma have been in public discussion recently as the National Football League (NFL) deals with a lawsuit regarding head injuries by about one-third of living former NFL players. The league is accused of not providing information connecting football-related head injuries to brain damage, memory loss and other long-term health issues. We are concerned about everyone who hits their head, Bayly says. Its not only a factor for NFL players, but anyone whos had a … Continue reading →

Public release date: 22-Feb-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Neil Schoenherr nschoenherr@wustl.edu 314-935-5235 Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis engineering researchers have received a five-year, $2.25 million grant to better understand traumatic brain injuries in efforts to improve methods for prevention and treatment. Philip Bayly, PhD, the Lilyan and E. Lisle Hughes Professor of Mechanical Engineering and chair of the Department of Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science, is principal investigator of the grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The grant will allow Bayly and his research team to develop 3-D computer models of brain biomechanics that will give researchers and clinicians a better understanding about what happens to the brain during traumatic brain injury. Previously, Bayly and his research team measured brain motion and mechanical properties of the brain in 2-D. Head injuries, concussions and the resulting trauma have been in public discussion recently as the National Football League (NFL) deals with a lawsuit regarding head injuries by about one-third of living former NFL players. The league is accused of not providing information connecting football-related head injuries to brain damage, memory loss and other long-term health issues. "We are concerned about everyone … Continue reading →

Feb. 20, 2013 In the weeks, months and years after a severe head injury, patients often experience epileptic seizures that are difficult to control. A new study in rats suggests that gently cooling the brain after injury may prevent these seizures. "Traumatic head injury is the leading cause of acquired epilepsy in young adults, and in many cases the seizures can't be controlled with medication," says senior author Matthew Smyth, MD, associate professor of neurological surgery and of pediatrics at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. "If we can confirm cooling's effectiveness in human trials, this approach may give us a safe and relatively simple way to prevent epilepsy in these patients." The researchers reported their findings in Annals of Neurology. Cooling the brain to protect it from injury is not a new concept. Cooling slows down the metabolic activity of nerve cells, and scientists think this may make it easier for brain cells to survive the stresses of an injury. Doctors currently cool infants whose brains may have had inadequate access to blood or oxygen during birth. They also cool some heart attack patients to reduce peripheral brain damage when the heart stops beating. Smyth has been … Continue reading →

Feb. 21, 2013 A new study published in the March issue of The American Journal of Pathology suggests that cortical type 2 cannabinoid (CB2) receptors might serve as potential therapeutic targets for cerebral ischemia. Researchers found that the cannabinoid trans-caryophyllene (TC) protected brain cells from the effects of ischemia in both in vivo and in vitro animal models. In rats, post-ischemic treatment with TC decreased cerebral infarct size and edema. In cell cultures composed of rat cortical neurons and glia exposed to oxygen-glucose deprivation and reoxygenation (OGD/R), TC decreased neuronal injury and mitochondrial depolarization, specifically through type 2 cannabinoid receptor (CB2R) pathways. "To our knowledge, novel data presented in this study provide evidence for the first time supporting a previously unappreciated role of cortical CB2R, especially neuronal CB2Rs, in ischemia," says lead investigator Won-Ki Kim, PhD, of the Department of Neuroscience, College of Medicine, Korea University in Seoul. "This study suggests that further investigation is warranted to establish the clinical usefulness of TC as a preventative and therapeutic agent for treatment of stroke." Results presented in the study shed light on the anatomy and mechanism of action of CB2R-mediated neuroprotection. In the in vivo study, which was performed in rats, … Continue reading →

Public release date: 21-Feb-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: David Sampson ajpmedia@elsevier.com 215-239-3171 Elsevier Health Sciences Philadelphia, PA, February 21, 2013 A new study published in the March issue of The American Journal of Pathology suggests that cortical type 2 cannabinoid (CB2) receptors might serve as potential therapeutic targets for cerebral ischemia. Researchers found that the cannabinoid trans-caryophyllene (TC) protected brain cells from the effects of ischemia in both in vivo and in vitro animal models. In rats, post-ischemic treatment with TC decreased cerebral infarct size and edema. In cell cultures composed of rat cortical neurons and glia exposed to oxygen-glucose deprivation and reoxygenation (OGD/R), TC decreased neuronal injury and mitochondrial depolarization, specifically through type 2 cannabinoid receptor (CB2R) pathways. "To our knowledge, novel data presented in this study provide evidence for the first time supporting a previously unappreciated role of cortical CB2R, especially neuronal CB2Rs, in ischemia," says lead investigator Won-Ki Kim, PhD, of the Department of Neuroscience, College of Medicine, Korea University in Seoul. "This study suggests that further investigation is warranted to establish the clinical usefulness of TC as a preventative and therapeutic agent for treatment of stroke." Results presented in the study shed light … Continue reading →

BOSTON (CBS) Left, right, stop or slow down. After more than 30 years of driving, last October I found myself once again demonstrating to the RMV that I know my hand signals. I had suffered a traumatic brain injury in a bicycle fall three months earlier, and a medical competency road test was deemed necessary before I could get behind the wheel again. Ironically, my 16-year-old son Luke had received his junior operators license the week before, so HE gave ME pointers! I had to ask him, How bad was I? He smiled and said, You were pretty bad. Im not gonna lie. You had a lot of things wrong. You didnt know how to straighten out the wheel without letting it slide through your hands. You couldnt really park on a hill, and did not head check at all. You probably wouldnt have lasted 20 seconds in the road test. They would have failed you before you started the car. Listen: Mary Blake: My Road To Recovery Part 7 Registrar Rachel Kaprielian says medical competency tests arent that unusual. On average, roughly twenty of them are administered around the state each day. The manual Mary Blake used before her … Continue reading →

Washington, February 21 (ANI): Triglyceride lipid emulsions rich in an omega-3 fatty acid injected within a few hours of an ischemic stroke can decrease the amount of damaged brain tissue by 50 percent or more in mice, according to a new study. The results obtained by researchers at Columbia University Medical Centre suggest that the emulsions may be able to reduce some of the long-term neurological and behavioral problems seen in human survivors of neonatal stroke and possibly of adult stroke, as well. Currently, clot-busting tPA (recombinant tissue-type plasminogen activator) is the only treatment shown to improve recovery from ischemic stroke. If administered soon after stroke onset, the drug can restore blood flow to the brain but may not prevent injured, but potentially salvageable, neurons from dying. Drugs with neuroprotective qualities that can prevent the death of brain cells damaged by stroke are needed, but even after 30 years of research and more than 1000 agents tested in animals, no neuroprotectant has been found effective in people. Omega-3 fatty acids, commonly found in marine and plant oils, may have more potential as neuroprotectants because they affect multiple biochemical processes in the brain that are disturbed by stroke, said the study's … Continue reading →