Category Archives: Brain Injury Treatment

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 →

Posted by John McKigganFebruary 20, 2013 1:00 PM Who would have thought suffering hypothermia could be a good thing? Recent research from the University of Edinburgh has shown it could potentially save lives and prevent brain damage. What is Hypothermia? Hypothermia occurs when the core body temperature drops below the levels required for the bodily to function. As the body temperature drops below these levels, the physiological systems shut down and the heart rate, respiratory rate and blood pressure decrease. This is not usually a good thing. However, for patients suffering from traumatic brain injuries, inducing hypothermia can have the effect of reducing damage to the brain. The New England Journal of Medicine reports on a controlled study in which 155 patients with head injuries were treated. Of the 155 patients, 82 were treated with hypothermia within 6-hours after the injury. The study concluded that treatment with moderate hypothermia for a period of 24 hours, initiated soon after the injury, significantly improved the outcomes in patients with certain injuries. Doesn't Work in All Cases While studies have shown that inducing hypothermia may improve the outcomes for patients who have suffered traumatic brain injuries, it appears that the results depend on … Continue reading →

For six years, the U.S. Army has been using sensors embedded in soldiers' helmets to learn more about how servicemembers sustain concussions and other brain injuries. The device resembles an Apple computer mouse and is designed by an Orange County, Calif. company as an early warning system to document devastating injuries that aren't always visible. Known as HEADS, the gadget contains a sensor and data recorder that is glued into a soldier's helmet. The device sits dormant until a blow is detected, then it measures and records acceleration information. That data later is downloaded through a USB cable to offer medical experts a better understanding of what happened at the moment of impact. "It will hopefully someday help them to diagnose traumatic brain injuries, and help get guys medical attention when they need it, or learn how to make the helmets better," says mechanical engineer Steve Pruitt Pruitt is the president and co-founder of Diversified Technical Systems (DTS), a data recorder and sensor manufacturer based in Seal Beach. In 2007, his DTS team created the high-tech sensor that is helping the Army understand how explosive forces can lead to concussions. The National Football League is using that same type of … Continue reading →

Feb. 11, 2013 A new type of prophylactic treatment for brain injury following prolonged epileptic seizures has been developed by Emory University School of Medicine investigators. Status epilepticus, a persistent seizure lasting longer than 30 minutes [check this, some people say FIVE], is potentially life-threatening and leads to around 55,000 deaths each year in the United States. It can be caused by stroke, brain tumor or infection as well as inadequate control of epilepsy. Physicians or paramedics now treat status epilepticus by administering an anticonvulsant or general anesthesia, which stops the seizures. Researchers at Emory have been looking for something different: anti-inflammatory compounds that can be administered after acute status epilepticus has ended to reduce damage to the brain. They have discovered a potential lead compound that can reduce mortality when given to mice after drug-induced seizures. The results were recently published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Early Edition. "For adults who experience a period of status epilepticus longer than one hour, more than 30 percent die within four weeks of the event, making this a major medical problem," says Ray Dingledine, PhD, chair of the Department of Pharmacology at Emory University School of Medicine. "Medications that … Continue reading →

Public release date: 11-Feb-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Phyllis Brown phyllis.brown@ucdmc.ucdavis.edu 916-734-9023 University of California - Davis Health System Vascular brain injury from conditions such as high blood pressure and stroke are greater risk factors for cognitive impairment among non-demented older people than is the deposition of the amyloid plaques in the brain that long have been implicated in conditions such as Alzheimer's disease, a study by researchers at the Alzheimer's Disease Research Center at UC Davis has found. Published online early today in JAMA Neurology (formerly Archives of Neurology), the study found that vascular brain injury had by far the greatest influence across a range of cognitive domains, including higher-level thinking and the forgetfulness of mild cognitive decline. The researchers also sought to determine whether there was a correlation between vascular brain injury and the deposition of beta amyloid () plaques, thought to be an early and important marker of Alzheimer's disease, said Bruce Reed, associate director of the UC Davis Alzheimer's Disease Research Center in Martinez, Calif. They also sought to decipher what effect each has on memory and executive functioning. "We looked at two questions," said Reed, professor in the Department of Neurology at … Continue reading →

Public release date: 7-Feb-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Stephanie Desmon sdesmon@jhmi.edu 410-955-8665 Johns Hopkins Medicine In an update to previous research, Johns Hopkins neurologists say minimally invasive delivery of the drug tPA directly into potentially lethal blood clots in the brain helped more patients function independently a year after suffering an intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), a deadly and debilitating form of stroke. Rates of functional recovery with the active tPA treatment far surpassed those achieved with standard "supportive" therapy that essentially gives clots a chance to shrink on their own. In the current Johns Hopkins-led study, ICH patients who randomly received the minimally invasive surgery to deliver a drug designed to dissolve their golf ball-sized clots went home from the hospital an average of 38 days sooner than those receiving supportive therapy. In addition to the health benefits, the tPA therapy, and resulting shortened hospital stay, led to a savings of an estimated $44,000 per patient, the researchers say. ICH has long been considered surgically untreatable under most circumstances; roughly 50 percent of people who have such a stroke die from it. "This is the most promising treatment that has come along in the last 30 or 40 … Continue reading →