Category Archives: Brain Injury Treatment

(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- A new study performed on rats shows promise in helping fight against the harmful effects of traumatic brain injury.  Traumatic brain injury causes a decrease in blood flow in the cerebrum of the brain.  If blood flow is prolonged, it could lead to death or permanent cell dysfunction.  The endothelin receptor A (ETrA), a receptor in the brain, contributes to the decrease of blood flow as early as four hours after the injury on the brain occurs.  A new drug, called clazosentan, is thought to specifically block these receptors. "There are currently no primary treatments for TBI, so this research provides hope that effective treatments can be developed," study author Michael Kaufman, a medical student at Wayne State University School of Medicine in Detroit and a member of the American Academy of Neurology, was quoted as saying. First, researchers gave rats that had brain injuries the clazosentan drug through an IV line at various points after injuries.  Then they measured the rat's blood flow in the sensory motor cortex and hippocampus with an MRI brain scan and tested their behavior in learning a maze.  The study found that the drug decreased the effects of brain injury on … Continue reading →

Enlarge Stefano Rellandini/Reuters /Landov Traumatic brain injuries are most often caused by powerful blasts from improvised explosive devices. A roadside bomb explodes and the concussive effect violently shakes the brain inside the skull. Stefano Rellandini/Reuters /Landov Traumatic brain injuries are most often caused by powerful blasts from improvised explosive devices. A roadside bomb explodes and the concussive effect violently shakes the brain inside the skull. Nineteen-year-old Army Pvt. Cody Dollman has a look in his eyes that makes you think he probably used to fight much bigger kids on the playground back home in Wichita, Kan. He says he always wanted to be a soldier — both his grandfathers served in the military — but he's the first in his family to see action overseas. "I love it. It's what I signed up to do, you know?" says Dollman, who had been patrolling the battle-scared villages around Kandahar, Afghanistan. "I get to go back home and tell stories. That's one of the coolest things. What did you do on Christmas? I got blown up." An NPR and ProPublica investigation in 2010 reported on the military's failure to diagnose, treat and document brain injuries. Evidence suggested tens of thousands of soldiers … Continue reading →

Newswise — NEW ORLEANS – A new drug is showing promise in shielding against the harmful effects of traumatic brain injury (TBI) in rats, according to a study that was released today and will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s 64th Annual Meeting in New Orleans April 21 to April 28, 2012. “There are currently no primary treatments for TBI, so this research provides hope that effective treatments can be developed,” said study author Michael Kaufman, a second year medical student at Wayne State University School of Medicine in Detroit and a member of the American Academy of Neurology. The principal investigator on the study is Christian Kreipke, MD, also with Wayne State University School of Medicine. Traumatic brain injury causes a decrease in blood flow in the cerebrum of the brain, which if prolonged, can cause permanent cell dysfunction and death. A receptor in the brain called endothelin receptor A (ETrA) contributes to the restriction of blood flow as early as four hours after a brain injury. The new drug, called clazosentan, is thought to specifically block these receptors. Researchers gave brain-injured rats the drug clazosentan through an intravenous (IV) line at several different points in time … Continue reading →

Public release date: 19-Feb-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Rachel Seroka rseroka@aan.com 651-695-2738 American Academy of Neurology NEW ORLEANS ? A new drug is showing promise in shielding against the harmful effects of traumatic brain injury (TBI) in rats, according to a study that was released today and will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 64th Annual Meeting in New Orleans April 21 to April 28, 2012. "There are currently no primary treatments for TBI, so this research provides hope that effective treatments can be developed," said study author Michael Kaufman, a second year medical student at Wayne State University School of Medicine in Detroit and a member of the American Academy of Neurology. The principal investigator on the study is Christian Kreipke, MD, also with Wayne State University School of Medicine. Traumatic brain injury causes a decrease in blood flow in the cerebrum of the brain, which if prolonged, can cause permanent cell dysfunction and death. A receptor in the brain called endothelin receptor A (ETrA) contributes to the restriction of blood flow as early as four hours after a brain injury. The new drug, called clazosentan, is thought to specifically block these receptors. Researchers … Continue reading →

Dr. Laura Purcell is a bit head weary. No wonder. It’s been an incredibly busy day for her in her practice as a pediatric sports medicine physician at McMaster University. Purcell was the author of the recent Canadian Paediatric Society position paper on the treatment of children and adolescents with sports-related concussions. It urged that kids suffering from head injuries be taken to a doctor as soon as possible. She’s getting her wish. On this particular day, she’s seen 11 children with concussions — including nine hockey players. “I’m feeling a bit concussed myself right now,” said Purcell. She’s not alone. To her chagrin, the treatment of concussions is definitely a growth industry. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of annual emergency department visits for traumatic brain injuries related to sports and recreation increased 62 per cent from 2001 to 2009 among people under 19 years old. The highest rates were among males aged 10-19. The numbers collected by the Hockey Development Centre for Ontario show a similar alarming trend. Concussions were recorded as a related injury in 203 reports filed in the 2000-2001 season. The number of concussion recorded in the 2009-2010 report were … Continue reading →

POSTED: 1:50 pm HST February 17, 2012 UPDATED: 7:35 pm HST February 17, 2012 HONOLULU -- Hawaii has between 2,000 and 3,000 brain injuries a year. Because there is no one facility addressing these serious injuries in the islands, many brain injury patients have to go to the mainland for treatment and rehabilitation.But that will change.$165,000 in grant money from the state Department of Health is being used to create the Brain Injury Resource Center in Hawaii.It is a "clubhouse" of sorts, modeled after a center in Marin, California that will provide programs and therapy for those on their tenuous road to recovery.The center will help people like Greg Lee. He was 36 years old when he hit his head while riding his skateboard down Liliha Street."I was running down the hill; the road was a little bit rough," said Lee. "And I lost control of my skateboard."Lee spent two months in a coma. After five long years of rehabilitation, Lee is now ready to go back to school and, hopefully, soon go back to work.President of the Brain Injury Association of Hawaii, Ian Mattoch, calls Lee's recovery remarkable. But, Mattoch says many more people need help for what is … Continue reading →

Marialena Trinca discharged from Port Jefferson hospital (Credit: Mona Rivera/1010 WINS) PORT JEFFERSON, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) – A 4-year-old girl has been released from the hospital four months after a car crash nearly killed her and claimed the lives of her mother and oldest brother. Doctors and medical staff applauded Marialena Trinca on Thursday as she walked on her own, discharged from St. Charles Hospital in Port Jefferson. Marialena underwent months of treatment after suffering a broken leg and a traumatic brain injury that left her unable to speak, walk or eat. 1010 WINS’ Mona Rivera reports Doctors said Marialena can now speak, walk, eat and play but still “continues to face challenges.” “Seeing her eyes open and actually mouth her first word – her first word was indeed mommy,” Anthony Trinca, Marialena’s uncle, told CBS 2?s Jennifer McLogan. The girl’s grandmother said Marialena still hasn’t been told that her mother, 30-year-old Keri Trinca, and 7-year-old brother Jason Jr. were killed in the October 2011 crash in Manorville. Keri Trinca and her son, Jason (credit: Handout) “I think she might know,” Patrica Trinca said. “There’s tons of pictures in her room, we haven’t tried to hide them, [but] in her heart … Continue reading →

SAN BRUNO, Calif., Feb. 16, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Cord Blood Registry (CBR) is the exclusive partner for a growing number of clinical researchers focusing on the use of a child's own cord blood stem cells to help treat pediatric brain injury and acquired hearing loss. To ensure consistency in cord blood stem cell processing, storage and release for infusion, three separate trials have included CBR in their FDA-authorized protocol—including two at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) working in partnership with Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital, and a third at Georgia Health Sciences University, home of the Medical College of Georgia (MCG). This makes CBR the only family stem cell bank pairing researchers with prospective patients for these studies.  (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120216/AQ54476LOGO) "Partnering with a series of specialists who want to research the use of a child's own newborn blood stem cells on a variety of disease states allows CBR to help advance medical research for regenerative therapies by connecting the child whose family banked with CBR to appropriate researchers," said Heather Brown, MS, CGC, Vice President of Scientific & Medical Affairs at Cord Blood Registry.  "The pediatric specialists from UTHealth, Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital, and Georgia Health Sciences … Continue reading →

ScienceDaily (Feb. 15, 2012) — UCLA life scientists and their colleagues have provided the first evidence of a causal link between traumatic brain injury and an increased susceptibility to post-traumatic stress disorder. Their new study, published Feb. 15 in the in the journal Biological Psychology, also suggests that people who suffer even a mild traumatic brain injury are more likely to develop an anxiety disorder and should take precautions to avoid stressful situations for at least some period of time. The motivation behind the study, which was conducted in rats, was the observed correlation of traumatic brain injury, or TBI, and PTSD, particularly in military veterans returning from service overseas, said Michael Fanselow, a UCLA professor of psychology and the senior author of the study. The reasons for this correlation are unknown. It could be simply that the events that cause brain injury are also very frightening and that the link between TBI and PTSD could be merely incidental. Fanselow and his colleagues, however, hypothesized that the two "could be linked in a more mechanistic way." Using procedures to separate the physical and emotional traumas, the scientists trained the rats using "fear conditioning" techniques two days after they experienced a … Continue reading →

ROCKVILLE, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- RegeneRx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: RGRX) (“the Company” or “RegeneRx”) today announced that researchers have shown that Thymosin beta 4 (T?4) “provides both neuroprotection and neurorestoration after traumatic brain injury (TBI), indicating that T?4 has promising therapeutic potential in patients with TBI.” The aims of the study were to test if T?4 treatment initiated 6 hours after traumatic brain injury in rats reduces brain damage and improves functional recovery. The rats were divided into two treatment groups and one placebo group. T?4 or placebo was systemically administered 6, 24, and 48 hours after injury. Compared with the placebo group, T?4 treatment initiated 6 hours post-injury statistically significant improvement of sensorimotor functional recovery and spatial learning, reduced cortical lesion volume and hippocampal cell loss, and enhanced cell proliferation and neurogenesis in the injured brain tissue. The high dose of T?4 showed better beneficial effects compared with the low dose treatment. The research was conducted by Xiong Y, Zhang Y, Mahmood A, Meng Y, Zhang ZG, Morris DC, Chopp MJ in the Department of Neurosurgery at the Henry Ford Hospital System (HFHS) in Detroit, Michigan pursuant to a material transfer agreement between the hospital and RegeneRx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. … Continue reading →