Cannabinoids may provide a potential treatment option for traumatic brain injury, according to new research. The study was published in the latest issue of the journal Frontiers in Pharmacology, and published online by the U.S. National Institute of Health. The endogenous cannabinoid (endocannabinoid) system regulates a diverse array of physiological processes and unsurprisingly possesses considerable potential targets for the potential treatment of numerous disease states, including two receptors (i.e., CB1 and CB2 receptors) and enzymes regulating their endogenous ligands N-arachidonoylethanolamine (anandamide) and 2-arachidonyl glycerol (2-AG), states the studys abstract. Increases in brain levels of endocannabinoids to pathogenic events suggest this system plays a role in compensatory repair mechanisms. It continues; Traumatic brain injury (TBI) pathology remains mostly refractory to currently available drugs, perhaps due to its heterogeneous nature in etiology, clinical presentation, and severity. Here, we review pre-clinical studies assessing the therapeutic potential of cannabinoids and manipulations of the endocannabinoid system to ameliorate TBI pathology. Specifically, the study notes, manipulations of endocannabinoid degradative enzymes, CB1 and CB2 receptors, and their endogenous ligands have shown promise in modulating cellular and molecular hallmarks of TBI pathology such as; cell death, excitotoxicity, neuroinflammation, cerebrovascular breakdown, and cell structure and remodeling. TBI-induced behavioral deficits, … Continue reading →

March 8, 2017 Researchers have identified a new mechanism by which inflammation can spread throughout the brain after injury. This mechanism may explain the widespread and long-lasting inflammation that occurs after traumatic brain injury, and may play a role in other neurodegenerative diseases. The findings were published today in a study in the Journal of Neuroinflammation. This new understanding has the potential to transform how brain inflammation is understood, and, ultimately, how it is treated. The researchers showed that microparticles derived from brain inflammatory cells are markedly increased in both the brain and the blood following experimental traumatic brain injury (TBI). These microparticles carry pro-inflammatory factors that can activate normal immune cells, making them potentially toxic to brain neurons. Injecting such microparticles into the brains of uninjured animals creates progressive inflammation at both the injection site and eventually in more distant sites. Research has found that neuroinflammation often goes on for years after TBI, causing chronic brain damage. The researchers say that the microparticles may play a key role in this process. Chronic inflammation has been increasingly implicated in the progressive cell loss and neurological changes that occur after TBI. These inflammatory microparticles may be a key mechanism for chronic, … Continue reading →

Sponsored Content Program encourages student athletes and recreationists to take computerized tests that can guide treatment strategies later on Written by Lauren Glendenning Brought to you by St. Anthony Summit Medical Center There's a powerful tool helping health care providers evaluate and treat traumatic brain injuries in Summit County, but many potential patients who could benefit such as skiers, snowboarders, cyclists and student athletes, among others aren't using it. Anyone between the ages of 5 and 59 can take a 30-minute computerized test, called the Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Test, or ImPACT. This $15 baseline test measures cognitive functioning in the healthy brain. When compared with a post-concussive test, a physician can better evaluate the injury to the brain and develop an individualized course of treatment for optimum recovery. "When you do have a concussion injury, it can be used as a tool to help you return to play," said Jennifer Kagan RN, St. Anthony's Traumatic Brain Injury program coordinator. The medical center launched the TBI program in 2010 as a response to the growing number of head injuries it was treating, Kagan said. The program, which partners with national brain and spinal cord injury prevention organization Think First, … Continue reading →