Newswise Measuring blood flow in the brain may be an easy, noninvasive way to predict stroke or hemorrhage in children receiving cardiac or respiratory support through a machine called ECMO, according to a new study by researchers at Nationwide Childrens Hospital. Early detection would allow physicians to alter treatment and take steps to prevent these complicationsthe leading cause of death for patients on ECMO. Short for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, ECMO is used when a patient is unable to sustain enough oxygen in the blood supply due to heart failure, septic shock, or other life-threatening condition, said Nicole OBrien, MD, a physician and scientist in critical care medicine at Nationwide Childrens and lead author of the study, which appears in a recent issue of the journal Pediatric Critical Care Medicine. The patient is connected to ECMO with tubes that carry the patients blood from a vein through the machine, where it is oxygenated and funneled back to the patient via an artery or vein that then distributes the oxygen-rich blood to vital organs and tissues. The disease processes that lead someone to need ECMO are different, OBrien noted, but it is used only after traditional therapies, such as a ventilator, fail. … Continue reading →

May 29, 2013 University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston researchers have uncovered what may be a key molecular mechanism behind the lasting damage done by traumatic brain injury. The discovery centers on a particular form of a protein that neuroscientists call tau, which has also been associated with Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative conditions. Under ordinary conditions, tau is essential to neuron health, but in Alzheimer's the protein aggregates into two abnormal forms: so-called "neurofibrillary tangles," and collections of two, three, or four or more tau units known as "oligomers." Neurofibrillary tangles are not believed to be harmful, but tau oligomers are toxic to nerve cells. They also are thought to have an additional damaging property -- when they come into contact with healthy tau proteins, they cause them to also clump together into oligomers, and so spread toxic tau oligomers to other parts of the brain. Now, in experiments with laboratory rats, using novel antibodies developed at UTMB, scientists have found that traumatic brain injuries also generate tau oligomers. The destructive protein assemblages formed within four hours after injury and persisted for at least two weeks -- long enough to suggest that they might contribute to lasting brain … Continue reading →

May 30, 2013 Michael Harper for redOrbit.com Your Universe Online A new study from Tel Aviv University has found that THC, the psychoactive component in marijuana, can protect the brain from cognitive damage, especially following injury. Medical marijuana has been found to be beneficial in treating pain, insomnia and lack of appetite, but this study has found that THC also helps the brain protect itself before and after an injury. Professor Yosef Sarne at Tel Aviv Universitys Adelson Center for the Biology of Addictive Diseases at the Sackler Faculty of Medicine discovered this as he was performing experiments to discover the biological makeup of marijuana and tested his hypothesis on lab mice. His results are published in the journals Behavioural Brain Research and Experimental Brain Research. According to Professor Sarne, only a very small dose of THC is needed to protect the brain from long term cognitive damage brought on by injury, seizures, or even damage from toxic drugs. Without this barrier of protection, brains are susceptible to cognitive defects and neurological damage. This isnt the first time THC has been found to protect brain cells. Previous research observed that, when administered 30 minutes before or after a brain injury, … Continue reading →

May 30, 2013 hough marijuana is a well-known recreational drug, extensive scientific research has been conducted on the therapeutic properties of marijuana in the last decade. Medical cannabis is often used by sufferers of chronic ailments, including cancer and post-traumatic stress disorder, to combat pain, insomnia, lack of appetite, and other symptoms. Now Prof. Yosef Sarne of Tel Aviv University's Adelson Center for the Biology of Addictive Diseases at the Sackler Faculty of Medicine says that the drug has neuroprotective qualities as well. He has found that extremely low doses of THC -- the psychoactive component of marijuana -- protects the brain from long-term cognitive damage in the wake of injury from hypoxia (lack of oxygen), seizures, or toxic drugs. Brain damage can have consequences ranging from mild cognitive deficits to severe neurological damage. Previous studies focused on injecting high doses of THC within a very short time frame -- approximately 30 minutes -- before or after injury. Prof. Sarne's current research, published in the journals Behavioural Brain Research and Experimental Brain Research, demonstrates that even extremely low doses of THC -- around 1,000 to 10,000 times less than that in a conventional marijuana cigarette -- administered over a wide … Continue reading →

Public release date: 30-May-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: George Hunka ghunka@aftau.org 212-742-9070 American Friends of Tel Aviv University Though marijuana is a well-known recreational drug, extensive scientific research has been conducted on the therapeutic properties of marijuana in the last decade. Medical cannabis is often used by sufferers of chronic ailments, including cancer and post-traumatic stress disorder, to combat pain, insomnia, lack of appetite, and other symptoms. Now Prof. Yosef Sarne of Tel Aviv University's Adelson Center for the Biology of Addictive Diseases at the Sackler Faculty of Medicine says that the drug has neuroprotective qualities as well. He has found that extremely low doses of THC the psychoactive component of marijuana protects the brain from long-term cognitive damage in the wake of injury from hypoxia (lack of oxygen), seizures, or toxic drugs. Brain damage can have consequences ranging from mild cognitive deficits to severe neurological damage. Previous studies focused on injecting high doses of THC within a very short time frame approximately 30 minutes before or after injury. Prof. Sarne's current research, published in the journals Behavioural Brain Research and Experimental Brain Research, demonstrates that even extremely low doses of THC around 1,000 to 10,000 times … Continue reading →