Beneficial Molecules in Brain Being Studied
Neuro-surgery researchers are testing a pathway in the brain to see if it might lead to new ways which could reduce long-term damage and complications as a result of a traumatic brain injury. Brain injury researcher Dr. Kenneth Strauss said a patient may survive the initial traumatic brain injury, but not the swelling in the brain that occurs days later. Strauss said, “Sometimes a patient will come into the neurosurgery intensive care unit, wake up from a concussion or short coma and three, four, five or six days later basically do a nose-dive.” The problem surfaces during the days after the initial trauma where the brain produces response molecules. Some of these molecules cause swelling and further injury to the brain, but others appear to be protective. Strauss's research team has been awarded a $1.7 million dollar grant from the National Institutes of Health to find a way to help boost the brain molecules that are beneficial. “We're actually looking at the formation of the beneficial compounds and trying to tweak the brain to make more of those that are beneficial,” he said. If this research is successful, Strauss said it could contribute to a new class of medications that might boost these helpful molecules and therefore reduce complications from traumatic brain injuries. The goal is to reduce the odds by helping the brain heal itself. The research is being conducted only in laboratory studies, but human trials are the next step.
