New drug helps heal traumatic brain injury in animal experimentsRSS Feed
The crippling effects of traumatic brain injury may be significantly diminished thanks to a new drug, the science news source ScienceDaily.com reports.
Researchers at Wayne State University Medical School in the US have conducted experiments on laboratory rats using the new preparation. Animals given the drug "clazosentan" in the aftermath of an induced traumatic brain injury showed appreciable improvements in cerebral blood circulation. This normally decreases substantially after injurious insult and damages the cerebellum of the brain as a result.
The Wayne University scientists administered clazosentan intravenously at a number of different points after the induced injury, then used MRI equipment to monitor blood flow through crucial brain structures known to be involved in information processing, learning and physical co-ordination (the hippocampus and sensory motor cortex). In addition, the animals' behaviour was tested in a maze.
Four hours after the induced injury, blood flow to the hippocampus was improved by 25% through intravenously administered clazosentan and by 23% 48 hours later.
Study author Michael Kaufman, a medical student at Wayne, said: "There are currently no primary treatments for TBI, so this research provides hope that effective treatments can be developed."
There appears to be a "critical window" for the administration of the drug, however. When injected 12 hours after injury, only some of the animals improved while others stayed the same or worsened. Clazosentan appears to be most effective when given two hours after the brain injury, with a follow-up dose administered 24 hours later.
Kaufman continued: "This research is the foundation for future clinical trials that will investigate the possibilities of using clazosentan in the treatment of TBI."
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