Brain injury news

Heart drug lowers risk of dementia

A drug frequently prescribed to protect against heart disease may also help protect against dementia. 

A study done at Boston University School of Medicine and other institutions found that older people who took cholesterol-lowering statin drugs were 70% less likely to develop dementia, including Alzheimer's disease.

The drugs' role in preventing dementia is not clear. It is thought that statins may benefit the vessels of the brain.  Vascular problems, such as very small strokes, are suspected causes of dementia. 

According to researchers, additional studies are urgently needed (reported in The Lancet).

Forehead surgery might cure migraines

Growing evidence indicates that a cosmetic procedure to eliminate forehead wrinkles might help with migraine headaches.  

A study in the August issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery reported on patients who had suffered migraines prior to surgery.  Thirty one out of 39 reported that their headaches either stopped completely or became much less frequent or severe.

This raises the hope that migraine sufferers - including many brain injury survivors - may get relief from a simple surgery.  Results are experimental, though, and the surgery not for everyone.  

Testing is underway using patients whose headaches improve following botox injections to the forehead, indicating involvement of the corrugator muscles, which are cut during the surgery.

As a bonus, the surgery produces a softer look and eliminates forehead wrinkles.

Promising Brain pacemaker reduces risk of seizures

Epileptic sufferers whose disorder is resistant to anti-epileptic medication or surgery now have reason to hope for greatly improved seizure control.

Researchers at Duke University Medical Center have alleviated epileptic seizures in rats by stimulating a facial nerve that extends into the brain.  Stimulating one of the rats' two trigeminal nerves reduced seizures by 78%.  Stimulating both nerves was even more effective.

Experiments also tested the concept of a "brain pacemaker," which could detect potential seizure activity in humans and stimulate the nerve to prevent them.  Tiny neurochips containing EEG-detection and pattern-analysis circuitry are already being developed, with clinical application expected in approximately five years (reported in the Nov. 1 issue of Journal of Neuroscience).

Dietary supplement protects against traumatic brain injury

Athletes use creatine to build muscle-mass and strength - not to protect against traumatic brain injury.  But that may change.

A study published in the November Annals of Neurology suggests that regular dietary supplementation with creatine, a kind of amino acid, may help protect against the secondary injury associated with TBI.  

Compared with mice on regular diets, mice whose diets were supplemented with creatine prior to a traumatic brain injury suffered less brain damage.  And the longer the supplementation, the greater the protection (3 days = 21% reduction in injury, 5 days = 36%, 4 weeks = 50%).  

Benefits are attributed to creatine preserving proper function of the mitochondria and maintaining appropriate amounts of ATP in brain cells.

Protein helps injured nerve cells regenerate

A protein has been identified that is key in helping injured nerve cells regenerate.  This offers hope for new treatments for stroke damage and spinal cord injuries.

Researchers at Boston's Children's Hospital and Harvard University report that the protein, inosine, switches on a number of genes involved in the growth of nerve cells.  In tests, inosine caused nerve cells in rats to sprout new axons.  Furthermore, when those new axons met, they formed synapses through which messages could be sent.