Houston researchers pinpoint stem-cell treatment for TBI recovery
Researchers from UTHealth have launched a clinical trial at Memorial Hermann Hospital that could be the answer to treatment for patients who have suffered traumatic brain injury.
And the treatment would be the same across the board, whether the patient was injured in a vehicle crash or on a battle field.
Annually about 3.6 million people from the U.S. are estimated to have concussions each year, 50,000 people die from traumatic brain injuries and 235,000 people are hospitalized. More than 1 million people each year are treated for some type of brain injury and released from an emergency department.
Those who do survive the injury often suffer permanent disabilities, in part because swelling in the brain in the days and weeks after the injury cuts off blood flow, killing neurons, according to an article posted by the Houston Chronicle.
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Cox told reporters with the Houston Chronicle that the therapy works by “down regulating” the inflammatory response after a head injury occurs. Swelling is a normal and important response to any physical trauma to the body.
“Head trauma resulting from falls onto pavement is the most common injury treated at Houston’s overcrowded trauma centers. There’s no effective treatment now to limit swelling in the brains of those patients,” the article reads. “The U.S. Department of Defense also has interest in the work; the treatment could revolutionize the ability of soldiers to recover after surviving bomb blasts and other head injuries.”
Cox recently received $6.8 million from the Pentagon to continue his research.
