Scientists have developed a gel that helps brains recover from
traumatic injuries. It has the potential to treat head injuries suffered in
combat, car accidents, falls, or gunshot wounds. Developed by Dr. Ning Zhang at
Clemson University in South Carolina, the gel is injected in liquid form at the
site of injury and stimulates the growth of stem cells there.
Brain
injuries are particularly hard to repair, since injured tissues swell up and
can cause additional damage to the cells. So far, treatments have tried to
limit this secondary damage by lowering the temperature or relieving the
pressure at the site of injury. However, these techniques are often not very
effective.
More
recently, scientists have considered transplanting donor brain cells into the
wound to repair damaged tissue. This method has so far had limited results when
treating brain injuries. The donor cells often fail to grow or stimulate repair
at the injury site, possibly because of the inflammation and scarring present
there. The injury site also typically has very limited blood supply and
connective tissue, which might prevent donor cells from getting the nutrients
they require.
Dr.
Zhang's gel, however, can be loaded with different chemicals to stimulate
various biological processes at the site of injury. In previous research done
on rats, she was able to use the gel to help re-establish full blood supply at
the site of brain injury. This could help create a better environment for donor
cells.
In a follow-up study, Dr.
Zhang loaded the gel with immature stem cells, as well as the chemicals they
needed to develop into full-fledged adult brain cells. When rats with severe
brain injuries were treated with this mixture for eight weeks, they showed
signs of significant recovery.Website: http://www.arjonline.org/physical-sciences/american-research-journal-of-chemistry/
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