Restorative Neurology and Neuroscience - Volume 33, issue 6

Authors: Gatto, Rodolfo | Chauhan, Mihir | Chauhan, Neelima

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: Purpose: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is one of the leading causes of disability and death which begins with the formation of edema as the persistent primary causative factor in TBI. Although medical management of cerebral edema by hypothermia, ventriculostomy, mannitol or hypertonic saline have been effective in treating edema, many of these therapies end up with some neurologic deficits, necessitating novel treatment options for treating post-TBI edema. This study investigated edema reducing effects of recombinant human Erythropoietin (rhEPO) in reducing acute brain edema in the CCI mouse model of TBI. Methods: Anti-edema effects of rhEpo in reducing acute …brain edema after injury in the CCI mouse model of TBI were assessed by T2 weighted magnetic resonance imaging (T2wMRI) as the accurate detector of brain edema in correlation with Western blot analysis of cerebral aquaporin 4 (AQP4) index as the critical marker of edema. Results: Results show that rhEpo treatment significantly reduced brain edema with concomitant reduction in AQP4 immunoexpression in the CCI mouse model of TBI. Conclusion: Current results emphasize clinical utility of rhEpo in treating post-TBI edema. Show more

Keywords: Traumatic brain injury, controlled cortical impact injury, recombinant human erythropoietin, magnetic resonance imaging, edema, AQP4

DOI: 10.3233/RNN-150577

Citation: Restorative Neurology and Neuroscience, vol. 33, no. 6, pp. 927-941, 2015

Authors: Tal, Sigal | Hadanny, Amir | Berkovitz, Nadav | Sasson, Efrat | Ben-Jacob, Eshel | Efrati, Shai

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: Purpose: Recent clinical studies present convincing evidence that hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) may be the coveted neurotherapeutic method for brain repair. One of the most interesting ways in which HBOT can induce neuroplasticity is angiogenesis. The objective in this study was to assess the neurotherapeutic effect of HBOT in post TBI patients using brain perfusion imaging and clinical cognitive functions. Methods: Retrospective analysis of patients suffering from chronic neuro-cognitive impairment from TBI treated with HBOT. The HBOT protocol included 60 daily HBOT sessions, 5 days per week. All patients had pre and post HBOT objective computerized cognitive tests …(NeuroTrax) and brain perfusion MRI. Results: Ten post-TBI patients were treated with HBOT with mean of 10.3±3.2 years after their injury. After HBOT, whole-brain perfusion analysis showed significantly increased cerebral blood flow and cerebral blood volume. Clinically, HBOT induced significant improvement in the global cognitive scores (p  = 0.007). The most prominent improvements were seen in information processing speed, visual spatial processing and motor skills indices. Conclusion: HBOT may induce cerebral angiogenesis, which improves perfusion to the chronic damage brain tissue even months to years after the injury. Show more

Keywords: Hyperbaric oxygen, angiogenesis, MRI, perfusion, cognitive, TBI, post concussion

DOI: 10.3233/RNN-150585

Citation: Restorative Neurology and Neuroscience, vol. 33, no. 6, pp. 943-951, 2015

Article Type: Other

Citation: Restorative Neurology and Neuroscience, vol. 33, no. 6, pp. 953-961, 2015