Potential new treatment may provide relief from long term brain injury side effects

October 12, 2021, Kitchener, Ontario

Posted by: Robert Deutschmann, Personal Injury Lawyer

In an article published in Science, Eleonora Aronica, MD, PhD researched neuroinflammation after brain surgery and found a new potential treatment for long term complications after brain injury. Long term complications are common in brain injury with some taking years or decades to develop. Until now the reason for this was poorly understood.

“Traumatic brain injury affects millions of people every year and is a major cause of disability worldwide. Most of the maladaptive outcomes develop months or years later and are thought to be caused by secondary injuries that are indirect and long-term effects after the initial impact.”

Dr. Aronica and her team found that C1q a molecule that exists in healthy brains is responsible for chronic inflammation, altered brain states, and secondary neuron loss following brain injury. Following brain injury, the C1q molecule’s role is disrupted in the thalamus part of the brain causing sleep disruption, epileptic activity and inflammation. This disruption can take years to become noticeable.

The researchers wanted to understand the gap between the initial injury and the development of long-term symptoms. This research allowed them to determine that antibody treatments could help to prevent the development of these side effects in many patients.

What they found

Although the common location for brain injury is the cortex, the thalamus region of the brain experiences the secondary injury after a brain injury. It is the secondary injury that results in structural changes such as chronic neurodegeneration and inflammation.

The trigger for the inflammation at the injury sites is often the C1q molecule which causes a cascade effect in the brain, particularly in the thalamus. Blocking the C1q counteracted the poor outcomes. The researchers concluded that “manipulations of the complement pathway can also improve the outcomes of severe TBI, the complement pathway could become a therapy target for both types of trauma.”

Targeting the corticothalamic circuit could be a new target for treating TBI-related disabilities. You can read the entire journal article here.

If you or a loved one suffer a traumatic brain injury or concussion you should be aware that for many people the symptoms linger for a lifetime, or that symptoms can recur after years or decades, If your injury is the result of another person’s negligence you should contact our experienced personal injury lawyers immediately. We are here to help you secure your future.

About Deutschmann Law

Deutschmann Law serves South-Western Ontario with offices in Kitchener-Waterloo, Cambridge, Woodstock, Brantford, Stratford and Ayr. The law practice of Robert Deutschmann focuses almost exclusively in personal injury and disability insurance matters. For more information, please visit www.deutschmannlaw.com or call us at 1-519-742-7774.

The opinions expressed here, while intended to provide useful information, should not be interpreted as legal recommendations or advice.