Experimental medicine suppresses the effects of brain injury in mice

For the first time, researchers have restored the ability to memorize and learn in mice that have suffered traumatic brain injury. The drug that has been used for it must undergo a number of tests but may someday use it in clinical trials involving humans.

The experimental drug may perhaps have a huge impact on the health status of patients suffering from memory impairment due to traumatic brain injury, also known as intracranial injury (TBI). During tests, the drug known as ISRIB has completely restored the ability to learn and memorize in mice with brain damage - even those treated one month after injury.

The results of these experiments are contradictory to the majority of brain injury studies, where it was stated that treatment should be started urgently after injury. This would allow them to maintain healthy brain functions.

Although recently made many breakthroughs in the fight against memory loss, TBI was more difficult to overcome. Dozens of promising treatments have failed during clinical trials. At present, traumatic brain injury (usually arising from accidents, collisions, falls or violent attacks) affects almost 2 million people in the United States alone, and every year.

TBI most commonly occurs as a result of sports injuries or those related to military activities. Interestingly, the fear of brain injury prompted the US Army to start working on protective armaments that would detect whether the brain was injured during an explosion.

In the latest series of studies on the mentioned drug, researchers injected ISRIB with brain damaged mice to see if this would increase their ability to efficiently exit the water maze. Although mice that initially suffered from TBI had some problems compared to healthy mice, they soon caught up with the drugs after they had been treated. Their learning ability persisted for one week after the last dose of the substance.

Scientists call it all a surprising and promising start. However, they warn that much more must be done before the drug can be used in clinical trials involving humans