Discover the Science of Health
The most common genetic risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) disrupts the blood brain barrier, impeding oxygen and nutrient flow to the brain and exposing the brain to systemic toxins, according to a recent investigation led by scientists from the University of Rochester Center for Neurodegenerative and Vascular Brain Disorders [1].
The NIH recently announced eight research projects to study traumatic brain injury, funded largely by a donation from the NFL.
The non-profit One Mind recently announced a partnership with the Intellectual Property & Science business of Thomson Reuters to further the understanding of traumatic brain injuries (TBI) and the central nervous system (CNS) [1]. The relationship will enable researchers to collaborate and share research results on a single web platform.
Brain injuries are exceedingly complex, which makes treatment and rehabilitation difficult in many cases. Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh have reported using a new imaging technique called High-Definition Fiber Tracking (HDFT) to identify the disrupted neural pathways (paths made up of brain cells that communicate with one another) in patients with traumatic brain injury.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has partnered with the Department of Defense (DoD) to build a central database on traumatic brain injuries. Funded at $10 million over four years, the Federal Interagency Traumatic Brain Injury Research (FITBIR) database is designed to accelerate comparative effectiveness research on brain injury treatment and diagnosis. It will serve as a central repository for new data, link to current databases and allow valid comparison of results across studies.
