[People’s Daily Online Huang Qiuling/Taipei Report]
Traumatic brain injury generally refers to brain injury caused by external force impact, which is common in traffic accidents, falls and violent incidents. Traumatic brain injury is extremely irreversible as far as current science knows: when an external force hits the head, in addition to the death of local brain nerve cells, it also causes extensive damage to the brain neural network, including diffuse axonal damage, dendrite degeneration, and synaptic damage. demise etc.
There are about 650,000 traumatic brain injury cases in Taiwan every year, of which about 100,000 cases are moderate to severe brain injuries. Survivors often suffer from long-term sequelae, including neurological impairment and cognitive dysfunction, and the risk of dementia is higher than that of the general population. More than four times, but there is still a lack of treatment drugs.
However, the newborn ability and plasticity of adult brain neurons are limited. If other surviving nerve cells are used to replace them, it is necessary to repair axons and dendrites and reorganize the brain neural network. The speed is slow, and it is difficult to see obvious functional improvement. Therefore, it is urgent to find and develop drugs that can be applied to traumatic brain injury.
The research team of Lin Xiufang, a researcher at the Institute of Cellular and Systems Medicine of the National Institutes of Health, used the strategy of reusing old drugs to find clinical drugs that can promote nerve regeneration, and explored the potential of expanding its application to traumatic brain injury.
The blood lipid-lowering drug Probucol is a clinical drug for cardiovascular diseases. The research team found in vitro cell experiments that Probucol has the properties of promoting neuroplasticity and neurodevelopment, and can promote the growth of brain neuron processes.
The research team found in the mouse model: after brain injury, probucol was administered, the expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor increased, the number of new nerve cells and proliferating neural precursor cells doubled, and the area of brain necrosis decreased by 33%; The repair and reorganization of the neural network are also promoted, and the dendrites and synapses around the necrotic brain area are greatly increased, which is directly proportional to the motor function after brain injury. neurological function.
At the same time, probucol can also reduce the cognitive impairment caused by brain injury, and the memory function has been greatly improved, which may reduce the risk of dementia in survivors. This research result was published in the internationally renowned journal “British Journal of Pharmacology” in June 2012.
This study found that the blood lipid-lowering drug probucol can promote the regeneration and plasticity of brain nerves after brain injury in the mouse model, and can improve the neurological and cognitive dysfunction caused by brain injury. If the dosage and treatment period suitable for human beings are established in clinical trials in the future, It is expected to expand its application in the treatment of traumatic brain injury.
Blood lipid-lowering drugs, old drugs, new drugs for brain injury treatment, new dawn (Photo: National Institute of Health)
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2023-09-04 03:01:50
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