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Amino Acids: Brain Injury Treatment?
Reported December 10, 2009
(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Every 23 seconds, someone in the United States
suffers a traumatic brain injury (TBI). Now researchers say they may be on
the trail to new brain-restoring therapies for TBI patients.
TBI is the leading cause of death and disability in young children. Most of
the time, the injuries are caused by accidents on the road, but a rising
number of victims are also coming from the battlefield.
There is currently no way to treat the brain damage that causes a TBI
patient's decline in memory, learning and other brain functions; but in a
recent study, researchers discovered feeding amino acids to mice that
suffered brain injuries helped restore their cognitive abilities. The mice
received a cocktail of three branched chain amino acids (BCAAs) -- leucine,
isoleucine and valine -- in their drinking water.
"We have shown in an animal model that dietary intervention can restore a
proper balance of neurochemicals in the injured part of the brain, and
simultaneously improve cognitive performance," Akiva S. Cohen, Ph.D., lead
study author and a neuroscientist at The Children's Hospital of
Philadelphia, was quoted as saying.
Earlier studies in humans show people with severe brain injuries improved
mildly after receiving BCAAs intravenously. Researchers hope this new
information will help unfold future therapies for TBI patients. Dr. Cohen
anticipates working with other researchers within the next year on an
early-phase clinical trial testing dietary BCAAs in patients with mild to
moderate TBI.
Source: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, published online
December 7, 2009 |
