Patient Care
Stopping TBI-Related Brain Degeneration
Researchers suggest that treatment with MW151 may interrupt the process that links head injury with later development of degenerative brain...
Making the brain work strategically did more good for patients with brain injury than did education about how the brain works, evidenced through Strategic Memory Advanced Reasoning Training (SMART), a DoD-funded study conducted by researchers from The University of Texas at Dallas. Sixty participants aged 19 to 65 years were tested on complex abstraction and innovation or participated in an educational program. Both groups had 18 hours of training in 12 group sessions over 8 weeks.
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The SMART group improved complex abstraction scores by > 20% and memory scores by > 30%; they also reported a 60% reduction in depressive symptoms and a 40% reduction in symptoms related to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
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Notably, blood flow to the frontal lobe, anterior cingulate, and precuneus increased significantly in the study group, compared with the education-only patients. According to a study investigator, the increased blood flow implies that the brain is undergoing changes suggestive of improved neural health. Reduction in blood flow to the precuneus has been linked to the emotional regulation of stress and to the severity of traumatic brain injury and PTSD symptoms; the frontal region is associated with increased abstract thinking, and the anterior cingulate is associated with superior cognitive performance. The researchers suggest that improved abstract thinking and executive functioning could help the injured brain to down-regulate emotional reactions.
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The study patients realized cognitive, psychological, and other benefits for 3 to 4 months after training, which the researchers say may mean they continued to improve after the training ended. One investigator says that the findings suggest that brain injuries should be treated more like a chronic health condition than a single short-term event.
SourceVas A, Chapman S, Aslan S, et al. Neuropsychol Rehabil. 2015:1-30. [Online ahead of print.]