A Simple Therapy Reduces Traumatic Brain Injury

Severe brain injury due to blunt force trauma could be reduced by application of a simple polymer, polyethylene glycol (PEG), mixed in sterile water and injected into the blood stream, according to a new study.

Researchers from Purdue University (West, Lafayette, IN, USA) exposed rats to traumatic brain injury (TBI) with a falling weight and PEG was subsequently administered by a single subcutaneous injection 15 minutes, two hours, four hours, or six hours post-injury. The rats were then subjected to a computer-managed open-field behavioral test to determine the effectiveness of the PEG treatment; the rats were evaluated after a 2-, 4-, and 6-hour delay in treatment.

The study results showed that when treated within 2 hours of the injury, injured PEG-treated rats showed statistically significant improvement in their exploratory behavior recorded in the activity box when compared to untreated but brain-injured controls. A delay of 4 hours reduced this level of achievement, but a statistically significant improvement due to PEG injection was still clearly evident in most outcome measures compared at the various evaluation times. However, if treatment was delayed for a further two hours, the beneficial effects were lost. The researchers concluded that PEG is able to provide neural protection resulting in an enhanced functional recovery, if administered during a critical window of time. The study was published on June 27, 2008, in the Journal of Biological Engineering, a publication of BioMed Central.

"These data suggest that PEG may be clinically useful to victims of traumatic brain injury if delivered as rapidly as possible after an injury,” said co-author Professor Richard Borgens, Ph.D., of the school of veterinary medicine. "Such a treatment could feasibly be carried out at the scene of an accident where PEG could be delivered as a component of IV fluids thus reducing long term brain injury.”

Polyethylene glycol, a polymer of ethylene oxide, has been shown to mechanically repair damaged cellular membranes and to reduce secondary axotomy after TBI and spinal cord injury (SCI). This repair is achieved following a spontaneous reassembly of cell membranes, made possible by the action of targeted hydrophilic polymers, which first seal the compromised portion of the plasmalemma, and secondarily, allow the lipidic core of the compromised membranes to resolve into each other.


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