Medical New Treatment for TBI using a C1q Blocker

[berkeman]

Interesting article about a new treatment for Traumatic Brain Injury, which looks to be pretty effective if given soon after the injury:

SF researchers find possible breakthrough in treating traumatic brain injuries​

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- From battlefield explosions, to violent sports injuries, millions of patients suffer the lifetime effects of traumatic brain injuries. Treating the symptoms is often a frustrating challenge.

Now, there's hope for a possible breakthrough.

"What we found is that after the traumatic brain injuries, there is an up-regulation in this molecule called C1q, and especially in a deep brain area called the Thalamus. And when we blocked this molecule we were able to prevent the chronic neuronal loss, and the chronic inflammation and the sleep disruption and the development of epileptic spikes," Paz explains.

In other words, major symptoms of TBI.

The blocker they used was an antibody, being developed by South San Francisco-based Annexon Biosciences. Ted Yednock, Ph.D., is chief innovation officer.

"In traumatic brain injury, there aren't really any available therapies, especially any that prevent the neurodegenerative process from happening. So what's really interesting about Dr. Paz's study, is that even 24 hours after the injury, she found that she could treat, use our treatment to block this process," says Yednock.The company is already conducting clinical trials of the inhibitor for treating ALS and other conditions and could potentially expand to TBI in the future if the results are encouraging. And with causes ranging from car crashes to simple falls, some 69 million people around the world are believed to suffer from traumatic brain injury every year.

https://abc7news.com/gladstone-institute-san-francisco-traumatic-brain-injury-tbi/11217278/

 

[TeethWhitener]

Link to the Science article that the news release is based on:
https://www.science.org/doi/full/10.1126/science.abj2685