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Brain molecule may slow the effects of head injuries

On Behalf of | Jun 25, 2018 | Brain Injury |

If a person in West Virginia experiences a brain injury or disease, scientists may be able to monitor it using a molecule called N-acetylaspartate (NAA). It is generally found in lower concentrations in those who have an injury or illness impacting that part of the body. According to one study from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, NAA might actually play a role in helping a person recover when this occurs.

The director of the Center for Brain Injury and Repair at the school says that it could work to prevent from improperly folding. In this way, NAA could act as a sort of antifreeze for the brain. This discovery could prove helpful for those looking for ways to stop or reverse the effect of TBI or Alzheimer’s disease in patients. Researchers used Thioflavin T dye fluorescence as a way to study what NAA did.

One of the findings of the study was that when added to an amyloid-beta aggregation, NAA could reduce clumping. Specifically, after about 25 minutes, the molecule began to breakdown amyloid fibrils that had already formed. Analysis using an electron microscope also revealed that there were no mature fibrils when NAA was present. The study was published in Neurobiology of Disease.

A person who experiences brain damage as the result of a motor vehicle accident caused by the negligence of another motorist might need lengthy periods of expensive medical care and treatment. A personal injury attorney could be of assistance in attempting to seek compensation through either a settlement with the at-fault motorist’s insurance company or a jury trial.