Alzheimer's Drugs May Help TBI

Researchers at the University of Cambridge have found that young adults who have suffered traumatic brain injury may benefit from drugs currently used for Alzheimer's disease that enhance function of the chemical transmitter in the brain, acetylcholine.

Traumatic brain injury as a result of road traffic accidents, cycle accidents and serious falls is the most common cause of death and disability in young people. Even those who survive these terrible events often suffer from chronic cognitive problems, for example in their ability to concentrate, learn and remember.

In a study, funded by the Medical Research Council, published in the January issue of the journal Brain, Dr Claire Salmond and colleagues from Cambridge's Wolfson Brain Imaging Centre and Departments of Anaesthetics, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, examined a group of 31 young adults who survived a moderate-to-severe head injury. The survivors-volunteers underwent extensive neuropsychological testing to determine the precise cognitive problems they were having, together with brain scans using Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) to examine the location and extent of brain injury.

Using a method of quantifying brain injury the researchers found reduced grey matter density in parts of the brain associated with problems in sustaining attention, learning and memory. Furthermore, the cognitive and brain structural results of the study were consistent with dysfunction of the chemical transmitter in the brain, acetylcholine.

The researchers are hopeful that drugs, which enhance acetylcholine function in the brain, called cholinesterase inhibitors and currently used to treat the early cognitive symptoms of Alzheimer's disease, may in fact prove to be a useful and effective treatment for cognitive deficits caused by head injury.

Dr Salmond said:

"We are very excited that this study may point the way to an effective treatment for this type of cognitive deficits. These problems frequently affect a young person's ability to return to higher education or to work and, therefore, the impact on quality of life and mood can be devastating. We are currently working on a study using cholinesterase inhibitors in order to assess the benefits and effectiveness of the drug with patients who have suffered head injuries."

Added: 1.17.05