The Way The Brain Reacts To Trauma Is Of Great Interest To Medical Scientists Investigating Concussion And Its Significant Impact On Health Through Experiments On Mice, A Group Of Key Immune Cells Proved To Be "reset" After Injury. The Researchers Showed That A High Level Of Vigilance May Promote Some Long-term Consequences Of Cognitive Function And Provide New Possibilities For Post Concussion Treatment Of Human Patients
The Study, Conducted By Scientists At Ohio State University, Focused On Microglia, An Immune Cell Found In The Brain And Spinal Cord. Researchers Have Been Investigating The Role Of These Cells In Concussion And Inflammation And How They May Lead To Long-term Effects, Such As Depression And Cognitive Decline.
Through Previous Experiments In Mice, Researchers Have Shown That Head Injury Can Trigger Microglia To Enter A Continuous "high Alert" State, Leading To Excessive Inflammatory Response To Cope With Other Threats, And Thus Lead To Depressive Behavior. They Also Showed That These Types Of Complications Can Be Reduced By Using A Technique Called Forced Cell Turnover On Microglia, A Step That Requires Eliminating Cells And Then Allowing Them To Reproduce.
Jonathan Godbout, Senior Research Author, Said: "This Is A Proof Of Principle That Many Inflammation, Especially Long-term Inflammation, Is Mediated By Microglia. But There Is An Acute Stage Of Inflammation - After Starting That Repair Process, This Early Inflammatory Response In The Brain Or Spinal Cord Is Positive. But If It Lasts For A Long Time And Is Not Completely Solved, That's When The Danger Is Coming."
To Explore This Idea, In The New Study, Scientists Allowed Microglia To Be Treated For Seven Days After Brain Injury In Mice. Then They Used An Experimental Drug To Make The Cells Lose The Protein They Need To Survive, Resulting In The Elimination Of More Than 95% Of The Cells. They Then Allowed Microglia To Reproduce Within 16 Days And Studied Brain And Cognitive Function With A Group Of Control Mice.
In Experiments Designed To Test Their Memory And Depressive Symptoms, The Treated Mice Performed Better Than The Control Mice. The Analysis Of Injured Brain Tissue Shows That Some Damage Of Neurons Has Been Reversed, Inflammation Has Been Reduced, And The Ability Of Brain To Adapt To Changes Has Been Improved. In A Follow-up Experiment Designed To Simulate Infection, The Treated Mice Also Showed Fewer Symptoms Than The Control Group.
Scientists Believe That Cell Turnover Technology Allows Microglia To Return In A Less High State, So They Will Not Respond So Much To The Challenge Of The Immune System. This Reduces The Chance Of Persistent Inflammation And Therefore The Chance Of Long-term Effects On Cognitive Health.
"If Microglia In The Human Brain Do Not Return To Normal And Chronic Inflammation Persists After A Head Injury, It Is Not Just Secondary Brain Injury That Causes The Problem," Gobut Said. "Even If You Are Infected With The Virus After Concussion Recovery, It Can Develop Into Cognitive Or Behavioral Problems, Or Amplify Some Other Parts Of Behavior, Such As Depression. There Is A Real Link Between Head Injury And Mental Health, And This Risk Will Not Disappear."
Godbout Likened This Technology To "pressing The Reset Button". Although This Breakthrough Is Of Great Significance, It Is Not A Technology That Can Be Applied To Humans At Any Time. According To The Team, It Is Not Feasible To Temporarily Remove Microglia From Human Brain. However, A Better Understanding Of The Role Of Microglia In Brain Injury And Inflammation Provides New Therapeutic Targets, Which Can Reduce The Probability Of Concussion Patients Experiencing Long-term Mental Health Effects.
"At Least In Mice, By Flipping Microglia In The Brain, We Had A Very Positive Impact On Their Behavior, Cognitive Status And The Level Of Inflammation In The Brain," Gobut Said. "Now We Can Focus On The Cellular Pathways That Produce Chronic Inflammation As A Goal."