Cesar Borlongan and his team of researchers at the University of South Florida Center for Aging and Brain Repair have been working on research that could help brain injury patients in Homestead and across the country. The research has shown that stem cells used to repair brain injury after a trauma help create “biobridges” that link the injured part of the brain with the uninjured part of the brain where new cells are born. The preclinical study will likely lead to more research now that the FDA has approved a limited clinical trial involving the stem cell therapy.
Stem cell therapy has been offering hope for patients with brain injuries following car accidents and other incidents. In Homestead and across the country, patients home that stem cell therapy will offer new options for healing. Stem cells are blank (undifferentiated) cells that can help give rise to different cells with various functions. The stem cells used by the Florida researchers, for example, can be adapted to take on the function of neural cells.
In the past, scientists have believed that stem cells may work for brain injury patients because stem cells can help replace dying or dead cells in the brain. Some scientists have also suggested that stem cell therapy may work in traumatic brain injury cases because the stem cells repair injured tissue by expelling growth factors. The new research suggests a third possibility: stem cells may migrate and help build links between injured and uninjured parts of the brain.
Cesar Borlongan and his researchers reached their conclusions by looking at two groups of rats with traumatic brain injuries. One group was not given stem cells and one group was injected with SB632 cells (stem cells derived from bone marrow) directly into the part of the brain injured by trauma. About one and three months after the injury and treatment, the rats with the stem cell therapy had less brain tissue trauma and better neurological function and motor control than the control group. Even though the transplanted stem cells did not survive in great numbers, they seemed to be enough to make changes to the rats’ recovery from injury. Closer inspection showed that the rats with the stem cell therapy seemed to produce a link between the injured area of the brain and subventricular zone, or the area of the brain where hot neural stem cells are generated.
For brain injury patients who have suffered traumatic injuries due to a truck accident in Homestead – or any through any trauma – the brain cell research offers a glimmer of hope. However, researchers note that many more tests and trials are needed. While treatments and options for head injury patients are improving, many injured patients find the newest technologies prohibitively expensive, as well. Many patients turn to personal injury attorneys in Homestead or their communities in order to secure financial resources and compensation so that they can pay for medical treatment.
Do you have a case? If you have been injured due to a wrongful act or due to negligence, Florida law may allow you to pursue a legal claim to seek compensation. To find out more, contact Flaxman Law Group for a free consultation to review your case with a personal injury attorney.