BME study finds stretching of neurons implicated in traumatic brain injury
February 19, 2021—A new University of Minnesota study found that stretching induces the same damage to cells as occurs in chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) and Alzheimer’s disease.
The work sets the stage for quickly screening drugs or other treatments targeting the root cause of injury-induced brain trauma. If administered promptly, such a treatment could prevent or limit the damage following a concussion, whether from blows or the percussive shock waves of explosions.
“Our study provides the first direct experimental evidence that mechanical deformation on the scale of individual cells can lead to some specific abnormalities associated with Alzheimer’s disease and CTE,” said co-author Patrick Alford, Associate Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering.
“The mathematical models we developed based on these data suggest that we can predict injury likelihood due to forces like those caused by blast waves experienced by soldiers,” he said.
The study is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.