An experimental treatment that has worked in rats offers a much simpler solution to the problem of dealing with concussions. A pill that helps restore normal brain structure and function, it can potentially help people who suffer from chronic traumatic encephalopathy.
Chronic traumatic encephalopathy or CTE is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects professional athletes. CTE is characterized by fibrous tangles of a protein called tau and are also found in the brains of people who suffer from Alzheimer's.
Early signs of these tangles have been found immediately after a strong blow to the head, so researchers have found a protein that can act as an antibody that binds to the misshapen tau and orders the body to destroy the unneeded protein thus effectively stunting the diseases growth. Often athletes who have suffered severe brain trauma have the brains full of these misshapen tau proteins, the same is the case in mice. Researchers have found that the pill not only limits the amount of the protein found in a mouse's brain but also limits risk taking behavior significantly an underlying factor in most concussion related fatalities.
This pill is said to be ready for development in a couple of years, and that it will not only help victims of traumatic brain trauma but also people who suffer from other neurodegenerative diseases.
