Painkilling peptide 'may aid traumatic brain injury patients'RSS Feed

A new painkilling peptide could prevent cell death following a traumatic brain injury new research has shown.

The study, published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, found that the CDB3 peptide is able to help with chronic pain, short circuiting the pathway without interfering with other nerve functions.

It was previously believed that the peptide would actually trigger the death of brain cells, but University of Indiana researchers found that the opposite could be true.

Authors believe the chemical could be used to treat those with traumatic brain injury, as one single CDB3 injection allows enough peptide to cross the blood-brain barrier to produce a marked reduction in cell death in the hippocampus.

This could potentially help traumatic brain injury patients to retain their memory and learning abilities.

Meanwhile, research at St Michael's Hospital Canada found that chronic pain is not managed well in the general population, with one-quarter of those surveyed claiming to have constant or sporadic pain lasting for over six months.

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Posted by Paul Breen
 

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