UC scientist gets $1.7 million NIH grant

July 7, 2007

The National Institutes of Health has awarded $1.7 million to a

University of Cincinnati scientist to do molecular research that

could lead to better treatments for brain injury patients.

Cincinnati Business Courier - OH*

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Strauss will study two types of molecules known as

eicosanoids, which are created by injured brain cells, to confirm

that they can protect healthy brain cells from further damage.

If successful, Strauss's research could lead to a new class of drugs

designed to enhance the levels of these helpful molecules, and

thereby improve outcomes in patients who have suffered traumatic

brain injury.

Traumatic brain injury is the leading cause of death and disability

among people aged 16 to 45.

" One of my goals, " said Strauss, a research associate professor of

neurosurgery at UC and director of the Mayfield Neurotrauma Research

Lab, " is to develop therapies for traumatic brain injury, a

condition for which there is no effective medical treatment. "

He'll first try his ideas in rodents.

When the brain suffers such injury, it takes self-protective action.

The brain cells release arachidonic acid, which triggers a series of

events that draw additional cells to the injured site.

While some of the compounds resulting from the initial trauma appear

to be protective and to inhibit harmful inflammation, Strauss said

in a press release, others are harmful if they remain for too long.

" Brain cells and immune system cells in the blood stream alter their

function and essentially gather at the damage site, " Strauss

said. " They can proliferate and release chemicals that cause the

region to swell up. In their effort to either cordon off or repair

the damage, they can also constrict blood vessels or attract even

more cells into that area. "

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