Spinal cord injuries not only cause initial damage to the Central Nervous System, but increase the risk of additional neurologic problems and dramatically impact the ongoing costs associated with caring for the patient, says Alabama spinal cord injury attorney Keith T. Belt.
Millions of people a year suffer a traumatic brain injury or spinal cord injury and in the blink of an eye, their lives may be changed forever.
The current clinical repertoire for treating Central Nervous System injury is extremely limited, but the University of Alabama School of Medicine’s Department of Neurobiology is currently testing a treatment protocol that may allow arresting continuing brain damage following the initial concussion. NFL Charities, the charitable foundation of the National Football League owners, funded the research as part of a $1.5 million grant package to multiple institutions for sport-related medical research.
Currently there are no pharmacological interventions to treat TBI and only one drug with questionable efficacy for use in SCI. Most previous research in Central Nervous System injury has focused on neuroprotection, and has discounted the role of glial cells in injury pathology. The central hypothesis of UAB’s research is that understanding of the complex interaction of glial and neuronal cells in the pathophysiology of traumatic Central Nervous System injury will lead to novel, effective therapeutic interventions. On-going projects include:
- estrogens, phytoestrogens, and selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs) as potential protective agents in SCI and TBI
- evaluation of fusion proteins for delivery of anti-apoptotic proteins in SCI and TBI
- mechanisms of astrocyte damage, dysfunction, and cell death in TBI and SCI
- developing clinically relevant, scalable, animal models of blast-induced TBI and multiple-mild TBI
- evaluation of chemically functionalized carbon nanotubes as a regenerative substrate after SCI
Talk to the Alabama Spinal Cord Injury Lawyers at Belt, Bruner, & Barnett P.C. Today
After a serious traumatic brain injury or spinal cord injury, you’ll want a spinal cord injury lawyer, who will fight for your rights. For a free consultation with our Alabama personal injury lawyers at Belt, Bruner, & Barnett P.C., call today at (205) 933-1500. We have additional offices in Montgomery, Mobile, and Huntsville to best serve you at a location most convenient to you.
