Glue for the brain

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 5.3 million people in the United States of America today live with a disability associated with traumatic brain injury (TBI). The physical, mental, and financial consequences of a TBI can be enormous. Brain damage after TBI often leads to extensive loss of mobility and long-term, including lifelong, disability. Currently, there are no clinical treatments that can prevent cognitive and motor disorders resulting from severe TBI due to the death of nerve cells.

In a new study, a group from the Center for Regenerative Biological Sciences at the University of Georgia demonstrated the high effectiveness of a hydrogel for the treatment of TBI. The researchers presented evidence that this gel not only protects against the death of brain tissue after a severe injury, but also helps in the functional recovery of the nervous system.

This discovery is the first visual and functional evidence of the restoration of the neural circuits of the brain involved in the "reach and grab" movement in animals after severe TBI with a hydrogel implanted in the brain.

Created in 2017, hydrogel glue is an engineering chondroitin sulfate (eCS), imitating chondroitin sulfate glycosaminoglycans, which are key regulators of growth factor signaling and stem cell homeostasis in the brain. eCS also activates brain neurotrophic factor, which increases cell survival after severe TBI.

Mice implanted with eCS after severe TBI demonstrated significant recovery of the "reach and grab" function. This was associated with increased vascularization, cytoskeletal protein expression, activation of neurotrophic factor and significant improvement in cell repair. 20 weeks after TBI, the overall recovery of motor function in these mice significantly exceeded the motor functions of control animals.

To evaluate the effectiveness of eCS, the group used a method to make brain tissue optically transparent. This made it possible to directly observe the immediate reaction of neurons in the "reach and grab" circuit using the 3D visualization method.

Using these methods along with conventional electrophysiological rehabilitation methods, the researchers were able to confirm that eCS supports the regeneration of functional neurons in the affected area.

The authors believe that the new hydrogel will give hope to all patients suffering from the effects of severe TBI.

Article by C.-F.V. Latchoumane et al. Engineered glycomaterial implants orchestrate large-scale functional repair of brain tissue chronically after severe traumatic brain injury is published in the journal Science Advances.

Aminat Adzhieva, portal "Eternal Youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru based on UGA Today: Reparative hydrogel mimics the composition and mechanics of the brain.