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Researchers have for decades studied ways to reduce the effects of trauma on the nervous system, but medical therapies that alleviate the short- and long-term consequences of traumatic brain injury have yet to be approved.

One of the effects of these injuries is cortical spreading depolarization (CSD), a process that alters the electrical signals and blood flow of the brain. In can occur in the "healthy" brain without severe harm, as with migraine auras. However, it can be harmful for patients with traumatic brain injuries, leading to worse clinical outcomes for many who experience this phenomenon.

In a new animal study, researchers at Dalhousie University examined the effect of both moderate and mild repetitive concussive head impacts on CSD. They monitored the brain’s electrical activity and blood flow response during microsurgery. They also tested therapies to inhibit CSD, hoping to find one that would not cause unwanted side-effects linked to other previously studied drugs used to treat CSD, like ketamine.

They found that memantine, a N-methyl-D-aspartate-receptor antagonist used in the treatment of Alzheimer's, inhibited CSD as effectively as ketamine, with no observable side-effects. It also improved the brain's electrical activity and blood flow response following traumatic brain injury.

Memantine prevented neurological decline following repetitive concussive brain impacts, according to the study published in the journal Science Advances.

Dr. Mark MacLean, a neurosurgery resident at Dalhousie, led the study and is available to discuss how this research demonstrates that memantine effectively reduces the harms of CSD, does not cause side-effects and sets the stage for future clinical trials in humans with acquired brain injuries.

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Media contact:

Alison Auld  
Senior Research Reporter  
Communications, Marketing and Creative Services  
Dalhousie University  
Cell: 1-902-220-0491  
Email: alison.auld@dal.ca