A Cure For Brain Injuries?

Cutting-edge research hit the news today regarding the treatment of brain injuries.

It seems the drug amantadine, used to treat Parkinson’s Disease, offers dramatic desults in traumatic brain injury patients, reports ABC News.

Patients treated with amantadine were also more likely to rapidly regain “cognitively mediated behaviors that serve as the foundation for functional independence,” such as the ability to recognize objects, sustain attention and communicate.

But the advantages afforded by amantadine were not permanent. Two weeks after the treatment was stopped, the drug’s benefits wore off — “more compelling evidence that this drug was in fact pushing the rate of recovery,” said Giacino. It’s not known whether prolonged treatment would lead to more pronounced and sustained effects, he said.

The referenced study and treatment of brain injury patients was not done in Tampa. But it will be interesting to watch and see whether Tampa Bay area brain injury patients, as a result of auto accidents or any other reason, might have a chance to take advantage of the positive effects of amantadine.