$$News and Reports$$

Jun. 23, 2013

 
 

A group of Ph.D. students from Prof. Alon Friedman’s Laboratory for Experimental Neurosurgery at BGU, took first place in a competition of ground-breaking neuroscience researchers in the field of neuroscience which took place last week at the President’s Conference. 

The group’s research focuses on acquired epilepsy, which is a common complication following brain injuries such as trauma, stroke, tumors and more. The laboratory in which they work focuses on preventing this disease and the development of diagnostic methods for identifying patients at risk.  

Their research showed that failure in blood vessel functioning and in particular the breaking of the blood-brain barrier (a complex structure that regulates the passage of substances between the blood and brain tissue), plays a major role in the development of epilepsy following brain injury. 

 In cooperation with researchers from the University of Berlin and the University of Berkeley, the BGU researchers discovered breaking the blood brain barrier impedes nerve function and causes brain damage. In addition, they found that the pathological process following the breaking of the blood brain barrier begins with albumin leakage, the most abundant protein in the blood, from blood vessels into the brain tissue. Their findings show that albumin binds to receptors on glial cells ("support cells" in the brain) and activates a specific mechanism, which controls inflammatory response and neural excitation. 

Based on these discoveries, the researchers have identified a pharmacological method to prevent epilepsy following head injuries, and have demonstrated its effectiveness in animals. Additionally, they have developed imaging techniques (based on magnetic resonance – MRI) that allow reliable detection of disturbances in the blood-brain barrier functioning in patients post brain injury. These methods are designed to identify patients at risk for epileptic seizures and additional brain complications, as candidates for preventive treatment.

 

 Watch the movie shown at the President's Conference