NEURAL TRAUMA

 Each year more that 500,000 Americans suffer traumatic injury to the brain and/or spinal cord that is severe enough to require hospitalization. Every 5 minutes one of those people die and another becomes permanently disabled.

 Approximately 200,000 Americans are living with traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI), and the resulting paralysis and loss of bodily function below the level of the injury. Most of these were young, active adults at the time of their injury. Only a minority recover sufficiently to be able to return to work. The cost of SCI in emotional, societal and financial terms is immense.

 Traumatic brain injury (TBI) also primarily affects young adults. The highest risk is for young men injured though motor vehicle accidents. Survivors face years of intensive care and rehabilitation with an estimated mean cost of $4 million per patient.

 Substantial experimental evidence indicates that early treatment may reduce the tissue loss and long-term consequences of traumatic injury to the brain and spinal cord.  Two large-scale randomized trials with SCI patients have demonstrated significant, although modest, benefit in the clinical setting. Further, regeneration research has made significant strides in recent years. However, as recently stated by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

 The great challenge of modern neuroscience is to translate the remarkable findings of basic science into useful therapies.

 Members of the CNIR with research and clinical interests focused on neural trauma include Drs. Bregman, Faden, Gillis, Goodhill, Friedman, Henderson, Kozikowski, Kromer, Lauerman, Mocchetti, Rabkin, Swope,Vicini, Wang, Wiesel, Wolfe, Wrathall, Woblewski and Yakalov.