Scientists at the Weizman Institute have developed a new method for treating head injuries, strokes and degenerative brain illnesses (atrophy). The scientists say that in this way it may also be possible to assist patients suffering from other illnesses such as ALS, glaucoma, and brain damage suffered by AIDS patients.
“The Institute” magazine
Published 16/1/2007 12:13
Head injury, stroke or illness result in the excretion of large quantities of nerve solution (neuro-transmitter) “Glutomat” from the damaged brain cells. In the normal case, this substance plays a role in transferring signals between the nerve cells of the brain. But when it floods the areas adjacent to the injury it causes excess stimulation and sets off a chain reaction that causes irreparable damage to the brain tissue. In order to cope with this damaging process the Weitzman Institute scientists have developed a new system to remove the excess and dangerous Glutomat from the brain. The medical treatments that have been tried in this area up till now have been based on medicinal material which is intended to derail the damaging function of the Glutomat. The problem is that many medicines are not able to jump the barrier from the blood to the brain, and therefore are not able to get to the relevant portion of the brain at all. Various other treatments have not proved themselves in clinical tests.
At this stage Prof. Vivian Teichberg of the Weizman Institute for Science enters the picture. Together with Prof. Yoram Shapiro and Dr. Alexander Zlotnick of the Soroka Medical Centre and Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Prof. Teichberg has been able to show that by activating a particular enzyme of the blood, it is possible to drain the Glutomat from the affected brain cells and to move it into the blood stream. In an experiment which was conducted on rats, the researchers were able in this way to prevent major damage. The system will soon be tested clinically on human beings.
In the brain there is a system for draining and recycling Glutomat but after injury or illness this system is not able to cope with the large quantities of Glutomat which are released by the damaged cells. Prof. Teichberg decided to seek a different way to solve the problem. Instead of stopping the Glutomat, he decided to move the excess Glutomat from the liquid around the brain cells to the blood. In fact the concentrations of Glutomat in the blood are much higher than the concentrations in the brain, and so the brain has to activate special “pumps” called “Transporters” which pump the Glutomat from the brain to the blood. These pumps which are found in the external layers of the blood vessels in the brain collect and concentrate the Glutomat, and so they create in their vicinity areas in which there are high concentrations of Glutomat, so permitting the Glutomat to exit to the blood stream.
Prof. Teichberg has discovered a way to influence the efficiency of the transporters by treating the concentrations of Glutomat in the blood. When the concentration of Glutomat in the blood drops, the force that pulls the Glutomat from the brain to the blood is strengthened. Prof. Teichberg has revealed that it is possible to reduce the concentrations of Glutomat in the blood by means of an enzyme called “GOT”, which is found in the blood. This enzyme connects to the Glutomat, deactivates it, reduces the concentration of Glutomat in the blood and so causes the pumps (the transporters) to strengthen their activity and to move the excess quantity of Glutomat from the brain to the blood. On tests conducted on rats the researchers have thus succeeded in preventing the main damage that might have occurred as a result of the release of large quantities of Glutomat from the injured brain cells.
The YEDA Company that promotes industrial applications on the basis of discoveries of scientists of the Weizman Institute for Science has registered a patent on the system and has granted the “Braintect” Company an exclusive license to develop and market a medication based on this. The Braintect Company was established in the framework of the “Meitav” Hothouse in Kiriat Shmona. The FDA of the U.S.A. has decided to fast-track the authorization of a medication being developed by Braintect in terms of the license received from Yeda.
If the method proves itself in clinical tests, it should be useful in the treatment of head injuries, stroke and preventing damage which may occur to the brain from nerve gas or as a result of germ infection of the brain membrane. Scientists say that in this way it may also be possible to assist sufferers from other illnesses such as ALS, Glaucoma and brain damage suffered by AIDS patients. Prof. Teichberg: “We are convinced that the method we have developed will work in cases where other methods have failed because instead of trying to stop the activity of the Glutomat, it transfers it from the brain to the blood where it is no longer able to cause damage”.
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