Brian Peach
Daily Egyptian
The hope of brain recovery for those with severe head injuries may increase after researchers at SIUC use newly acquired research funds to study neurological disorders.
U.S. Congressman Jerry Costello announced Thursday that SIUC has received a $304,105 Health and Human Services grant from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. The money is part of the $1.14 million total to be awarded during the next four years.
Costello said in a press release that the grant will help "further the research mission" at SIUC and boost the economy as well. Costello's Chief of Staff David Gillies said his office will continue to support this type of research for its lasting benefits.
"If you look at research we're doing for the National Science Foundation on a variety of subjects, the money we put into that research comes back to help the economy in a variety of ways," Gillies said. "There might be less healthcare costs in the future because of advances that are made. Less costs and better health are serving a great benefit to society that is economically important."
Douglas Smith, an associate professor of psychology, was the principle investor in the project and submitted the grant proposal.
The money will be used to study the effect of small electric pulses delivered to a specific area of the brain, which may help animals and humans recover from severe brain trauma.
"It's a non-drug alternative called Vagus Nerve stimulation," Smith said. "It's already used in people with epilepsy who experience seizures, and the grant will allow work to be conducted on rats to see if it works on trauma patients as well."
The goal is to see if the small electronic pulse, which is delivered every 10 minutes to the brain through a small device placed underneath the skin, will improve memory in the trauma victims, just as it as shown to do in epilepsy patients.
"Most related drugs are used as anti-epileptic to affect people's memory, but they make people groggy and slow them down," Smith said. "The Vagus Nerve stimulation will hopefully help those people remember things better without the side effects."
Reporter Brian Peach can be reached at bpeach@dailyegyptian.com
Published on 11/17/05; 12:24:44 PM
