Regenerating Life: Exploring the Potential for Stem Cell Therapy in Traumatic Brain Injury

Traumatic Brain Injury is responsible for 30% of trauma related death and over 2.8 million visits to the emergency room, hospitalizations, and deaths in 2010. Many survivors are left with cognitive and motor deficits while others are left in a persistent vegetative state. Current treatments have shown advancement over the past decade however TBI rates continue to rise across the country. Recently stem cells have been tested and shown to have efficacy in many diseases and genetic disorders. TBI clinical trials are moving into human trials and show promise in both the acute and sub-acute time period. Research reports improvements in cognitive and motor function after injection with Mesenchymal stem cells. These cells are harvested from bone marrow and umbilical cord blood instead of fetal embryos. With the ability to differentiate in to specialized cells they have the ability to repair and renew damaged tissue. Limitations in recently published clinical trials show the need for more research in an exciting and rapidly expanding field.Master of Health Scienc