SASKATOON — A鈥疷niversity of Saskatchewan鈥痳esearch team鈥痟as鈥痠dentified鈥痶hat concussion recovery can take much longer鈥痶han many people think,鈥痙ue to a series of biological events following a blow to the head that can take upwards of four weeks鈥痶o resolve.鈥��
The team has found a鈥痯articular鈥痯rotein鈥痶hat鈥痠s released from the brain and into the blood following鈥痑 brain injury such as a concussion. This鈥痬olecule鈥痠s called cellular prion protein (PrPc), and鈥痠s assumed to play a role in regulating鈥痶he glucose metabolism of the brain.鈥��
Concussion events are common worldwide among people of all ages, with more than 200,000 concussions diagnosed in Canada annually. Concussion is a type of brain injury that typically causes a temporary decrease in brain function. They are common among those who are involved in the military, play sports, or engage in physical activity with a high chance of falls or impact with objects.鈥�
“Even a single concussion event disturbs brain glucose metabolism,” said Dr. Changiz Taghibiglou (PharmD, PhD), a co-researcher on the study, where the goal is to identify the lasting effects of concussion-related insulin resistance in the brain—how long does it take to get back to normal?
Using positron emission tomography (PET) scanning techniques,鈥痠t was found鈥痶hat鈥痬ice with mild concussions鈥痵howed a significant reduction in brain glucose uptake鈥痜ollowing the injury, which typically took seven days to return to normal. In more severe cases of concussion,鈥痙amage was sustained for up to four鈥痮r more鈥痺eeks.鈥�
“We hope that our research provides awareness for the public and especially for those who experienced a single concussion to avoid high-contact activities for at least one week or even more, until brain glucose metabolism is normalized. For repeated or multiple concussions, the avoidance time would be much longer than鈥痜our鈥痺eeks,” said鈥疶aghibiglou.鈥�
The research, published in the鈥疘nternational Journal of Molecular Sciences,鈥痬ay lead to new treatment possibilities for people with mild鈥痶o severe鈥痗oncussions鈥痑nd a deeper understanding of the metabolic impacts of brain injury.鈥疶reatment鈥痯ossibilities could include medications or鈥痚ven鈥痗ertain diets.
“We discovered a novel mechanism at least partly responsible for concussion-induced brain metabolism disturbance,鈥痺hich鈥痮pens the door for potential future therapeutic interventions,” said鈥疶aghibiglou.鈥��
This work is a successful collaboration between Taghibiglou, molecular imaging scientist Dr. Humphrey鈥疐onge鈥�(PhD),鈥痑nd their team members including Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation post-doctoral fellow Dr. Sathiya Sekar (PhD). Dr. Raja Solomon Viswas (PhD), Dr. Hajar Miranzadeh Mahabadi鈥�(PhD),鈥痑nd鈥疍r.鈥疎lahe鈥疉lizadeh鈥�(PhD) are the other researchers involved with the study.
USask鈥疌ollege of Medicine Research Award program鈥痑nd the Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation helped fund the research.
