In the quest for a TBI therapy, astrocytes may be the bull’s-eye
Posted on: Friday, February 11th, 2022
Growing evidence suggests that traumatic brain injury (TBI) is an important risk factor for developing Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. But to date, effective therapies aren’t available for preventing or treating TBI-induced disease.
Scientists may be on to something, though. New studies from The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UT Health San Antonio), published Feb. 9 in the journal Brain, show what happens when an enzyme called monoacylglycerol lipase (MAGL) is genetically inactivated in experimental mice. Typically, MAGL breaks down a neuroprotective molecule called 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG), diminishing the latter’s beneficial effects in the brain.
To read the full article, visit the UT Health San Antonio Newsroom.