Compositions for increasing resilience to traumatic brain injury

Abstract

Provided herein are methods, compositions, and uses thereof for preventing traumatic brain injury (TBI) in a subject, wherein a composition comprising whey protein isolate and / or whey protein concentrate may be administered to a subject pre-injury, thereby increasing resilience of the subject to TBI.

Description

FIELD OF INVENTION[0001]The present invention relates generally to methods and compositions for increasing resilience to traumatic brain injury. More specifically, the present invention relates to compositions comprising whey protein isolate and / or concentrate, and their use in protecting against traumatic brain injury.BACKGROUND[0002]Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major public health problem estimated to affect nearly 1.7 million people in the United States annually. Due to the often debilitating effects of TBI, novel preventative agents are highly desirable for at risk populations.[0003]According to the Brain Injury Association of America, nearly 5.3 million Americans are currently living with long term mental or physical disabilities due to TBI. Moreover, the estimated annual cost to society due to TBI in the United States exceeds $76.5 billion. TBI includes injuries to the brain caused by physical trauma resulting from, but not limited to, incidents involving motor vehicles, ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The patent describes a method of using a composition containing whey protein to prevent a decrease in brain levels of a compound called GSH / GSSG ratio after injury. The composition can be administered to people who are at risk for TBI to make them more resilient to the injury. The technical effect of this invention is to increase the ability of the brain to protect itself from injury and maintain its health.

Problems solved by technology

Moreover, the estimated annual cost to society due to TBI in the United States exceeds $76.5 billion.

Repetitive incidences of mild TBI are linked to progressive neurological dysfunction and an increased risk of neurodegeneration.

Although many patients might in theory, be able to significantly recover from the primary mechanical injury of TBI given appropriate acute surgical interventions and supportive care, the detrimental consequences of secondary injury often lead to long term physical, cognitive, and emotional impairments that markedly reduce quality of life.

Given the multi-factorial nature of secondary injury, many different therapeutic approaches have been investigated in an attempt to mitigate the post-acute neuronal damage caused by TBI including antioxidants, neurorestorative therapies, neuroprotective pharmacological agents, and drugs that modulate neuroinflammation.16-22 Yet, despite some compelling results with specific agents in pre-clinical animal models of TBI and Phase I / II trials in patients, there are currently no FDA approved drugs for TBI which have shown significant therapeutic efficacy in large, randomized Phase III clinical trials.

Unfortunately, few of these previous studies evaluated the effects of GSH precursor supplementation on cognitive or motor deficits induced by TBI and as a result, it has been unclear what therapeutic benefit this strategy might realistically hold for patients suffering from TBI.

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