Understanding and Treating Strokes and Brain Injuries from the Cell Up
Each year, about 50,000 Canadians are affected by strokes and 35,000 by traumatic brain injuries. These and other major health disorders, such as chronic pain, are believed to share similar fundamental processes within the human body.
However, because these conditions are not yet fully understood, many of the treatment therapies developed in labs never translate into human clinical trials.
Neurosurgeon Dr. Michael Tymianski, Canada Research Chair in Translational Stroke Research, is examining the microscopic processes of cells and molecules involved in strokes and brain injuries. His research has already uncovered several of the cellular and molecular mechanisms at work in these disorders. He and his team now plan to use this information to create new treatments.
Tymianski’s research has the potential to directly improve the lives of Canadians who have suffered from strokes or brain injury, or who are dealing with a range of other health problems. By helping develop more effective and cost-efficient treatments, his work could also result in major savings in health-care expenditures.