Brain Repair: Fact or Fiction?

Sooner or later, everyone will know of someone who has had a concussion, a stroke, or a more severe traumatic brain injury. The consequences of these brain injuries can change dramatically over time, as we know from the growing number of cases of post-traumatic stress disorder in the military, as well as the incidence of chronic traumatic encephalopathies caused by sports-related blows to the head. While we have learned a lot about the molecular, cellular, biological, and behavioral changes caused by injury, there are still no clinically effective, therapeutic agents that can repair the damage. Can we change this situation in the years ahead? This class on what is known about brain repair will focus on learning about both the problems and prospects for finding effective solutions to this critical unmet medical need.

Materials will be provided.

Donald Stein retired in 2021 from Emory University School of Medicine as Asa G. Candler Professor and Distinguished Professor in Emergency Medicine and Neuroscience. His early work on sex differences in recovery from brain injury led to decades of research on the role of hormones in plasticity and repair of CNS injury.