Traumatic brain and spinal cord injury

Traumatic brain injury refers to a change in brain function due to an event after birth. While acquired brain injuries can be caused by a number of factors, traumatic brain injuries are specifically caused by an accident, fall, or blunt force to the head. Brain injury can affect a person’s cognitive, physical, emotional or independent functioning.

Spinal cord injuries are also most commonly caused by trauma including car crashes or sporting accidents, falls and blunt force to the spine. A spinal cord injury can cause paralysis from the neck or chest down, resulting in restricted mobility and feeling. For most people with a spinal injury, their spinal cord is still intact, but is damaged severely enough that it no long functions.

How The Florey is making a difference

The Florey was a lead partner in developing the Stentrode, in conjunction with the Royal Melbourne Hospital and University of Melbourne. The stentrode combines electrodes to record brain signals with a stent that sits in the blood vessel underlying the motor cortex. This will allow an exoskeleton or electronic reader to be controlled by a paralysed person, for example a spinal injury patient or someone with motor neurone disease.

Our scientists are also exploring molecules in preclinical studies to allow regrowing nerves to cross the so-called ‘glial scar’ that forms on the spinal cord after a sever spinal cord injury.

We are investigating the role of zinc and zinc-modifying drugs in reducing the damage after a traumatic brain injury as well as in normal ageing and Alzheimer’s disease.