U.S. Army Identifies 6 Critical Research Targets for Improving Outcomes in Traumatic Brain Injury

NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. - Jan. 6, 2014 - PRLog -- New Rochelle, NY—The U.S. Department of Defense funds more than 500 neurotrauma research projects totaling over $700 million. Yet there remains a large unmet medical need for effective treatments of traumatic brain injury (TBI), a major cause of disability and mortality. The U.S. Army’s new strategic research plan for developing improved drug therapies for TBI is published in Journal of Neurotrauma, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the Journal of Neurotrauma website at http://www.liebertpub.com/neu.

The U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command (USAMRMC) established the Neurotrauma Pharmacology Workgroup to develop a strategic research plan that identifies the most critical research priority areas with the goal of improving patient outcomes after TBI.

The Workgroup’s report, “Pharmacotherapy of Traumatic Brain Injury: State of the Science and the Road Forward, Report of the Department of Defense Neurotrauma Pharmacology Workgroup” (http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/pdfplus/10.1089/neu.2013.3019), was coauthored by Ramon Diaz-Arrastia and Kimbra Kenney, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (Bethesda, MD); Patrick Kochanek, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine (PA); Peter Bergold, SUNY Downstate Medical Center (Brooklyn, NY); Christine Marx, Duke University Medical Center and Durham VA Medical Center (NC); Jamie Grimes, Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center (Silver Spring, MD); Yince Loh, Madigan Army Medical Center (Tacoma, WA); Gina Adam, Kenneth Curley, and Wanda Salzer, U.S. Army MRMC (Ft. Detrick, MD); and Devon Oskvig (Rockville, MD).

John T. Povlishock, PhD, Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Neurotrauma and Professor, VCU Neuroscience Center, Medical College of Virginia, Richmond, notes that “although some of the themes advanced in this manuscript are not entirely new, the report helps to refocus current thought on those most critical research priority areas in the field of TBI pharmacological intervention. Additionally, the accompanying text addressing the current state of preclinical and clinical drug assessment will be an interesting read for all involved in this field of discovery.”

About the Journal
Journal of Neurotrauma is an authoritative peer-reviewed journal published 24 times per year in print and online that focuses on the latest advances in the clinical and laboratory investigation of traumatic brain and spinal cord injury. Emphasis is on the basic pathobiology of injury to the nervous system, and the papers and reviews evaluate preclinical and clinical trials targeted at improving the early management and long-term care and recovery of patients with traumatic brain injury. Journal of Neurotrauma is the official journal of the National Neurotrauma Society (http://www.neurotrauma.org) and the International Neurotrauma Society. Complete tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed on the Journal of Neurotrauma website at http://www.liebertpub.com/neu.

About the Publisher
Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers is a privately held, fully integrated media company known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in promising areas of science and biomedical research, including Therapeutic Hypothermia and Temperature Management, Tissue Engineering, and Brain Connectivity. Its biotechnology trade magazine, Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN), was the first in its field and is today the industry’s most widely read publication worldwide. A complete list of the firm’s 70 journals, books, and newsmagazines is available on the Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers website at http://www.liebertpub.com.

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