Nervous System and Brain Disorders Dr. Angela Ruban

Spinal cord injury

Spinal cord injury causes permanent changes in strength, sensation and motor functions. Hope of recuperation is slim to none Primary mechanical damage to spinal cord tissue kills a certain number of neuronal cells. But there is a secondary damage due to the release of excess glutamate, which is responsible for an additional functional disability. Our main idea is to reduce the secondary damage as soon as possible to block the body’s reaction to the spinal cord trauma. Our new study finds the intravenous injection of a potent enzyme, just hours https://www.angelarubanlab.com/ after the accident, has the potential to diminish a cascade of pathological events responsible for neuronal death, such as inflammation and scarring. It will be the first emergency treatment for neurotrauma in the world. We suggest administering the injection by paramedics even in cases of uncertain diagnosis. There is no side effect, but it might just mitigate secondary damage and dramatically improve the quality of a person’s life.

Dr. Ruban, PhD, at the Department of Nursing in the School of Health Professions, received a PhD in Clinical Pharmacology from the Ben Gurion University. She was a postdoctoral scholar at the Department of Neurobiology at Weizmann Institute of Science. During this period, she and Prof. Teichberg developed a novel Blood Glutamate Scavenging (BGS) technology for the treatment of malignant and neurodegenerative disorders. Dr. Ruban is a faculty member at the Health Profession School, Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University. Her lab research has focused on evaluating the therapeutic potential of the treatment in the neurotrauma, neurodegenerative and malignant diseases.