Investigating the efficacy of a novel therapeutic to mitigate traumatic brain injury : contributions of environmental exposures to overall healing.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of disability and premature death among both civilians and military. Morbidity and deaths are mainly caused by several secondary process that exacerbate brain dysfunction in the minutes to days following the primary injury when blood vessels and tissues are torn, stretched, or compressed. In previous studies, proper oxygen supply has been shown to help brain cells to grow and repair, remove the obstruction in blood flow, and alleviate brain edema to prevent secondary injury. OX-66, a novel therapeutic, potentially provides an efficient supply of oxygen to the cells. This therapeutic was investigated in this study to determine its cytotoxicity and potential mechanism of cellular repair in invitro-injured rat brain cells. The effects of exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) on TBI patients and the corresponding restorative influence of OX-66 were also evaluated.