A Novel Approach to Preventing Brain Damage

Like other neurological disorders often encountered by psychiatrists (e.g., Alzheimer and Parkinson diseases), ischemic brain damage involves delayed neuronal death, a process that has traditionally been linked to excitotoxicity. However, nonexcitotoxic pathways also contribute to neuronal loss after various forms of injury; one such pathway involves activation of the TRPM7 channel, a nonselective cation channel that appears to mediate calcium and magnesium currents, resulting in intracellular oxidative stress. These researchers investigated whether inhibition of TRPM7 could prevent ischemic brain damage in adult rats.

Using a neurotropic viral vector, the investigators infected hippocampal CA1 neurons with small interfering RNA that specifi…