Monday, July 30, 2012  The Neurobiology of Brain Injury  By:
Marcela Pekna M.D., Ph.D. and Milos Pekny M.D., Ph.D.  Authors
Marcela Pekna and Milos Pekny explain what happens within the
brain after injury and how scientists’ growing awareness of the
brain's capacity for repair could lead to better treatment
options.  Editor’s note: In a complementary article, Dr. Mark J.
Ashley discusses frontline rehabilitation methods that can
improve brain injury recovery outcomes. Here, Marcela Pekna and
Milos Pekny explain what happens within the brain after injury
and how scientists’ growing awareness of the brain’s capacity
for repair could lead to better treatment options.  Brain injury
caused by head trauma or stroke affects all brain cells,
including neurons; glial cells such as astrocytes, microglia,
and oligodendrocytes; blood vessel cells; and cells that produce
and recycle cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), which line the brain’s
ventricles. In addition to causing direct cell damage and cell
loss, brain injuries disrupt