A short protein fragment, or peptide, may lead the way to healing traumatic brain injuries, a primary cause of death and disability among youth.

A systemically injected peptide can act as an imaging agent and drug carrier in brain injury models, report Erkki Ruoslahti and colleagues in Nature Communications. Because localized injections are invasive and may be disruptive to the injured site, this systemic approach could have far-reaching advantages for patients with acute brain injuries

La Jolla, Calif., June 28, 2016 -- A new study led by scientists at the Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute describes a technology that could lead to new therapeutics for traumatic brain injuries. The discovery, published today in Nature Communications, provides a means of homing drugs or nanoparticles to injured areas of the brain.