Brain Scar Tissue Treatments

After an injury or damage to the brain, scar tissue can form. Over time, more scar tissue can build up on the brain. Brain scar tissue can be difficult to deal with, as it can interfere with proper healing or normal brain function. New technology, like nanotechnology, has opened the door for a variety of different treatment options. However, depending on where the scar tissue is located and how much there is, not all of it may be able to be removed.

Development of Brain Scar Tissue

• Multiple sclerosis is one disease where there is development of brain scar tissue. The scar tissue builds up on either the brain or on the spinal cord, interfering with normal cognitive and motor functions. After a traumatic brain injury, tumor or seizure, scar tissue can form in response to lesions on the brain from the trauma. Scar tissue takes between six to nine months to build up on the brain. At that point, the scar tissue slows with nerve growth in the brain.

Difficulties

• As scar tissue builds up, it prevents nerve growth in the brain. Without proper nerve growth, broken nerve connections are not fixed, resulting in a loss of, or difficulty in, function. This results in the symptoms displayed by patients with disorders involving brain scar tissue. In addition, if the build up of scar tissue is not treated, it can lead to a further deterioration in function.

Nanotechnology

• A new treatment with nanotechnology not only gets rid of the brain scar tissue, but it also encourages brain nerve regrowth. The process begins by cutting the brain structure that relays the vision signals. After severing the connection, a clear fluid is injected into the damaged area that has chains of amino acids. Amino acids create peptide bonds, which create a bridge to the damaged area. This new peptide bond restores the severed connections, and also prevents more scar tissue from forming. According to the research performed by MIT, Hong Kong University, and Fourth Military Medical University in China, there was a success rate of 75 percent of the rats treated with nanotechnology.

Surgery

• Another option to remove brain scar tissue is to remove it through surgery. This is an option for epilepsy patients who suffer from seizures localized in the region of the brain where the scar tissue is located.

Note

• Depending where the scar tissue is located, surgery may not be an option, as it could result in further brain damage. In addition, nanotechnology is still a relatively new development, and may not be offered in your area.