This week’s spotlight is on The Prince Synergy, a worldwide organization focused on maximizing human capitol.

In The Prince Synergy’s own words, “Traumatic Brain Injury takes away victims’ freedom and opportunities internally.” With the unique obstacles faced by traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients in mind, this business works to help companies and their employees work with the limitations created by this injury and others.

The Prince Synergy provides teaching and consulting in the areas of health and stress management, leadership and innovation at “times of unexpected change, stress, illness and injury.”

If you or someone you know has sustained a TBI that is interfering with productivity, this company may be just what you are looking for. To find out more, click here.

The enzyme chondroitinase seems to have a beneficial effect on nerve damage. Plasticity, which allows the brain to make new connections after old ones are damaged, is crucial for recovery after a brain or spine injury, and scar tissue can interfere with this process.

A team of researchers from the Centre for Brain Repair in Cambridge studied the use of this enzyme that is used by bacteria in order to invade cells on rats with spinal cord injuries. Chondriotinase goes after the molecules (chondroitin sulphate proteoglycans) that create the scar tissue that blocks the formation of new nerve connections.

Used alone, chondriotinase had little benefit to the lab rats, but when combined with rehabilitation, there was a significant improvement. “The discovery opens up the possibility that rehabilitation for neurological conditions can be made much faster and more effective by giving treatment such as chondroitinase to make the nervous system plastic,” said lead researchers Professor James Fawcett and Dr. Guillermo Garcia-Alias.

According to Dr. Mark Bacon with Spinal Research, the next step will be figuring out how to administer this “bacterial protein” in a safe manner to humans with spinal cord injuries.

Click here for the BBC article, and here for image origin.

Bicycle Helmets and Traumatic Brain Injury

Bicycle crashes are a common cause of head injury and death. Studies show that wearing a bicycle helmet significantly reduces the severity of traumatic brain injury, and results in fewer deaths.

Here are some statistics regarding bicycle helmets and traumatic brain injury:

• The typical bicyclist killed on the road is a sober male over the age of 16, not wearing a helmet.

• About 540,000 bicyclists are taken to the emergency room with injuries every year. Approximately 67,000 of those injuries are brain injuries. About 27,000 of those brain injuries are severe enough to require hospitalization.

• While percentages vary according to the source, all sources agree that a high percentage—as much as 88 percent—of cyclists’ brain injuries can be prevented by an approved helmet.