Traumatic brain injury symptoms and conditions

I am friend and caretaker for TBI patient (Traumatic Brain Injury).(he has no short term memory and some cognitive problems. Seroquel is his miracle drug . He has been on it for about 5 years now and it has helped so much with inappropriateness and keeping him calm and functional. He had been in long term care facility for about 6 years and they over medicated with many potent drugs (just wanted to keep him inactive since he was young mobile male with TBI).He has been out and living with me for past 5+ years, it took a little while to change and modify the medication and is now taking daily low doses of meds: (20 mg paxcil, 750 depakote er, 50mg x 3 times a day (total 150mg) of seroquel (using 25mg pills), and 5 mg of lipitor and 100mg docqlace. He does have a weight problem which is a bit hard to control because he does want to eat a lot but having lots of fruits and vegetables around and asking him to wait 30 minutes after eating for his food to digest rather than getting 2nds has helped a lot too. Seroquel for him is in my opinion the most important one.

Reply on 12:20 AM on Apr 07, 2008 by losthope18, #1539
THANKS FOR RESPONDING... THE TRAGEDY WE'VE ALL ENDURED IS... AS YOU SAY BEYOND WORDS AND MORE THAN WE COULD PROBABLY OR EVEN POSSIBLY WRITE. PRIOR TO STARTING IN JAN 2005, I WAS ALREADY SUFFERRING WITH MANY OF THE PROBLEMS AND UNTOLD LOSSES OF MY LIFE, MOST ALL MY RELATIONSHIPS ETC. WHEN I WAS 28 YRS OLD I HAD A SEVERE HEAD INJURY AND AM A TEXTBOOK CASE OF A TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY SURVIVOR. MY LIFE WAS MAYBE 95% DESTROYED AT THAT POINT. EVEN STILL I HAD SOME FIGHT LEFT IN ME TO FIND OUT WHAT WAS WRONG & HOW I COULD GET BETTER. THE MEDICAL COMMUNITY AT LARGE STINKS AND DRS WHO THINK THEY KNOW "EVERYTHING" ABOUT HOW THE BRAIN WORKS AND WHAT EFFECTS IT ARE IGNORANT FOOLS. ONLY ABOUT 2 YEARS AGO, AFTER DOING MY OWN RESEARCH DID I FIGURE IT OUT AND NOW THE DR'S ARE NOW FALLING IN LINE & SAYING... YEP... THAT'S IT. NOT THE 50 PSYCH DIAGNOSIS THEY STUCK ME WITH... I AM 50 YEARS OLD NOW AND LOST, FOR ALL INTENTS AND PURPOSES MY ENTIRE ADULTHOOD TO AN UNDIAGNOSED T.B.I. THEN IN JAN 05, I STARTED THE SINGULAIR... I KNEW THE LAST COUPLE YEARS OR SO I HAD BEEN GETTING WORSE & WORSE. NEVER MADE THE CONNECTION. I STOPPED THE SINGULAIR A WEEK AGO THE LAST FRIDAY. DAMAGE ALREADY DONE. THE REMAINING 5% OF MY LIFE AND LOVE IS GONE AND I DON'T HAVE ANY FIGHT LEFT IN ME. I'M TRYING TO HANDLE THE REMOVAL OF THE SINGULAIR AS SCIENTIFICALLY AS I CAN TO DETERMINE WHAT'S WHAT. BOBANDSHERRI, I HOPE IT'S STILL TWO OF YOU... DOING/LIVING/EXISTING/FIGHTING ALONE WITH EVERY DREAM YOU EVER HAD AND EVERY PERSON YOU LOVE, NOW PRIMARILY MY PAST. MY MARRIAGE GONE. MY FAMILY... I WAS SO CLOSE TO MY MOM & DAD...LOTS OF BROTHERS & SISTERS... THINK IT'S ALL PRETTY MUCH IN MY HEAD. I DON'T KNOW WHAT OR HOW MUCH IMPROVEMENT I CAN EXPECT... I'VE BEEN SO SICK/DESTROYED ETC. FOR SO MANY YEARS. BESIDES MOST ALL OF THE PROBLEMS MENTIONED, I LEARNED A VERY SMALL BRAIN TUMOR-MENINGIOMA HAS GROWN 3MM FROM 7MM TO 1 CM. WHAT'S WEIRD IS... IT'S ON MY LEFT FRONTAL LOBE, ALTHOUGH AT THIS POINT NOT CAUSING ANY OF THE PROBLEMS. IF IT GROWS ANY FURTHER... BRAIN SURGERY FOR ME. WHAT I DON'T GET IS... I READ SOMEONE ELSE HAVING A MENINGIOMA TUMOR ALSO LEFT FRONTAL LOBE... WONDER WHAT IF ANYTHING IT HAS TO DO WITH SINGULAIR... PROBABLY NOTHING... I GUESS?? CLING TIGHT TO EACH OTHER AND REMEMBER HOW FRAGILE LIFE IS. I'M NOT FEELING BETTER YET...(ABOUT 8/9 DAYS WIHTOUT). IN RETROSPECT, I HAVE A GREAT DEAL MORE CLARITY AS TO WHY I'VE WORSENED SO MUCH IN THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS. I HOPE WHATEVER IMPROVEMENTS I WILL HAVE HAPPEN SOON! THERE IS SO MUCH MORE I COULD SAY BUT I'M ALREADY FORCING MY FOCUS HERE TO WRITE THIS MUCH. MAY BOTH YOUR LIVES BE BLESSED BEYOND ALL YOUR DREAMS & THANKS AGAIN! losthope18

(I posted this before but after receiving some e-mail, I have revised a few sentences to hopefully make it more understable. )

I would like to share this information with everyone. First, I would like to caution all that it does not prove anything regarding the negative side effect of Singulair but it does suggest that there might (only might) be a physiological cause for any side effect that could be attributed to brain function. A Chinese team has been studying the receptor (Cysteinyl leukotrienes receptor 1) that is targeted by Singulair and is responsible for the method of action that makes Singulair successful. Here is one of their studies.

1: Neurosci Lett. 2004 Jun 17;363(3):247-51. Links Expression of cysteinyl leukotriene receptor 1 in human traumatic brain injury and brain tumors.Zhang WP, Hu H, Zhang L, Ding W, Yao HT, Chen KD, Sheng WW, Chen Z, Wei EQ. Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, 353, Yan An Road, Hangzhou 310031, PR China. Cysteinyl leukotrienes (CysLTs) are potent proinflammatory mediators. CysLT receptor 1 (CysLT(1)) is one of the two CysLT receptors that has been cloned. Although the expression of CysLT(1) in the brain has been demonstrated by Northern blot and RT-PCR analyses, the location of CysLT(1) in the brain remains unknown. The objective of this study was to examine the distribution of CysLT(1) by immunohistochemical analysis in human brains with traumatic injury or tumors. CysLT(1) was expressed intensely in the microvascular endothelial cells in both normal and abnormal conditions. At 8 days after traumatic injury, microvascular regeneration was found and all of the endothelial cells highly expressed CysLT(1). In gray and white matters of the normal regions of the brain, CysLT(1) was expressed weekly or not at all. However, the CysLT(1) expression increased in the neuron- and glial-appearing cells in gray and white matters after traumatic brain injury. CysLT(1) was also detected in astrocytoma, ganglioglioma and metastatic adenocarcinoma, and the expression in the neuron- and glial-appearing cells around brain tumors increased robustly. PMID: 15182953

Here is the relevant part of the study. "Although the expression of CysLT(1) in the brain has been demonstrated by Northern blot and RT-PCR analyses, the location of CysLT(1) in the brain remains unknown." That sentence says that these scientists believe that CysLT1 exists in the brain but they did not know what the location in the brain was. Then they did this study which showed that the receptor existed in the tissues of the brain that are listed above and are too complicated to discuss here.

It is logical to assume that if a receptor exists in any part of the body that it has a function in other words it does something or tells some other part of the body to do something. They have not proved (that takes many studies) what part of the brain or what the receptor does in the brain or what the effect on the body is if the receptor does not do it's job. We do know that Singular (montelukast, Cysteinyl leukotriene receptor 1 antagonist) blocks this particular receptor so if the receptor exists in the brain that it COULD BE POSSIBLE that Singular prevents this receptor in the brain from doing it's job whatever that is. I know that it is difficult to argue with doctors. This drug has been around a long time. It would be difficult to understand why we are just learning about problems after so long a period of time. I can see from all of these responses that these problems are very real. Of course, we have no idea if Singulair is related or not. But if you need something supportive to show that it is not impossible for them to be related even though there is no proof that they are related, you could print this out and discuss it with your doctor.

This isn't proof of anything but at least it might be a clue. It just shows that it is not impossible that Singular affects brain function in some way.

I would like to share this information with everyone. First, I would like to caution all that it does not prove anything regarding the negative side effect of Singulair but it does suggest that there might (only might) be a physiological cause for any side effect that could be attributed to brain function.

A Chinese team has been studying the receptor (Cysteinyl leukotrienes receptor 1) that is targeted by Singulair and is responsible for the method of action that makes Singulair successful. Here is one of their studies.

1: Neurosci Lett. 2004 Jun 17;363(3):247-51. Links
Expression of cysteinyl leukotriene receptor 1 in human traumatic brain injury and brain tumors.Zhang WP, Hu H, Zhang L, Ding W, Yao HT, Chen KD, Sheng WW, Chen Z, Wei EQ.
Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, 353, Yan An Road, Hangzhou 310031, PR China.

Cysteinyl leukotrienes (CysLTs) are potent proinflammatory mediators. CysLT receptor 1 (CysLT(1)) is one of the two CysLT receptors that has been cloned. Although the expression of CysLT(1) in the brain has been demonstrated by Northern blot and RT-PCR analyses, the location of CysLT(1) in the brain remains unknown. The objective of this study was to examine the distribution of CysLT(1) by immunohistochemical analysis in human brains with traumatic injury or tumors. CysLT(1) was expressed intensely in the microvascular endothelial cells in both normal and abnormal conditions. At 8 days after traumatic injury, microvascular regeneration was found and all of the endothelial cells highly expressed CysLT(1). In gray and white matters of the normal regions of the brain, CysLT(1) was expressed weekly or not at all. However, the CysLT(1) expression increased in the neuron- and glial-appearing cells in gray and white matters after traumatic brain injury. CysLT(1) was also detected in astrocytoma, ganglioglioma and metastatic adenocarcinoma, and the expression in the neuron- and glial-appearing cells around brain tumors increased robustly.

PMID: 15182953

Here is the relevant part of the study.

"Although the expression of CysLT(1) in the brain has been demonstrated by Northern blot and RT-PCR analyses, the location of CysLT(1) in the brain remains unknown."

That sentence says that these scientists believe that CysLT1 exists in the brain but they don't know what the location in the brain is.

It is logical to assume that if a receptor exists in any part of the body that it has a function in other words it does something or tells some other part of the body to do something. So we don't know what part of the brain or what the receptor does in the brain or what the effect on the body is if the receptor does not do it's job.

We do know that Singular (montelukast, Cysteinyl leukotriene receptor 1 antagonist) blocks this particular receptor so if the receptor exists in the brain that it COULD BE POSSIBLE that Singular prevents this receptor in the brain from doing it's job whatever that is.

I know that it is difficult to argue with doctors. This drug has been around a long time. It would be difficult to understand why we are just learning about problems after so long a period of time. I can see from all of these responses that these problems are very real. Of course, we have no idea if Singulair is related or not. But if you need something supportive to show that it is not impossible for them to be related even though there is no proof that they are related, you could print this out and discuss it with your doctor.

This isn't proof of anything but at least it might be a clue.