Safar Center Faculty members Drs. Patrick Kochanek and Michael Bell were featured speakers at the 12th Annual International Neurotrauma Society Symposium that took place in Cape Town, South Africa February 1st-4th.

Among several presentations by each of them, Dr. Michael Bell presented a lecture updating the status of the multi-center ADAPT trial in children with severe traumatic brain injury which is using a comparative effectiveness approach in over 45 sites world-wide, and has entered more than 650 patients. Dr. Kochanek presented an update of the ongoing investigations of Operation Brain Trauma Therapy—which is a pre-clinical multi-center therapy screening consortium supported by the United States Department of Defense.

Three Safar Center researchers from the department of PM&R also presented papers at the Symposium. Dr. Corina Bondi presented a paper titled” “Evaluation of Executive Function Impairments after Experimental Frontal Traumatic Brain Injury.” Dr. Kline presented a paper titled “Traumatic Brain Injury-Induced Functions Deficits are Not Exacerbated by Daily Administration of Lorazepam.” Dr. Rashed Harun presented a paper titled “Controlled-coritcal Impact Produces Regiospecific Dysfunction of Stimulated Dopamine Neurotransmission in the Dorsal Striatum that can be Restored with Chronic Methylphenidate Treatement.”

Congratulations to all of the presenters, each of whom represented the center at the symposium through their high quality investigations.