Maas BiolAB Awarded Department of Defense/DTRA Contract.ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- The Defense Threat Reduction Agency The Defense Threat Reduction Agency (or DTRA) is a combat support agency of the United States Department of Defense (DoD) whose primary function is to analyze potential threats to the United States, both homeland and abroad, and provide contingency plans for all such (DTRA DTRA Defense Threat Reduction Agency DTRA Dirt Track Racing Association DTRA Deseret Towers Recreation Area (Utah) DTRA Data Terminal Ready A DTRA Defense Technical Review Agency DTRA Defense Technical Review Activity ) has funded a Maas BiolAB, LLC research project to continue investigation of the neuroprotective properties of cyclosporin in models of chemical warfare agent exposure. The $117,000 award was made under the Chemical & Biological Defense Medical (CBM) Science & Technology (S&T) Extramural extramural /ex·tra·mu·ral/ (-mur´il) situated or occurring outside the wall of an organ or structure. extramural situated or occurring outside the wall of an organ or structure. Program for further study of the brain penetration of cyclosporin and its effectiveness in protecting and prolonging the survival of mitochondria within brain tissue that has been exposed to nerve agents. The DTRA Extramural Program funding will complement an ongoing intramural cyclosporin neuroprotection research effort lead by Drs. Richard A. Bauman and Joseph B. Long of the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research This article is about the U.S. Army medical research institute (not the hospital). Otherwise, see Walter Reed (disambiguation). The Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR) is the largest biomedical research facility administered by the U.S. (WRAIR WRAIR Walter Reed Army Institute of Research ). The WRAIR intramural research has demonstrated improved neurological outcomes in animals treated with cyclosporin following traumatic brain injury Traumatic brain injury (TBI), traumatic injuries to the brain, also called intracranial injury, or simply head injury, occurs when a sudden trauma causes brain damage. TBI can result from a closed head injury or a penetrating head injury and is one of two subsets of acquired brain or exposure to organophosphate nerve agents. Cyclosporin has shown the potential to become a highly effective pharmacological intervention against a wide range of insults to the brain and spinal cord. "The DTRA award will be instrumental to our research effort with WRAIR and will augment the development of the first brain-protecting treatment for soldiers and civilians exposed to nerve agents," said Dr. Eskil Elmer, Principal Investigator and Maas BiolAB, LLC Chief Scientific Officer. Dr. Elmer's team of scientists, including Drs. Magnus Hansson and Roland Mansson, will conduct the DTRA sponsored cyclosporin neuroprotection research at the renowned Wallenberg Neuroscience Center, Lund University, Sweden. Defense Threat Reduction Agency The Defense Threat Reduction Agency safeguards America and its allies from Weapons of Mass Destruction Weapons that are capable of a high order of destruction and/or of being used in such a manner as to destroy large numbers of people. Weapons of mass destruction can be high explosives or nuclear, biological, chemical, and radiological weapons, but exclude the means of transporting or (chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and high yield explosives) by providing capabilities to reduce, eliminate, and counter the threat, and mitigate its effects. (http://www.dtra.mil). Walter Reed Army Institute of Research WRAIR is the largest and most diverse biomedical research laboratory in the U.S. Department of Defense. WRAIR conducts biomedical research on a range of military issues including combat casualty and chemical weapons, to sustain the combat effectiveness of the warfighter. (http://wrair-www.army.mil). Maas BiolAB, LLC Maas BiolAB is a private company in Albuquerque, NM, USA developing cyclosporin neuroprotection drugs for chronic brain diseases, traumatic brain injury and nerve agent exposure. Maas BiolAB is developing Mitogard[R] and NeuroSTAT[R] (in cooperation with NeuroPharma AB of Sweden), two proprietary cyclosporin formulas for intravenous injection and CSF Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF) Analysis Definition Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis is a laboratory test to examine a sample of the fluid surrounding the brain and spinal cord. delivery. (http://www.maasbiolab.com). |
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