Purdue research on Alzheimers and brain injury

Purdue research on Alzheimers and brain injury

Effort to fight traumatic brain injuries and alzheimer's..

Dakota simon was on campus today to learn how this can help military veterans and athletes from greater lafayette and beyond..

Shi -- since 2013 the veterans commit suicide, the death toll has already surpassed that number in combat.

So we have a very urgent problem..researcherd riyi shi are using a grant worth more than one million dollars to assist veterans returning from war..

Gaurav -- we can use the body's immune system, specifically the immune cells in the brain to find new targets, new iomarkers and even treat traumatic brain injury related to alzheimer's disease.

The pair are researching ways to train the immune system to effectively attack brain trauma..

Similar to the results found in patients battling cancer..

It's done with custom machinery..

And dr. shi says their team's goal is simple..

Shi -- so if somebody having a problem, even if there is no symptoms yet, we can say hey you may have something going on that may lead to this ultimate alzheimer's disease and we can actually do something about it.

As the team's research continues..

Their goal is to specifically help veterans who suffer from sheer blasts..

But their findings aren't limited to that specific group..

Football players are also a target of their research..

Shi -- helmet to helmet can cause the brain to get twisted, so all of these forms can cause the brain to deform..

The dramatic amount of cases in the united states both from the battle field..

And the football field..

Are motivating this research team to help others.

Again that was dakota simon reporting..

Shi and chopra are currently doing their research on mice and other small rodents..

But they expect to have results on a clinical basis for their target audience within the next few years..