Tomas Drabek, MD, PhD will serve as a Co-investigator on the new project “Dopamine System-focused Neurorehabilitation Model for Improving Neurorecovery among Cardiac Arrest Survivors.” This project is funded by the Laerdal Foundation and led by Dr. Amy Wagner from the University of Pittsburgh Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Dr. Rehana Leak from the Duquesne University will also collaborate by identifying dopamine signaling perturbations with immunohistochemistry.
Fast scan cyclic voltammetry will be used to understand the nature of striatal dopamine dysfunction in a ventricular fibrillation cardiac arrest model in rats, developed by Dr. Drabek at the Safar Center for Resuscitation Research. This model will then serve as a test bed for identifying therapeutic strategies to treat resulting cognitive, behavioral, and motor impairments seen in cardiac arrest survivors.
Current practice is to borrow management strategies used with other acquired brain injury populations (e.g. patients with traumatic brain injury) in order to manage issues like low cognitive arousal, agitation/restlessness, depression/anxiety, and movement disorders (myoclonus). However, the pathology underlying these seemingly overlapping symptoms may be very different, and different therapies may be needed. This project represents a unique multi-disciplinary effort with significant potential for translation into clinical practice.