The head of Saab Medical Library, Dr. Ola El Zein, co-authored a chapter in a medical book published by Springer, entitled “Role of Micronutrients in Brain Health".
Some chapters of the book discuss the role of micronutrients on brain functions, health and diseases, while others examine using micronutrients as therapeutics.
The chapter Dr. Ola co-authored, titled “Phytochemicals as Micronutrients: What Is their Therapeutic Promise in the Management of Traumatic Brain Injury?" falls under the second category and discusses using phytochemicals as therapeutics in the management of Traumatic brain injury (TBI), which is one of the key causes of deaths and disabilities worldwide.
The chapter focuses on six phytochemicals: ginseng, curcumin, coumarin, genistein, apocynin, and baicalein and concludes that all the phytochemicals under study have shown experimental preclinical promise. However, well-designed and controlled clinical trials are urgently needed to demonstrate their safety and efficacy, in order to realize their benefits in human TBI patients.
Talking about the experience and process of writing this chapter, Ola says that “This was a very rich and challenging experience, where [she] had the pleasure to collaborate with several researchers, inside and outside the AUB community, to contribute to the hope of TBI patients, since such novel therapeutic agents are expected to ameliorate the adverse consequences of TBI."
AUB community members can access and download the chapter via this link: https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-981-16-6467-0_14
For more information, contact Dr. Ola El Zein via email oe14@aub.edu.lb or via extension 5911.