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Improving Language and Cognitive Abilities After Stroke

BUILD (Brain-based Understanding of Individual Language Differences) is a project in Dr. Turkeltaub’s lab that is studying whether the differences in recovery between stroke survivors are due to the nature of an individual’s stroke and also the strength of brain structures and connections that were not affected by the stroke.

By understanding these “individual differences” in language and the brain, we hope in the future to predict who will recover well and who may need extra help after their stroke. And ultimately, we hope that BUILD will guide us toward new targets for brain stimulation treatments that improve language and cognitive abilities after stroke.

“Our long-term vision is to restore brain function after stroke in a dramatically more effective way than we can now,” says Dr. Turkeltaub. “Achieving that vision will require major breakthroughs that I hope will be possible with hard work and support from generous donors to Georgetown.”

New Medical/Surgical Pavilion to Open in 2023

The opening of the new Medical/Surgical Pavilion at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital is just around the corner.

477,213 sq. ft.

156 private patient rooms

31 state-of-the-art operating rooms

A world-class academic center for the next generation of physicians and nurses

Translation of breakthrough research and treatment initiatives

New emergency department with 32 private rooms

Rooftop helipad with direct access to the emergency department

Hope for Football Players Who Have Sustained Multiple Low-Level Head Impacts

Georgetown investigators, working with collaborators at the National Institute of Health, recently published their findings from a study to understand how the brain changes in response to the low-level head impacts that many young football players, for example, are regularly experiencing.

Behavioral issues believed to come from head impact have been reported in athletes with exposure to repeated hits. These issues range from mild learning and memory deficits to behavioral changes that include aggression, impulsivity, and sleep disorders.

The investigators found that when the frequency of these head impacts is increased, the brain adapts and changes how it functions. But they also found the molecular pathway responsible for this down-tuning of the brain that can prevent this adaptation from occurring. And their findings suggest that tailored drug therapy can be developed to reactivate and normalize cognitive function.

This represents hope to athletes and their families who worry that a change in behavior and memory could mean chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a degenerative brain disease. Learn More

Please Give Before November 1!

Research is the key to transforming and saving lives. It’s private contributions from friends like you that are the key to groundbreaking research at Georgetown that will change and save lives. Thank you!

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100% of your gift goes directly to innovative research that will give patients the best chance for survival.
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About Georgetown University Medical Center

Georgetown University Medical Center is an internationally recognized academic health and science center with a four-part mission of research, teaching, service and patient care. Patient care, clinical research and education is conducted with our academic health system parter, MedStar Health.

The largest, most prominent Catholic medical center in the country, Georgetown University Medical Center’s mission is carried out with a dedication to the Catholic, Jesuit principles of public service to others and cura personalis, or “care of the whole person.”

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