Dr Paul Weightman Potter

Research priorities identified by MRC

Excited to be there later today!

Rest assured my camera was outside of the hood!

🧪 A quick look behind the scenes. This 30 second clip condenses 25 minutes of prep for a metabolism assay on human brain cells ( #microglia ). Careful pipetting, clean technique, and lots of repetition. This is where the data begins.
#lablife #neuroscience #braininury #science

It is estimated 1.4 million visit hospital every year in the UK with a #braininjury and 200,000 are admitted.
tinyurl.com/3c2fvjxp

🧪 Neuron-derived extracellular vesicles carry tau and inflammation signals after impacts. We are validating these as potential risk markers for athletes and exploring how they may spread pathology.
#EVs #Biomarkers #Science #BrainInjury

UCL – University College London UCL is consistently ranked as one of the top ten universities in the world (QS World University Rankings 2010-2022) and is No.2 in the UK for research power (Research Excellence Framework 2021).

I'm hiring! Come and work with me at UCL to try and understand how the brain's blood vessels go wrong and promote dementia: www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/...

😴 Deep sleep supports waste clearance and learning. Protect your sleep after a head injury with a steady schedule, daytime exercise, and low light before bed.
#Sleep #TBI #Recovery #BrainInjury

⭐️UKABIF Summit 2025 - Sessions are now on our YouTube channel.⭐️

Watch here: youtube.com/@ukabif?si=-...

#UKABIF #UKABIFSummit #ABICommunity #NeuroRehabilitation #BrainInjury

To our knowledge these are the first neuron derived EVs we have collected post impact in our cohort. Grateful for support from @alzheimersresearchuk.org and Wendy Noble’s lab. Onwards.

What comes next: Test the effects of exposing these on neural cells in vitro

Why this matters: neuron derived EVs can carry tau and inflammatory signals. Profiling them after head impacts could provide blood based markers of risk and targets for better prevention in sport.

How we did it: size exclusion chromatography to isolate plasma EVs, then L1CAM pull down to enrich neuron derived vesicles. ExoCheck panel used for validation. Next we will confirm with flow cytometry.

Greyscale dot blot from an ExoCheck neuronal panel. EV markers CD63, CD9, CD81, and TSG101 show clear spots. Cellular contamination controls CANX and ICAM1 are absent. On the right, a strong positive control is visible and neuronal markers L1CAM and NCAM1 are positive. Overall pattern supports successful isolation of neuron derived extracellular vesicles from post game samples.

🧪 First look at our neuron derived EVs after head impact exposure in American football. ExoCheck neuronal panel shows at least two neuronal markers and an EV marker, with no cellular contamination. Image from today’s run.
#EVs #TBI #AmericanFootball #Biomarkers #Science #BrainInjury

Innovation- fetal monitoring

Listen to a new podcast about fetal monitoring and #braininjury open.spotify.com/episode/4Gx1...

Extracellular Vesicle Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein as a Circulating Biomarker of Traumatic Brain Injury Severity - Journal of Molecular Neuroscience Traumatic brain injury (TBI) remains a major global health challenge with a need for improved diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers. This study aimed to evaluate the biomarker potential of extracellula...

🩸 New #TBI biomarker signal
EV-GFAP in blood rises after TBI and relates to CT findings, flagging acute injury. Other EV markers were less helpful here, and plasma #GFAP still works well. We need more studies to learn when EVs add value for patients.
#Biomarkers #EVs #BrainInjury #Science 🧪

Repetitive concussions promote microglia-mediated engulfment of presynaptic excitatory input associated with cognitive dysfunction - Communications Biology The study demonstrates the long lasting structural and functional activation of microglia that can specifically engulf excitatory synapses in the cortex and hippocampus following repetitive concussion...

Repetitive concussions can harm brain function even without overt cell loss 🧠
New work in mice shows that repeat hits activate microglia, which then eat away at excitatory synaptic inputs. Learning and memory suffer, despite no obvious cell death or bruising.
#Concussion #TBI #BrainInjury #Science 🧪

A new characterisation of acute traumatic brain injury: the NIH-NINDS TBI Classification and Nomenclature Initiative The clinical severity of traumatic brain injury (TBI) is commonly classified according to the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) sum score as mild (13–15), moderate (9–12), or severe (3–8). A new approach is ne...

A new characterisation of acute traumatic brain injury: the NIH-NINDS TBI Classification and Nomenclature Initiative - The Lancet Neurology www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
#TBI #braininjury #Science 🧪

🧠It's important to understand how #CTE is different to other #brain diseases. In CTE, tau builds up around small blood vessels at the depths of cortical sulci, often in layers II and III. In #Alzheimers, tau tracks a different path and sits alongside amyloid plaques.
#Science #BrainInjury🧪

Pattern 1 can show in 30s or 40s with mood change, irritability, sleep problems, impulsivity, and depression.
Pattern 2 can show later with memory loss and thinking decline.
If someone with contact sport or military history changes markedly, seek medical advice.
#RHI #TBI

🧠 Every #brain is different. With repetitive head impacts, wiring can be damaged and symptoms can appear. #CTE is diagnosed after death, but two clinical patterns are often discussed in life: a faster behavioural pattern and a slower #dementia like pattern.
#Science #Braininjury🧪

🧪 Day in the lab. Isolating extracellular vesicles from plasma collected after #Americanfootball using size exclusion chromatography. Next I'm optimising a method called immunoprecipitation to further isolate neuron derived EVs. Excited to see what the data show. #TBI #LabLife #Science

#Microglia help explain why some people struggle cognitively after #TBI. Timing matters. Support early clean up, prevent long term overdrive, and protect synapses. Targeting microglia with the right therapy at the right time could change outcomes.
#BrainInjury #Science 🧪

#Microglia also shape synapses, the connections that carry thoughts. After #TBI they may prune too much or release signals that destabilise these links, decreasing spine density and weakening brain circuits, especially in the hippocampus.
#science #Braininjury 🧪

After #concussion, #inflammation aids clean up and injury resolution. If #microglia stay pro inflammatory for months or years, they keep releasing molecules that disrupt circuits, worsen blood #brain barrier leaks, and recruit more immune cells, prolonging symptoms.
#BrainInjury #TBI #Science 🧪

Following #TBI, stress signals such as oxidative stress, calcium overload, and inflammatory signalling can push vulnerable neurons toward cell death. #Microglia may fuel this cascade, linking early injury to later memory issues.
#Neuroscience #Braininjury #Science 🧪

Inflammation is a double-edged sword.
Microglia patrol the brain. After #TBI they rush in, clear debris, and start repairs. Helpful inflammation can turn excessive, which then amplifies damage and impairs cognition. Balancing this response could be key.
#Braininjury #Concussion #Science 🧪

🧠 After a head injury, thinking and memory can slip not only from the initial hit but also from how the brain’s immune cells called microglia respond over hours, days, and months. They can help OR they can prolong problems that affect cognition.
#TBI #BrainInjury #Microglia

Single Extracellular Vesicle Profiling to Define Brain Specific Traumatic Brain Injury Induced Neuro‐Inflammation A highly innovative and implementable diagnostic tool for profiling microenvironmental perturbations in TBI patients by analyzing sEVs derived from glial cells circulating in the blood. This device p....

🧪 New study advances #TBI blood tests using single extracellular vesicles (EV) profiling. #Brain EVs captured from blood and read on a chip ID'd inflammatory signals in human and rodent models. Next we need larger cohorts and tau plus glial panels. #BrainInjury

CONCUSS randomised clinical trial of vergence/accommodative therapy for concussion-related symptomatic convergence insufficiency Objective The CONCUSS randomised clinical trial compared the effectiveness of immediate office-based vergence/accommodative therapy with movement (OBVAM) to delayed therapy for the treatment of concus...

🧠 After a #concussion, many people struggle to focus up close. That can mean headaches, blurry reading, and fatigue.

A new study found that starting office-based vision therapy right away helped most people feel and focus better within 6 weeks, compared with waiting.

#Braininjury #TBI