Adelaide neurologist Dr Tim Kleinig pioneering work honoured

Adelaide neurologist Dr Tim Kleinig pioneering work honoured.

Adelaide University neurologist Dr Tim Kleinig will be handed a major award for his groundbreaking research into minimising brain damage after haemorrhage. Picture: Matt Turner. Source: AdelaideNow

AN Adelaide neurologist who conducted research into treating brain damage has won a prestigious award.
Dr Tim Kleinig, a consultant neurologist at the University of Adelaide, was last night handed the Elizabeth Penfold Simpson Award.
It is given to the author of a piece of research in any of the neurosciences, published in the past two years.
Dr Kleinig's findings, looking specifically at how to treat brain damage after a haemorrhage, were included as part of his PhD thesis.
"In brain haemorrhage, if you can limit the blast damage, particularly life-threatening swelling, then hopefully you can prevent some of the complications, and that's what my research has been aiming to do," the 37-year-old said.
"I study a curious chemical brain messenger called Substance P, which is released when there's damage to the brain and this substance seems to be involved in causing pain and swelling.
"I've done experiments where I've blocked the rise in Substance P after a brain haemorrhage and found that a lot of the swelling is reduced."
The father-of-three, from St Peters, said the next step is to see if a medication can be developed that can block the chemical.
Research funded by the Neurosurgical Research Foundation, full research paper available on the NRF website under Publications. Suppression of inflammation in ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke: therapeutic options Timothy J. Kleinig and Robert Vink.