Neuroscientists at UCLA are now considering lactate as an alternative, and possibly one-day replacement, for the current and more commonly used glucose when it comes to treating traumatic brain injuries in the few immediate hours after a TBI has been suffered.
This recent study states that in the few hours after a brain injury has occurred, the brain automatically absorbs the body’s supply of lactate, and now researchers are wondering why? They believe the body’s natural response to consume more lactate in the first 12-48 hours after a brain injury than during normal functioning times indicates a natural response in our body and, therefore, they believe treating a brain injury with increased amounts of lactate instead of glucose could greatly increase the chance of patients fully recovering.
You can read more on this study here.