Journal of neurotrauma
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Journal of neurotrauma · Nov 2013
Progress in Developing Common Data Elements for Traumatic Brain Injury Research: Version Two- The End of the Beginning.
To accelerate data sharing and research on traumatic brain injury (TBI), several federal agencies have been collaborating to support the development and implementation of common data elements (CDEs). The first recommendations for CDEs were made in 2010, and were well suited for hospital-based studies of acute TBI in adults. To broaden the utility of the TBI CDEs, experts were asked to update the recommendations to make them relevant to all ages, levels of injury severity, and phases of recovery. ⋯ Version 2 provides a rich data dictionary for TBI research with about 900 CDEs. Many of the CDEs overlap across the study types, which will facilitate comparisons and meta-analysis across studies. Further modifications of the CDEs should be based on evaluation of their usefulness following implementation across a range of studies.
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Journal of neurotrauma · Nov 2013
S100B and NSE as Useful Postmortem Biochemical Markers of Traumatic Brain Injury in Autopsy Cases.
Postmortem analysis of relevant biomarkers might aid in characterizing causes of death and survival times in legal medicine. However, there are still no sufficiently established results of practical postmortem biochemical investigations in cases of traumatic brain injury (TBI). The two biomarkers--S100 protein subunit B (S100B) and neuronal specific enolase (NSE)--could be of special interest. ⋯ It is of particular interest that CSF S100B levels (p<0.01) and serum S100B levels (p<0.05) as well as CSF NSE values (p<0.01) were significantly higher in TBI cases in comparison to the controls, especially when compared with fatal non-head injuries. In conclusion, the present findings emphasize that S100B and NSE are useful markers in postmortem biochemistry in cases of suspected TBI. Further, S100B may be helpful to estimate the survival time of fatal injuries in legal medicine.
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Journal of neurotrauma · Nov 2013
Comparative StudyImpact of Moderate Blast Exposures on Thrombin Biomarkers Assessed by Calibrated Automated Thrombography in Rats.
Severe blast exposures are frequently complicated with fatal intracranial hemorrhages. However, many more sustain low level blasts without tissue damage detectable by brain imaging. To investigate effects of nonlethal blast on thrombin-related biomarkers, rats were subjected to two different types of head-directed blast: 1) moderate "composite" blast with strong head acceleration or 2) moderate primary blast, without head acceleration. ⋯ The changes were also observed in other microvascular/inflammatory/hemostatic biomarkers. Integrin α/β and sICAM-1 levels were elevated after both "composite" and primary blast at 6 h, 1 day, and 7 days. sE-selectin exhibited near normal levels after "composite" blast, but increased significantly at 7 days after primary blast; MMP-2, MMP-8, and MMP-13 slightly rose after "composite" blast and significantly increased (∼2-4-fold) after primary blast. In summary, CAT may have a clinical diagnostic utility in combination with selected set of microvascular/inflammatory biomarkers in patients subjected to low/moderate level blast exposures.
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Journal of neurotrauma · Nov 2013
Brain Injury: Neuro-Inflammation, Cognitive Deficit, and Magnetic Resonance Imaging in a Model of Blast Induced Traumatic Brain Injury.
Blast wave-induced traumatic injury from terrorist explosive devices can occur at any time in either military or civilian environments. To date, little work has focused on the central nervous system response to a non-penetrating blast injury. We have evaluated the effect of a single 80-psi blast-overpressure wave in a rat model. ⋯ These data indicate an early and lasting response of brain tissue to non-penetrating blast over-pressure injury. This early inflammatory response is indicative of a mild traumatic brain injury. There is evidence of early hippocampal dysfunction.
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Journal of neurotrauma · Nov 2013
Cortical murine neurons lacking the neurofilament light chain protein have an attenuated response to injury in vitro.
Neurofilaments (NFs) have been proposed to have a significant role in attempted axonal regeneration following a variety of forms of injury. The NF triplet proteins of the central nervous system are comprised of light (NF-L), medium (NF-M) and heavy (NF-H) chains and are part of the type IV intermediate filament family. We sought to define the role of NF-L in the neuronal response to trauma and regeneration by examining the effect of total absence of the NF-L protein on neuronal maturation and response to axotomy. ⋯ Further, we demonstrate that α-internexin co-immunoprecipitates with the NF binding protein NDel1 in NFL-KO cortical neurons in vitro. Following localized axotomy, NF-L KO neurons demonstrated reduced amyloid precursor protein accumulation in damaged neurites as well as a significant reduction in the number of axons regenerating (4.79+/-0.58 sprouts) in comparison to control preparations (10.47+/-1.11 sprouts) (p<0.05). These studies indicate that NFs comprising NF-L have a dynamic role in the reactive and regenerative changes in axons following injury.