Journal of neurotrauma
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Journal of neurotrauma · Nov 2017
Vitronectin regulates the fibrinolytic system during the repair of cerebral cortex in stab-wounded mice.
Vitronectin (VN), one of the serum proteins, is known to be involved in the regulation of blood coagulation, fibrinolysis, and cell migration. It has been proposed that the regulation of fibrinolysis by VN promotes the blood-brain barrier (BBB) recovery from brain injuries such as traumatic injury and subarachnoid hemorrhage. The effects of VN on fibrinolysis in the injured brain remain unclear, however. ⋯ The VN deficiency impaired the activity of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1, an inhibitor of the fibrinolytic system, at D3-5. Further, VN deficiency up-regulated the mRNA and protein expression levels of tissue-type plasminogen activator, and urokinase-type plasminogen activator. These results demonstrate that VN contributes to the regulation of the fibrinolytic system and recovery from BBB breakdown in the wounded brain.
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Journal of neurotrauma · Nov 2017
Prospective assessment of acute blood markers of brain injury in sport-related concussion.
There is a pressing need to identify objective biomarkers for the assessment of sport-related concussion (SRC) to reduce the reliance on clinical judgment for the management of these injuries. The goal of the current study was to prospectively establish the acute effects of SRC on serum levels of S100 calcium-binding protein beta (S100B), glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), and ubiquitin C-terminal hydrolase-L1 (UCH-L1). Collegiate and high school football players were enrolled and provided blood at pre-season. ⋯ Percent-change of UCH-L1 and S100B at 6 h relative to pre-season also showed fair discrimination (AUC = 0.79 [0.66-0.92] and AUC = 0.77 [0.64-0.90]). GFAP levels did not differ between groups or in concussed athletes relative to pre-season. This study provides prospective evidence of significant increases in serum levels of UCH-L1 and S100B during the early acute period following SRC, and lays the foundation for future studies examining the clinical potential for blood-based biomarkers in the early detection of concussion.
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Journal of neurotrauma · Nov 2017
Pilot Findings of Brain Displacements and Deformations During Roller Coaster Rides.
With 300,000,000 riders annually, roller coasters are a popular recreational activity. Although the number of roller coaster injuries is relatively low, the precise effect of roller coaster rides on our brains remains unknown. Here we present the quantitative characterization of brain displacements and deformations during roller coaster rides. ⋯ Strikingly, on the same ride and at a similar position, the two subjects experienced significantly different head kinematics and brain deformation. These results indicate that head motion and brain deformation during roller coaster rides are highly sensitive to individual subjects. Although our study suggests that roller coaster rides do not present an immediate risk of acute brain injury, their long-term effects require further longitudinal study.
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Journal of neurotrauma · Nov 2017
Accelerated Changes in Cortical Thickness Measurements with Age in Military Service Members with Traumatic Brain Injury.
Finding objective and quantifiable imaging markers of mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) has proven challenging, especially in the military population. Changes in cortical thickness after injury have been reported in animals and in humans, but it is unclear how these alterations manifest in the chronic phase, and it is difficult to characterize accurately with imaging. We used cortical thickness measures derived from Advanced Normalization Tools (ANTs) to predict a continuous demographic variable: age. ⋯ We then used these models to predict brain age in military Service Members with TBI (n = 92) and military Service Members without TBI (n = 34). Our results show that all four models overpredicted age in Service Members with TBI, and the predicted age difference was significantly greater compared with military controls. These data extend previous civilian findings and show that cortical thickness measures may reveal an association of accelerated changes over time with military TBI.