Journal of neurotrauma
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Journal of neurotrauma · Mar 2017
Serum neurofilament light protein as a marker for diffuse axonal injury - results from a case series study.
Diffuse axonal injury (DAI) is an important cause of morbidity in patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI). There is currently no simple and reliable technique for early identification of patients with DAI, or to prognosticate long-term outcome in this patient group. In the present study, we examined acute serum concentrations of neurofilament light (NFL) in nine patients with severe TBI and DAI using a novel ultrasensitive single molecule array (Simoa) assay. ⋯ We found that the mean NFL concentrations among the patients displayed a 30-fold increase compared with controls, and that NFL completely discriminated between the patients and controls. We also found a relationship between serum NFL and MR-DTI parameters, with higher NFL concentrations in patients with higher trace (R2 = 0.79) and lower fractional anisotropy (FA) (R 2 = 0.83). These results suggest that serum NFL may be a valuable blood biomarker for TBI, reflecting the severity of DAI.
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Journal of neurotrauma · Mar 2017
Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Produces Long-lasting Deficits in Synaptic Plasticity in the Female Juvenile Hippocampus.
Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) is becoming recognized as a significant concern in modern society. In particular, youth is being increasingly seen as a vulnerable time period for mTBI, as this is the final developmental period for the brain and typically involves robust synaptic reorganization and axonal myelination. Another issue that is being hotly debated is whether mTBI differentially impacts the male and female brain. ⋯ In female rats, the dentate gyrus (DG) region ipsilateral to the impact showed a significant reduction in long-term potentiation (LTP) at 1 day, which persisted to 28 days following injury. In male rats, the deficit in LTP was maximal in the CA1 and DG subfields ipsilateral to the impact site 7 days post-injury; however, these deficits did not persist to 28 days post-injury. These data indicate that mTBI can produce more immediate and persistent impairments in synaptic plasticity in the female brain.
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Journal of neurotrauma · Feb 2017
Phase II Clinical Trial of Atorvastatin in Mild Traumatic Brain Injury.
Statins constitute a class of medications commonly used in the treatment of elevated cholesterol. However, in experimental studies, statins also have other non-cholesterol-mediated mechanisms of action, which may have neuroprotective effects. The aim of this study was to determine whether administration of atorvastatin for 7 days post-injury would improve neurological recovery in patients with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). ⋯ The median decrease in score was 4 for the atorvastatin group and 10.5 for the placebo group (χ2(1) = 0.8750; p = 0.3496). No serious adverse events occurred, and there was no significant difference in the incidence of adverse events in the two treatment groups. Atorvastatin administration for 7 days post-injury was safe, but there were no significant differences in neurological recovery post-mTBI with atorvastatin.
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Journal of neurotrauma · Feb 2017
Olfactory Function and Associated Clinical Correlates in Former NFL Players.
Professional American football players incur thousands of repetitive head impacts (RHIs) throughout their lifetime. The long-term consequences of RHI are not well characterized, but may include olfactory dysfunction. RHI has been associated with changes to brain regions involved in olfaction, and olfactory impairment is common after traumatic brain injury. ⋯ In the former NFL players, lower B-SIT scores correlated with greater behavioral/mood impairment (p = 0.0254) and worse psychomotor speed/executive functioning (p = 0.0464) after controlling for age and education. Former NFL players exhibited lower olfactory test scores relative to controls, and poorer olfactory test performance was associated with worse neuropsychological and neuropsychiatric functioning. Future work that uses more-comprehensive tests of olfaction and structural and functioning neuroimaging may improve understanding on the association between RHI and olfaction.
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Journal of neurotrauma · Feb 2017
Traumatic brain injury in domestic violence victims: a retrospective study at the Barrow Neurological Institute.
Domestic violence is a national health crisis, which affects people of all ages, races, and socioeconomic classes. Traumatic brain injury is common in victims because of the high frequency of head and neck injuries inflicted through abuse. These recurrent injuries can lead to chronic symptoms with high morbidity. ⋯ Traumatic brain injury is a frequent sequela of domestic violence, from which many victims sustain multiple injuries without seeking medical care. Brain injuries are often sustained over many years and lead to lasting physical, behavioral, and cognitive consequences. Better understanding of these injuries will lead to improved care for this population.