Biomarkers for traumatic brain injury

Excerpt

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) poses a major public health problem. It is amongst the leading causes of mortality in young people in developed countries, and many survivors of TBI suffer from persistent disabilities. As a result, there remains an unmet clinical need for the development of more robust diagnostic and prognostic indicators of TBI. Axonal injury is a key driver of the ongoing pathological process following TBI, causing chronic neurological deficits and disability, and has been the focus of research in this area to date. A popular approach has been the investigation of body fluid (serum, CSF and saliva) biomarkers to assess axonal injury in the acute setting. Biomarkers can be any quantifiable product serving as a marker of physiological insult, and recent studies have highlighted several substances that appear both promising and clinically relevant. However, it is likely that eventually the optimal model for assessing axonal injury in TBI is likely to involve multi-faceted components, including multiple biomarkers and select advanced neuroimaging modalities. If successful, early and reliable identification of axonal injury post-TBI has the potential to enhance current care by increasing speed and accuracy of diagnosis, providing prognostic information, allowing patient stratification and efficient allocation of rehabilitation services, and providing better understanding if the underlying pathology, and discovery of potential therapeutic targets. …