Molecular mechanisms and management of traumatic brain injury – missing the link?

Excerpt

We read with great interest the recent review article by Veenith et al. published in the World Journal of Emergency Surgery [1]. In this paper, the authors provide an overview on the epidemiology and pathophysiology of traumatic brain injury (TBI), and present an update on TBI-induced apoptosis, intracranial gene regulation and pharmacological approaches to ameliorate secondary brain injury. The authors are to be congratulated for outlining this important and constantly evolving topic of global importance. Unfortunately, our initial excitement about this paper, which promised to disclose the "missing link" between molecular pathology and new treatment concepts for TBI [1], was not justified. We believe that important pathways in the pathophysiology of TBI and resulting therapeutic concepts were not addressed in the review article. We would therefore like to comment on the missing aspects in the article by Veenith and colleagues [1], in order to provide a more balanced and comprehensive perspective on the topic. …