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Traumatic brain injuries

Blennow, K; Brody, DL; Kochanek, PM; Levin, H; McKee, A; Ribbers, GM; Yaffe, K; (2016) Traumatic brain injuries. Nature Reviews Disease Primers , 2 , Article 16084. 10.1038/nrdp.2016.84. Green open access

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Abstract

Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) are clinically grouped by severity: mild, moderate and severe. Mild TBI (the least severe form) is synonymous with concussion and is typically caused by blunt non-penetrating head trauma. The trauma causes stretching and tearing of axons, which leads to diffuse axonal injury — the best-studied pathogenetic mechanism of this disorder. However, mild TBI is defined on clinical grounds and no well-validated imaging or fluid biomarkers to determine the presence of neuronal damage in patients with mild TBI is available. Most patients with mild TBI will recover quickly, but others report persistent symptoms, called post-concussive syndrome, the underlying pathophysiology of which is largely unknown. Repeated concussive and subconcussive head injuries have been linked to the neurodegenerative condition chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), which has been reported post-mortem in contact sports athletes and soldiers exposed to blasts. Insights from severe injuries and CTE plausibly shed light on the underlying cellular and molecular processes involved in mild TBI. MRI techniques and blood tests for axonal proteins to identify and grade axonal injury, in addition to PET for tau pathology, show promise as tools to explore CTE pathophysiology in longitudinal clinical studies, and might be developed into diagnostic tools for CTE. Given that CTE is attributed to repeated head trauma, prevention might be possible through rule changes by sports organizations and legislators.

Type: Article
Title: Traumatic brain injuries
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1038/nrdp.2016.84
Publisher version: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nrdp.2016.84
Language: English
Additional information: This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions.
Keywords: Brain imaging, Brain injuries, Dementia, Encephalopathy
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology > Neurodegenerative Diseases
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1537979
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