Traumatic Brain Injury: Mechanistic Insight on Pathophysiology and Potential Therapeutic Targets

• Published in: Journal of molecular neuroscience Vol. 71; no. 9; pp. 1725 - 1742
• Main Authors: Thapa, Komal, Khan, Heena, Singh, Thakur Gurjeet, Kaur, Amarjot
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.09.2021; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Animals; Apoptosis; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Blood cells; Blood-brain barrier; Brain damage; Brain Injuries, Traumatic - drug therapy; Brain Injuries, Traumatic - metabolism; Cell Biology; Chemical compounds; Chemotactic factors; Cognition; Decision making; Drug therapy; Edema; Head injuries; Hemorrhage; Humans; Inflammation; Interleukins; Neurochemistry; Neurology; Neuroprotective Agents - therapeutic use; Neurosciences; NF-kappa B - metabolism; Oxidative Stress; Pathophysiology; Peripheral blood; Pharmacology; Proteomics; Signal Transduction; Traumatic brain injury; Oxidative stress; Traumatic brain injury; Mitochondrial dysfunction; Excitotoxicity; Neuroinflammation; Nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB); Apoptosis
• ISSN: 0895-8696; 1559-1166; 1559-1166
• DOI: 10.1007/s12031-021-01841-7

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) causes brain damage, which involves primary and secondary injury mechanisms. Primary injury causes local brain damage, while secondary damage begins with inflammatory activity followed by disruption of the blood–brain barrier (BBB), peripheral blood cells infiltration, brain edema, and the discharge of numerous immune mediators including chemotactic factors and interleukins. TBI alters molecular signaling, cell structures, and functions. Besides tissue damage such as axonal damage, contusions, and hemorrhage, TBI in general interrupts brain physiology including cognition, decision-making, memory, attention, and speech capability. Regardless of the deep understanding of the pathophysiology of TBI, the underlying mechanisms still need to be assessed with a desired therapeutic agent to control the consequences of TBI. The current review gives a brief outline of the pathophysiological mechanism of TBI and various biochemical pathways involved in brain injury, pharmacological treatment approaches, and novel targets for therapy.