Abstract

Background: The incidence of traumatic brain injury (TBI) in the U.S. has been estimated at 1.7 million people each year and results in $60 billion in medical and productivity costs. A TBI can result in severe and potentially chronic cognitive and physical deficits. There has been an increased focus on the use of neurologic biomarkers for both monitoring progression and predicting clinical outcomes; however, the majority of the studies are focused on the acute phase. Objective: In this study, the goal was to longitudinally characterize biochemical correlates of neural activity up to 2 years after injury and determine if these biomarkers correlate with functional outcomes. Methods: Participants (n=13) with severe TBI as defined by the Glasgow Coma Scale (lt; 8) who are less than 1 year from the time of injury were included in this study. Blood samples and functional outcomes (DRS and RBANS) were collected upon enrollment and at 3, 6, 12, 18, and 24 months following enrollment.