The following is a summary of “An exploratory study on the association between blood-based biomarkers and subacute neurometabolic changes following mild traumatic brain injury,” published in the December 2023 issue of Neurology by Visser et al.

Researchers started a retrospective study to explore the association between blood-based biomarkers and neuroimaging markers (magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) or diffusion tensor imaging (DTI)) in patients with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI).

They enrolled 30 mTBI patients and 21 HCs, and data was collected at two postinjury time points, acute (<24 h, blood) and subacute (4-6 weeks, blood and imaging). Plasma quantification included Interleukin (IL) 6 and 10 (inflammation), free thiols (systemic oxidative stress), and neurofilament light (NF-L) (axonal injury). MRS quantification covered neurometabolites total N-acetyl aspartate (tNAA) (neuronal energetics), Myo-Inositol (Ins) and total Choline (tCh) (inflammation), and Glutathione (GSH, oxidative stress).

The results showed IL-6 and IL-10 (elevated concentrations) in the acute phase post-mTBI, with NF-L elevation observed only in the subacute phase. Total NAA was nominally lower in mTBI patients (uncorrected P<0.05). In the patient group, acute IL-6 and subacute tNAA levels demonstrated a negative association (r=−0.46, uncorrected-P = 0.01), not meeting the threshold for multiple testing correction (corrected-P=0.17). The addition of age as a covariate revealed a significantly increased correlation magnitude (ρ=−0.54, corrected-P=0.03).

Investigators concluded that acute mTBI inflammation, measured in blood, tied to subacute brain metabolism shifts, hinting at a potential treatment target.

Source: link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00415-023-12146-7