Inflammation and Neuroprotection in Traumatic Brain Injury

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a significant public health concern that affects individuals in all demographics. With increasing interest in the medical and public communities, understanding the inflammatory mechanisms that drive the pathologic and consequent cognitive outcomes can inform future research and clinical decisions for patients with TBI.

To review known inflammatory mechanisms in TBI and to highlight clinical trials and neuroprotective therapeutic manipulations of pathologic and inflammatory mechanisms of TBI. EVIDENCE REVIEW: We searched articles in PubMed published between 1960 and August 1, 2014, using the following keywords: traumatic brain injury, sterile injury, inflammation, astrocytes, microglia, monocytes, macrophages, neutrophils, T cells, reactive oxygen species, alarmins, danger-associated molecular patterns, purinergic receptors, neuroprotection, and clinical trials. Previous clinical trials or therapeutic studies that involved manipulation of the discussed mechanisms were considered for inclusion. The final list of selected studies was assembled based on novelty and direct relevance to the primary focus of this review.