Traumatic Brain Injury: An Age-Dependent View of Post-Traumatic Neuroinflammation and Its Treatment

Pulmonary Effects of Traumatic Brain Injury in Mice: A Gene Set Enrichment Analysis

Acute lung injury occurs in 20-25% of cases following traumatic brain injury (TBI). We investigated changes in lung transcriptome expression post-TBI using animal models and bioinformatics. Employing unilateral controlled cortical impact for TBI, we conducted microarray analysis after lung acquisition, followed by gene set enrichment analysis of differentially expressed genes. Our findings indicate significant upregulation of inflammation-related genes and downregulation of nervous system genes. There was enhanced infiltration of adaptive immune cells, evidenced by positive enrichment in Lung-Th1, CD4, and CD8 T cells. Analysis using the Tabula Sapiens database revealed enrichment in lung-adventitial cells, pericytes, myofibroblasts, and fibroblasts, indicating potential effects on lung vasculature and fibrosis. Gene set enrichment analysis linked TBI to lung diseases, notably idiopathic pulmonary hypertension. A Venn diagram overlap analysis identified a common set of 20 genes, with FOSL2 showing the most significant fold change. Additionally, we observed a significant increase in ADRA1A→IL6 production post-TBI using the L1000 library. Our study highlights the impact of brain trauma on lung injury, revealing crucial gene expression changes related to immune cell infiltration, cytokine production, and potential alterations in lung vasculature and fibrosis, along with a specific spectrum of disease influence.

The role of astrocyte in neuroinflammation in traumatic brain injury

Traumatic brain injury (TBI), a significant contributor to mortality and morbidity worldwide, is a devastating condition characterized by initial mechanical damage followed by subsequent biochemical processes, including neuroinflammation. Astrocytes, the predominant glial cells in the central nervous system, play a vital role in maintaining brain homeostasis and supporting neuronal function. Nevertheless, in response to TBI, astrocytes undergo substantial phenotypic alternations and actively contribute to the neuroinflammatory response. This article explores the multifaceted involvement of astrocytes in neuroinflammation subsequent to TBI, with a particular emphasis on their activation, release of inflammatory mediators, modulation of the blood-brain barrier, and interactions with other immune cells. A comprehensive understanding the dynamic interplay between astrocytes and neuroinflammation in the condition of TBI can provide valuable insights into the development of innovative therapeutic approaches aimed at mitigating secondary damage and fostering neuroregeneration.

Maternal nanoplastic ingestion induces an increase in offspring body weight through altered lipid species and microbiota

The rapidly increasing prevalence of obesity and overweight, especially in children and adolescents, has become a serious societal issue. Although various genetic and environmental risk factors for pediatric obesity and overweight have been identified, the problem has not been solved. In this study, we examined whether environmental nanoplastic (NP) pollutants can act as environmental obesogens using mouse models exposed to NPs derived from polystyrene and polypropylene, which are abundant in the environment. We found abnormal weight gain in the progeny until 6 weeks of age following the oral administration of NPs to the mother during gestation and lactation. Through a series of experiments involving multi-omic analyses, we have demonstrated that NP-induced weight gain is caused by alterations in the lipid composition (lysophosphatidylcholine/phosphatidylcholine ratio) of maternal breast milk and he gut microbiota distribution of the progeny. These data indicate that environmental NPs can act as obesogens in childhood.

Artificial and natural interventions for chemotherapy- and / or radiotherapy-induced cognitive impairment: A systematic review of animal studies

BACKGROUND

Cancer survivors frequently experience cognitive impairments. This systematic review assessed animal literature to identify artificial (pharmaceutical) or natural interventions (plant/endogenously-derived) to reduce treatment-related cognitive impairments.

METHODS

PubMed, EMBASE, PsycINFO, Web of Science, and Scopus were searched and SYRCLE's tool was used for risk of bias assessment of the 134 included articles.

RESULTS

High variability was observed and risk of bias analysis showed overall poor quality of reporting. Results generally showed positive effects in the intervention group versus cancer-therapy only group (67% of 156 cognitive measures), with only 15 (7%) measures reporting cognitive impairment despite intervention. Both artificial (61%) and natural (75%) interventions prevented cognitive impairment. Artificial interventions involving GSK3B inhibitors, PLX5622, and NMDA receptor antagonists, and natural interventions utilizing melatonin, curcumin, and N-acetylcysteine, showed most consistent outcomes.

CONCLUSIONS

Both artificial and natural interventions may prevent cognitive impairment in rodents, which merit consideration in future clinical trials. Greater consistency in design is needed to enhance the generalizability across studies, including timing of cognitive tests and description of treatments and interventions.

Traumatic Brain Injury in the Long-COVID Era

Major determinants of the biological background or reserve, such as age, biological sex, comorbidities (diabetes, hypertension, obesity, etc.), and medications (e.g., anticoagulants), are known to affect outcome after traumatic brain injury (TBI). With the unparalleled data richness of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19; ∼375,000 and counting!) as well as the chronic form, long-COVID, also called post-acute sequelae SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC), publications (∼30,000 and counting) covering virtually every aspect of the diseases, pathomechanisms, biomarkers, disease phases, symptomatology, etc., have provided a unique opportunity to better understand and appreciate the holistic nature of diseases, interconnectivity between organ systems, and importance of biological background in modifying disease trajectories and affecting outcomes. Such a holistic approach is badly needed to better understand TBI-induced conditions in their totality. Here, I briefly review what is known about long-COVID/PASC, its underlying-suspected-pathologies, the pathobiological changes induced by TBI, in other words, the TBI endophenotypes, discuss the intersection of long-COVID/PASC and TBI-induced pathobiologies, and how by considering some of the known factors affecting the person's biological background and the inclusion of mechanistic molecular biomarkers can help to improve the clinical management of TBI patients.

Trends and hotspots in research of traumatic brain injury from 2000 to 2022: A bibliometric study

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major health concern globally, which is characterized by high morbidity and mortality rates. Since the 21st century, TBI has received increasing attention and the number of publications is growing rapidly. This study aimed to characterize the volume and quality of scholarly output on TBI and identify the most impactful literature, research trends, and hotspots from the year 2000-2022. We searched publications on TBI through the Web of Science Core Collection-Science Citation Index Expanded database which were published from 2000 to 2022. Basic information of each paper, including publication year, countries, authors, affiliations, journal, fundings, subject areas, and keywords were collected for further analysis by using Microsoft Excel, VOSviewer, and CiteSpace software. A total of 47231 TBI-related publications were identified through database retrieval. The annual number of publications on TBI has increased steadily over the past twenty years and the number in the year 2022 is sevenfold higher than that in 2000. The United States of America (USA) was the leading country in both numbers of publications and citations, which is consistent with the finding that it had the most funding agencies. Menon DK was the author with the highest influence and the University of California System was the most productive affiliation. Moreover, keywords analysis suggested that the research topics can be mainly divided into six categories: management, rehabilitation, mechanisms, concussion, neuroimaging, and neuroendocrine. This study visualized the trends and focuses of scientific research related to TBI, both quantitatively and qualitatively. The USA had a relatively high academic impact owing to its productive experts and institutions in this field. Neuroinflammation, machine learning, tranexamic acid, and extracellular vesicles are currently hot topics in the field of TBI.

Early life exposure to broccoli sprouts confers stronger protection against enterocolitis development in an immunological mouse model of inflammatory bowel disease

IMPORTANCE

To our knowledge, IL-10-KO mice have not previously been used to investigate the interactions of host, microbiota, and broccoli, broccoli sprouts, or broccoli bioactives in resolving symptoms of CD. We showed that a diet containing 10% raw broccoli sprouts increased the plasma concentration of the anti-inflammatory compound sulforaphane and protected mice to varying degrees against disease symptoms, including weight loss or stagnation, fecal blood, and diarrhea. Younger mice responded more strongly to the diet, further reducing symptoms, as well as increased gut bacterial richness, increased bacterial community similarity to each other, and more location-specific communities than older mice on the diet intervention. Crohn's disease disrupts the lives of patients and requires people to alter dietary and lifestyle habits to manage symptoms. The current medical treatment is expensive with significant side effects, and a dietary intervention represents an affordable, accessible, and simple strategy to reduce the burden of symptoms.

Fluid-Based Protein Biomarkers in Traumatic Brain Injury: The View from the Bedside

There has been an explosion of research into biofluid (blood, cerebrospinal fluid, CSF)-based protein biomarkers in traumatic brain injury (TBI) over the past decade. The availability of very large datasets, such as CENTRE-TBI and TRACK-TBI, allows for correlation of blood- and CSF-based molecular (protein), radiological (structural) and clinical (physiological) marker data to adverse clinical outcomes. The quality of a given biomarker has often been framed in relation to the predictive power on the outcome quantified from the area under the Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve. However, this does not in itself provide clinical utility but reflects a statistical association in any given population between one or more variables and clinical outcome. It is not currently established how to incorporate and integrate biofluid-based biomarker data into patient management because there is no standardized role for such data in clinical decision making. We review the current status of biomarker research and discuss how we can integrate existing markers into current clinical practice and what additional biomarkers do we need to improve diagnoses and to guide therapy and to assess treatment efficacy. Furthermore, we argue for employing machine learning (ML) capabilities to integrate the protein biomarker data with other established, routinely used clinical diagnostic tools, to provide the clinician with actionable information to guide medical intervention.

Transient neonatal hyperglycemia induces metabolic shifts in the rat hippocampus: a 1H NMR-based metabolomics analysis

Diabetes has been reported to induce brain metabolic disturbance, but the effect of transient neonatal hyperglycemia (TNH) on brain metabolism remains unclear. Herein the rats were treated with a single intraperitoneal injection of 100 µg/g body weight of streptozotocin within 12 h after birth and displayed a typical clinical characteristic of TNH. Then we used NMR-based metabolomics to examine the metabolic changes in the hippocampus between TNH and normal control (Ctrl) rats at postnatal 7 days (P7) and 21 days (P21). The results show that TNH rats had significantly increased levels of N-acetyl aspartate, glutamine, aspartate and choline in the hippocampus relative to Ctrl rats at P7. Moreover, we found that the levels of alanine, myo-inositol and choline were significantly lower in TNH rats, although their blood glucose levels have been recovered to the normal level at P21. Therefore, our results suggest that TNH may have a long-term effect on hippocampal metabolic changes mainly involving neurotransmitter metabolism and choline metabolism.

Do astrocytes act as immune cells after pediatric TBI?

Astrocytes are in contact with the vasculature, neurons, oligodendrocytes and microglia, forming a local network with various functions critical for brain homeostasis. One of the primary responders to brain injury are astrocytes as they detect neuronal and vascular damage, change their phenotype with morphological, proteomic and transcriptomic transformations for an adaptive response. The role of astrocytic responses in brain dysfunction is not fully elucidated in adult, and even less described in the developing brain. Children are vulnerable to traumatic brain injury (TBI), which represents a leading cause of death and disability in the pediatric population. Pediatric brain trauma, even with mild severity, can lead to long-term health complications, such as cognitive impairments, emotional disorders and social dysfunction later in life. To date, the underlying pathophysiology is still not fully understood. In this review, we focus on the astrocytic response in pediatric TBI and propose a potential immune role of the astrocyte in response to trauma. We discuss the contribution of astrocytes in the local inflammatory cascades and secretion of various immunomodulatory factors involved in the recruitment of local microglial cells and peripheral immune cells through cerebral blood vessels. Taken together, we propose that early changes in the astrocytic phenotype can alter normal development of the brain, with long-term consequences on neurological outcomes, as described in preclinical models and patients.

Early life exposure to broccoli sprouts confers stronger protection against enterocolitis development in an immunological mouse model of inflammatory bowel disease

Crohn's Disease (CD) is a presentation of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) that manifests in childhood and adolescence, and involves chronic and severe enterocolitis, immune and gut microbiome dysregulation, and other complications. Diet and gut-microbiota-produced metabolites are sources of anti-inflammatories which could ameliorate symptoms. However, questions remain on how IBD influences biogeographic patterns of microbial location and function in the gut, how early life transitional gut communities are affected by IBD and diet interventions, and how disruption to biogeography alters disease mediation by diet components or microbial metabolites. Many studies on diet and IBD use a chemically induced ulcerative colitis model, despite the availability of an immune-modulated CD model. Interleukin-10-knockout (IL-10-KO) mice on a C57BL/6 background, beginning at age 4 or 7 weeks, were fed a control diet or one containing 10% (w/w) raw broccoli sprouts, which was high in the sprout-sourced anti-inflammatory sulforaphane. Diets began 7 days prior to, and for 2 weeks after inoculation with Helicobacter hepaticus, which triggers Crohn's-like symptoms in these immune-impaired mice. The broccoli sprout diet increased sulforaphane in plasma; decreased weight stagnation, fecal blood, and diarrhea associated; and increased microbiota richness in the gut, especially in younger mice. Sprout diets resulted in some anatomically specific bacteria in younger mice, and reduced the prevalence and abundance of pathobiont bacteria which trigger inflammation in the IL-10-KO mouse, for example; Escherichia coli and Helicobacter. Overall, the IL-10-KO mouse model is responsive to a raw broccoli sprout diet and represents an opportunity for more diet-host-microbiome research.

Running exercise with and without calcium supplementation from tuna bone reduced bone impairment caused by low calcium intake in young adult rats

Inadequate calcium intake during childhood and adolescence is detrimental to bone metabolism. Here, we postulated that calcium supplement prepared from tuna bone with tuna head oil should benefit for skeletal development than CaCO₃. Forty female 4-week-old rats were divided into calcium-replete diet (0.55% w/w, S1, n = 8) and low-calcium groups (0.15% w/w for 2 weeks; L; n = 32). Then L were subdivided into 4 groups (8/group), i.e., remained on L, L + tuna bone (S2), S2 + tuna head oil + 25(OH)D₃ and S2 + 25(OH)D₃. Bone specimens were collected at week 9. We found that 2 weeks on low calcium diet led to low bone mineral density (BMD), reduced mineral content, and impaired mechanical properties in young growing rats. Intestinal fractional calcium absorption also increased, presumably resulting from higher plasma 1,25(OH)₂D₃ (1.712 ± 0.158 in L vs. 1.214 ± 0.105 nM in S1, P < 0.05). Four-week calcium supplementation from tuna bone further increased calcium absorption efficacy, which later returned to the basal level by week 9. Calcium supplementation successfully restored BMD, bone strength and microstructure. However, 25(OH)D₃ + tuna head oil + tuna bone showed no additive effect. Voluntary running also effectively prevented bone defects. In conclusion, both tuna bone calcium supplementation and exercise are effective interventions for mitigating calcium-deficient bone loss.

Immune regulation in neurovascular units after traumatic brain injury

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major cause of death and disability worldwide. Survivors may experience movement disorders, memory loss, and cognitive deficits. However, there is a lack of understanding of the pathophysiology of TBI-mediated neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration. The immune regulation process of TBI involves changes in the peripheral and central nervous system (CNS) immunity, and intracranial blood vessels are essential communication centers. The neurovascular unit (NVU) is responsible for coupling blood flow with brain activity, and comprises endothelial cells, pericytes, astrocyte end-feet, and vast regulatory nerve terminals. A stable NVU is the basis for normal brain function. The concept of the NVU emphasizes that cell-cell interactions between different types of cells are essential for maintaining brain homeostasis. Previous studies have explored the effects of immune system changes after TBI. The NVU can help us further understand the immune regulation process. Herein, we enumerate the paradoxes of primary immune activation and chronic immunosuppression. We describe the changes in immune cells, cytokines/chemokines, and neuroinflammation after TBI. The post-immunomodulatory changes in NVU components are discussed, and research exploring immune changes in the NVU pattern is also described. Finally, we summarize immune regulation therapies and drugs after TBI. Therapies and drugs that focus on immune regulation have shown great potential for neuroprotection. These findings will help us further understand the pathological processes after TBI.

Neurovascular hypoxia after mild traumatic brain injury in juvenile mice correlates with heart-brain dysfunctions in adulthood

AIM

Retrospective studies suggest that mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) in pediatric patients may lead to an increased risk of cardiac events. However, the exact functional and temporal dynamics and the associations between heart and brain pathophysiological trajectories are not understood.

METHODS

A single impact to the left somatosensory cortical area of the intact skull was performed on juvenile mice (17 days postnatal). Cerebral 3D photoacoustic imaging was used to measure the oxygen saturation (sO₂ ) in the impacted area 4 h after mTBI followed by 2D and 4D echocardiography at days 7, 30, 90, and 190 post-impact. At 8 months, we performed a dobutamine stress test to evaluate cardiac function. Lastly, behavioral analyses were conducted 1 year after initial injury.

RESULTS

We report a rapid and transient decrease in cerebrovascular sO₂ and increased hemoglobin in the impacted left brain cortex. Cardiac analyses showed long-term diastolic dysfunction and a diminished systolic strain response under stress in the mTBI group. At the molecular level, cardiac T-p38MAPK and troponin I expression was pathologic modified post-mTBI. We found linear correlations between brain sO₂ measured immediately post-mTBI and long-term cardiac strain after 8 months. We report that initial cerebrovascular hypoxia and chronic cardiac dysfunction correlated with long-term behavioral changes hinting at anxiety-like and memory maladaptation.

CONCLUSION

Experimental juvenile mTBI induces time-dependent cardiac dysfunction that corresponds to the initial neurovascular sO₂ dip and is associated with long-term behavioral modifications. These imaging biomarkers of the heart-brain axis could be applied to improve clinical pediatric mTBI management.

Reactive oxygen species-responsive HET0016 prodrug-loaded liposomes attenuate neuroinflammation and improve neurological deficit in a rat model of juvenile traumatic brain injury

The arachidonic acid pathway metabolite 20-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (20-HETE) contributes to ischemia/reperfusion brain injury. Inhibition of 20-HETE formation can protect the developing brain from global ischemia. In previous studies, we have found that treatment with the 20-HETE synthesis inhibitor N-hydroxy-N-4-butyl-2-methylphenylformamidine (HET0016) can protect the immature brain from traumatic brain injury (TBI), but its hydrophobic nature limits its full potential. We designed a reactive oxygen species-responsive HET0016 prodrug, which consists of a thioketal link between HET0016 and stearyl alcohol (HET-TK-SA), and used the nanoprodrug strategy to successfully synthesize liposomes HET0016 prodrug liposomes (HPLs) to facilitate the application of HET0016 in protection from TBI. HPLs demonstrated spherical shape, size of about 127.8 nm, a zeta potential of -28.8 mv, a narrow particle size distribution and good stability. Male rats at postnatal day 16-17 underwent controlled cortical impact (CCI) followed by intravenous injection with vehicle or HET0016 (1 mg/kg, 2 h post-injury, once/day for 3 days). The results of the in vivo demonstrated that HPLs has good biosafety and can pass through the blood-brain barrier. Not only that compared with HET0016, HPLs better-inhibited inflammation and improved neuronal degeneration, which further led to lesion volume reduction, upgraded behavioral task performance, and ameliorated the degree of TBI impairment. Our results demonstrated HPLs could be a new strategy for juvenile TBI therapy.

Management and Treatment of Traumatic Brain Injuries

Traumatic brain injuries (TBI) are one of the main reasons for death in recent years worldwide or globally. They are the number one cause of death for both civilians and military members. It affects how the brain functions and is currently one of the crucial concerns of global public health issues. TBI is increasing worldwide because of the increasing dependency on motorized vehicles and machinery. One of the reasons for TBI is the expanding human population. It is the major cause of death and disability in the world. In young adults around the world, it is the main cause of mortality and morbidity. Its complicated etiology and pathogenesis include primarily primary and secondary injury types. Neuroinflammation is also focused on TBI to be cured. The neuroprotection of the injured brain has received tremendous attention during TBI treatment. In this review, we will first discuss the definition of traumatic brain injury, its causes, and the symptoms experienced by patients of various age groups. Finally, treatment methods and advances in treatment will be discussed. In this review, the aftereffects of traumatic brain damage are also covered. Ferroptosis and choline phospholipids are also emphasized as important components of the treatment of traumatic brain damage in this review.

Preclinical findings reveal the pharmacological targets of ferulic acid in the treatment of traumatic brain injury

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is characterized by cellular damage and inflammation in lesioned brain tissue. Ferulic acid has been shown to have a melioration effect on neurological functions. However, the active pharmacological effects and the underlying mechanisms of ferulic acid against TBI remain unclear. On the basis of network pharmacology and molecular docking methodology, this study aimed to investigate the beneficial effects of ferulic acid in treating TBI, and characterized the detailed biotargets and mechanisms of these actions. The identified core targets were validated via in silico simulation. We identified 91 overlapping targets associated with ferulic acid and TBI. In-silico simulation analysis validated the putative core targets of tumor protein p53, mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) 1, and estrogen receptor 1. The Gene Ontology-enriched annotations and findings were largely associated with cell proliferation, apoptosis, and inflammation in nerve cells. Additional Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes enrichment analysis unmasked the pharmacological pathways of ferulic acid in treating TBI, including the MAPK signaling pathway and hypoxia-inducible factor-1 signaling pathway. Bioinformatic analyses and findings provide a new preclinical strategy for revealing the core targets and network pathways of ferulic acid in treating TBI. Moreover, some bioinformatic findings were computationally validated in silico for exhibiting the neuroprotective action of ferulic acid against TBI.

Stem cell therapy for central nervous system disorders: Metabolic interactions between transplanted cells and local microenvironments

Stem cell therapy is a promising and rapidly advancing treatment strategy for a multitude of neurologic disorders. Yet, while early phase clinical trials are being pursued in many disorders, the mechanism of action often remains unclear. One important potential mechanism by which stem cells provide neuroprotection is through metabolic signaling with diseased neurons, glia, and other cell types in the nervous system microenvironment. Early studies exploring such interactions report normalization of glucose metabolism, induction of protective mitochondrial genes, and even interactions with supportive neurovasculature. Local metabolic conditions also impact stem cell biology, which can have a large impact on transplant viability and efficacy. Epigenetic changes that occur in the donor prior to collection of stem cells, and even during in vitro culture conditions, may have effects on stem cell biology that are carried into the host upon stem cell transplantation. Transplanted stem cells also face potentially toxic metabolic microenvironments at the targeted transplant site. Novel approaches for metabolically "preconditioning" stem cells prior to transplant harness metabolic machinery to optimize stem cell survival upon transplant. Ultimately, an improved understanding of the metabolic cross-talk between implanted stem cells and the local nervous system environment, in both disease and injury states, will increase the likelihood of success in translating stem cell therapy to early trials in neurological disease.

Mesenchymal stem cells for the treatment of cognitive impairment caused by neurological diseases

Patients with neurological diseases often have cognitive impairment, which creates a substantial emotional and economic burden for patients and their families. This issue urgently needs to be addressed. The pathological mechanism of this cognitive impairment is a complicated process that involves a variety of cells and molecules, central nervous system inflammatory reactions, oxidative stress, free radical damage and nerve protection factor-related metabolic disorders. Traditional treatments include neuroprotective agents and analgesic therapy. However, analgesic therapy cannot improve cognitive function, and the blood-brain barrier (BBB) largely blocks neuroprotective agents from entering the central nervous system; therefore, it is very important to find a more effective treatment. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have anti-inflammatory, anti-apoptotic and immunomodulatory properties and have been proven to play an important role in the treatment of many neurodegenerative diseases. Most importantly, MSCs are likely to cross the BBB. Therefore, MSC therapy is regarded as an important means of ameliorating neurological impairment. The purpose of this review is to summarize recent researches on the treatment of cognitive dysfunction caused by neurological diseases with MSCs.

Neuroprotective and Anti-inflammatory Effects of Pioglitazone on Traumatic Brain Injury

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is still a major cause of concern for public health, and out of all the trauma-related injuries, it makes the highest contribution to death and disability worldwide. Patients of TBI continue to suffer from brain injury through an intricate flow of primary and secondary injury events. However, when treatment is provided in a timely manner, there is a significant window of opportunity to avoid a few of the serious effects. Pioglitazone (PG), which has a neuroprotective impact and can decrease inflammation after TBI, activates peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma (PPARγ). The objective of the study is to examine the existing literature to assess the neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory impact of PG in TBI. It also discusses the part played by microglia and cytokines in TBI. According to the findings of this study, PG has the ability to enhance neurobehavior, decrease brain edema and neuronal injury following TBI. To achieve the protective impact of PG the following was required: (1) stimulating PPARγ; (2) decreasing oxidative stress; (3) decreasing nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB), interleukin 6 (IL-6), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), and C-C motif chemokine ligand 20 (CCL20) expression; (4) limiting the increase in the number of activated microglia; and (5) reducing mitochondrial dysfunction. The findings indicate that when PIG is used clinically, it may serve as a neuroprotective anti-inflammatory approach in TBI.

Non-Communicable Neurological Disorders and Neuroinflammation

Traumatic brain injury, stroke, and neurodegenerative diseases represent a major cause of morbidity and mortality in Africa, as in the rest of the world. Traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries specifically represent a leading cause of disability in the younger population. Stroke and neurodegenerative disorders predominantly target the elderly and are a major concern in Africa, since their rate of increase among the ageing is the fastest in the world. Neuroimmunology is usually not associated with non-communicable neurological disorders, as the role of neuroinflammation is not often considered when evaluating their cause and pathogenesis. However, substantial evidence indicates that neuroinflammation is extremely relevant in determining the consequences of non-communicable neurological disorders, both for its protective abilities as well as for its destructive capacity. We review here current knowledge on the contribution of neuroinflammation and neuroimmunology to the pathogenesis of traumatic injuries, stroke and neurodegenerative diseases, with a particular focus on problems that are already a major issue in Africa, like traumatic brain injury, and on emerging disorders such as dementias.

Inflammation and the role of infection: Complications and treatment options following neurotrauma

Traumatic brain injury can have devastating consequences for patients and extended hospital stays and recovery course. Recent data indicate that the initial insult causes profound changes to the immune system and leads to a pro-inflammatory state. This alteration in homeostasis predisposes patients to an increased risk of infection and underlying autoimmune conditions. Increased emphasis has been placed on understanding this process both in the clinical and preclinical literature. This review highlights the intrinsic inflammatory conditions that can occur within the initial hospital stay, discusses long-term immune consequences, highlights emerging treatment options, and delves into important pathways currently being investigated with preclinical models.

Whole Body Vibration Attenuates Brain Damage and Neuroinflammation Following Experimental Traumatic Brain Injury

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is still a major public health problem worldwide, and the research of neuroprotective drugs has encountered great difficulties. Whole body vibration (WBV) is a safe and powerful rehabilitative intervention in various clinical settings, but its effect on neurological diseases is not well documented. In this study, we investigated the effects of WBV pretreatment on brain damage following experimental TBI mimicked by controlled cortical impact (CCI) in mice. C57BL/6 J male mice were expose to WBV at 30 Hz twice per day for 20 days and injured by CCI. WBV had no effect on animal body weight, but significantly reduced the TBI-induced brain edema in the cortex. The results of immunostaining showed that the activation of microglia and astrocytes induced by TBI in brain sections was attenuated by WBV. In consistent, WBV markedly inhibited the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines, while increased the levels of anti-inflammatory cytokine interleukin 10 (IL-10). In addition, WBV pretreatment alleviated neuronal apoptosis in the cortex and suppressed the cleavage of the apoptotic executive molecule caspase-1. The neurological dysfunction following TBI was determined by open field test and Morris Water Maze (MWM) assay. The results showed that motor activity, learning and memory ability were preserved by WBV compared to TBI-injured mice. In summary, our present data identified WBV as a clinically potent strategy with which to attenuate TBI-related brain damage through regulating neuroinflammation.