Preventing TBI-Induced Chronic Functional Loss with a Neuroprotective Antioxidant

揭示治疗策略以对抗创伤性脑损伤的慢性效应是非常重要的 (TBI)因为目前还没有有效的治疗方法来预防这些认知缺陷。不幸的是， TBI是在最近的战斗行动中服役的军队的一种非常常见的痛苦。至少15%的 部署人员接受TBI，此类伤害的总人数估计高达 320,000.仅在美国，估计每年至少有170万人遭受TBI， 全球发病率约为每年0.5%。绝大多数TBI都是由军队经历的， 人员被归类为轻度伤害，但这些确实会造成严重的慢性影响。 我们试图证明一种有效的治疗方法，可以减少或逆转长期的认知障碍。 由轻度创伤性脑损伤（TBI）产生的功能障碍。因为这些伤害涉及多个 效果，有必要进一步表征治疗对持久树突和棘变化的影响 TBI诱导的，并增加了我们对可能的治疗变化的了解，以便TBI患者将 效益在过去的几年里，我们的实验室已经发现，抗氧化剂转录的激活剂 因子Nrf2可以通过调节对健康重要的分子机制来保护神经。 神经元这使我们提出了一个假设，即用Nrf2治疗轻度创伤性脑损伤， 激活剂将导致神经元之间的连接的显着改善，促进神经保护 细胞内途径，并导致大大增强TBI后的长期结果。我们将测试我们的 假设有三个具体目标：1。轻度闭合性颅脑损伤慢性行为效应的预防 经tBHQ处理，2.轻度脑缺血后tBHQ治疗产生的持续连接性变化的改善 TBI和3。确定TBI后治疗诱导的可能影响长期的分子变化 功能我们将研究轻度TBI完成后分子和长期认知功能的变化 小鼠闭合性头部撞击伤模型。我们将使用一个完善的TBI模型，包括一个封闭的 头部受伤模型，包括旋转。我们将治疗受伤和假受伤组与任何车辆 或tBHQ。行为测试将在受伤后1、6和12个月进行。大脑样本也将被 收集并检查树突复杂性、棘密度和神经元数量。最后， 将在早期和晚期（12个月）时间点检查神经病理学通路标志物，所有这些都是为了研究 伤后治疗的效果。通过这种方式，我们将回答有关治疗的几个关键问题。 轻度创伤性脑损伤的长期影响，治疗将如何影响具有持久性的分子事件， 损伤后的后果，在轻度损伤后长时间治疗后，树突复杂性会发生什么变化？ 损伤，以及治疗诱导的特定调节因子变化的程度可能产生影响 对下游神经元功能的影响轻型颅脑损伤后的治疗效果分析 在受伤后一年多的时间里，这将有助于我们确定一种有效的治疗方法来解决慢性病的问题。 TBI效应

It is very important to uncover therapeutic strategies to combat the chronic effects of traumatic brain injury (TBI) because currently, there are no effective treatments to prevent these cognitive deficits. Unfortunately, TBI is a very common affliction of military forces that have served in recent combat operations. At least 15% of deployed personnel receive a TBI and the total number of such injuries has been estimated as high as 320,000. In the US alone it is estimated that at least 1.7 million people suffer a TBI each year and the worldwide incidence is approximately 0.5% per year. The vast majority of TBIs experienced by military personnel are classified as mild injuries, but these do result in significant, chronic effects. We seek to demonstrate an effective treatment that could reduce or reverse the long-term cognitive dysfunction that is produced by mild traumatic brain injury (TBI). Because these injuries involve multiple effects, it is necessary to further characterize the treatment effects on the lasting dendritic and spine changes induced by TBI and add to our knowledge of therapeutic changes that are possible so that TBI patients will benefit. Over the past several years, our lab has discovered that an activator of an antioxidant transcription factor, Nrf2, can be neuroprotective by regulating molecular mechanisms that are important to the health of neurons. This has led us to formulate a hypothesis that treatment of mild traumatic brain injury with the Nrf2 activator will result in significant improvement on the connections between neurons, promote neuroprotective intracellular pathways, and result in greatly enhanced long-term outcomes following TBI. We will test our hypothesis with three specific aims: 1. Prevention of the chronic behavioral effects of mild closed head injury by tBHQ treatment, 2. Improvement of persistent connectivity changes produced by tBHQ treatment after mild TBIs, and 3. Identify molecular changes induced by the post TBI treatment that could influence long-term function. We will examine changes to molecular and long-term cognitive function after mild TBI accomplished by the closed head impact injury model in mice. We will use a well-established TBI model involving a closed head injury model that does include rotation. We will treat injured and sham injured groups with either vehicle or tBHQ. Behavioral tests will be conducted at 1, 6, and 12 months after injury. Brain samples will also be collected and examined for dendritic complexity, spine density, and neuron numbers. Finally, levels of neuropathological pathway markers will be examined at early and late (12 month) time points, all to study the effects of the post-injury treatment. In this way we will answer several key questions about the treatment of the long-term effects of mild traumatic brain injury, how the treatment will affect molecular events that have lasting consequences after injury, what happens to dendritic complexity after treatment at lengthy times after mild injury, and the extent to which the treatment induced changes in specific regulatory factors can have an effect on downstream neuronal function. Elucidating the effects of the treatment after mild traumatic brain injuries over a year following the injury will help us determine an effective therapeutic solution to the problem of chronic TBI effects.