The specific aim of this research is to determine if the blood from brain-injured patients contains reproducible protein markers that appear prior to elevations in intracranial pressure (ICP).
One of the major causes of death following brain trauma is increased intracranial pressure (ICP). Currently, there are no effective ways to predict if the ICP of a patient will reach uncontrollable levels. Various cytokines (balance between pro-and anti-inflammatory) and other factors are thought to underlie increases in ICP. The specific aim of this research is to determine if the blood from brain-injured patients contains reproducible protein markers that appear prior to elevations in ICP. We propose to employ mass spectrometry, antibody array and ELISA to profile proteins in the serum of patients suffering from traumatic brain injury. These protein profiles will be compiled by a pattern recognition program that has the capacity to learn and make predictions based on the spectra and associated patient information. Each time a sample is analyzed, it is added to the database allowing the program to make increasingly accurate predictions. Protein profiles of patients with known ICP values will be analyzed. Our hypothesis is that alterations in serum protein composition will precede changes in intracranial pressure giving rise to predictable patterns that can be detected using large-scale proteomic analysis. After approximately 90 non-brain trauma and 90 brain-trauma patients are analyzed, if markers are found, the predictability of elevated ICP will be tested. If successful, this may aid the neurosurgeon in determining future courses of treatment.
Study Type
OBSERVATIONAL
Enrollment
260
Bloods samples - healthy volunteers(1 time) head injury subjects (5 times). Blood and/or saliva samples mild TBI patients (2 times) and healthy volunteers (2 times)
The University of Texas, Houston
Houston, Texas, United States
Elevated intracranial pressure
Intracranial pressure \>20mmHg
Time frame: within the first 10 days post injury
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