Mitochondrial Damage: A Diagnostic and Metabolic Approach in Traumatic Brain Injury and Post-Traumatic Disorder

Our specific aims are: a) determine if blood based dipstick test of mitochondrial damage can predict the severity of metabolic failure and brain injury after TBI or TBI with preexisting stress (PTSD+TBI), b) study pyruvate as a countermeasure to mitigate mitochondrial functions in injured brain. Male Sprague Dawley rats with TBI, PTSD and PTSD+TBI were treated with/out pyruvate. We found that even one week after TBI, the metabolic, neurobehavioral parameters and expression of cellular proteins were altered. Blood base dipstick test of PDH enzyme as a biomarker of mitochondrial damage showed a good correlation. Pyruvate treatment showed neuroprotective properties in spite of muscle damage.
Sponsored in part by DARPA.