Citation

Lucke-Wold BP, Turner RC, Logsdon AF, Bailes JE, Huber JD, Rosen CL. J. Neurotrauma 2014; 31(13): 1129-1138.

Affiliation

West Virginia University School of Medicine, Neurosurgery, Suite 4300, Health Sciences Center, PO Box 9183, Morgantown, West Virginia, United States, 26506-9183, 7194592760, 3042934819 ; Bwold@mix.wvu.edu.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, Mary Ann Liebert Publishers)

DOI

10.1089/neu.2013.3303

PMID

24499307

Abstract

Significant attention has recently been drawn to the potential link between head trauma and the development of neurodegenerative disease, namely chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). The acute neurotrauma associated with sports related concussions in athletes and blast induced traumatic brain injury in soldiers elevates the risk for future development of chronic neurodegenerative diseases such as CTE. CTE is a progressive disease distinguished by characteristic tau neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) and occasionally transactive response DNA binding protein 43 (TDP43) oligomers; both of which have a predilection for perivascular and subcortical areas near reactive astrocytes and microglia. The disease is currently only diagnosed post-mortem by neuropathologic identification of NFTs. A recent workshop sponsored by National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke emphasized the need for pre-mortem diagnosis to better understand disease pathophysiology and to develop targeted treatments. In order to accomplish this objective, it is necessary to discover the mechanistic link between acute neurotrauma and the development of chronic neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric disorders such as CTE. In this review we briefly summarize what is currently known about CTE development and pathophysiology, and subsequently discuss injury-induced pathways that warrant further investigation. Understanding the mechanistic link between acute brain injury and chronic neurodegeneration will facilitate the development of appropriate diagnostic and therapeutic options for CTE and other related disorders. Key Words: Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, Neurofibrillary Tau Tangles.

Language: en