title: Pharmacologic therapy in traumatic brain injury: update on experimental treatment strategies.
abstract: Considerable effort has led to an increased interest in emerging preclinical and clinical data regarding the pathophysiological changes in the posttraumatic brain. It is widely believed that delayed cell damage and death contributes to behavioral impairment following traumatic brain injury. However, no drug therapy to attenuate this process is available at present, and the development of new therapeutic regimen is urgently warranted. This manuscript represents a compendium of recent preclinical work undertaken to evaluate new pharmacologic strategies in the experimental setting as a first step towards the development of a therapeutic armamentarium directed to improve functional recovery in head-injured patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, University of Pennsylvania Medical School, 3320 Smith Walk, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
authors.forename: H L
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Laurer
authors.forename: T K
authors.initials: TK
authors.lastname: McIntosh
mesh_terms: D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000188:drug therapy*; D020169:Caspases / Q000378:metabolism; D002412:Cations / Q000378:metabolism; D003599:Cytoskeleton / Q000187:drug effects; D004358:Drug Therapy / Q000379:methods; D018691:Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016166:Free Radical Scavengers / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006023:Glycoproteins / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006706:Homeostasis / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D016234:Kallikrein-Kinin System / Q000187:drug effects; D015227:Lipid Peroxidation / Q000187:drug effects; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000187:drug effects; D009414:Nerve Growth Factors / Q000627:therapeutic use; D009569:Nitric Oxide / Q000378:metabolism; D019001:Nitric Oxide Synthase / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; D002412:Cations; D018691:Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists; D016166:Free Radical Scavengers; D006023:Glycoproteins; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents; D009414:Nerve Growth Factors; C039304:calpain inhibitors; D009569:Nitric Oxide; D019001:Nitric Oxide Synthase; D020169:Caspases