title: Pharmacology of traumatic brain injury.
abstract: The intensity of experimental and clinical research to identify a neuroprotective drug for the treatment of traumatic brain injury is motivated by the devastating morbidity and mortality of this condition. Encouraging experimental work has led so far to disappointing clinical trials and the identification of new potential therapeutic targets is critically dependent on a better understanding of the chronic pathophysiology triggered by the initial insult. Future advances in the pharmacological treatment of traumatic brain injury are likely to include the evaluation of sequentially timed therapies combining multiple and targeted agents, and manipulation of the newly discovered neurogenic potential of the adult brain together with the refinement of traditional interventions to block specific cytotoxic cascades.
authors.affiliation: Head Injury Center, Department of Neurosurgery, University of Pennsylvania, 3320 Smith Walk, 105 C Hayden Hall, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6316, USA. nroyo@mail.med.upenn.edu
authors.forename: N C
authors.initials: NC
authors.lastname: Royo
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shimizu
authors.forename: J W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Schouten
authors.forename: J F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Stover
authors.forename: T K
authors.initials: TK
authors.lastname: McIntosh
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000503:physiopathology; D002186:Cannabinoids / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use; D018691:Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists / Q000627:therapeutic use; D018698:Glutamic Acid / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans
chemical_list: D002186:Cannabinoids; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors; D018691:Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists; D018698:Glutamic Acid