title: Biomarkers associated with diffuse traumatic axonal injury: exploring pathogenesis, early diagnosis, and prognosis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Diffuse traumatic axonal injury (dTAI) is a significant pathologic feature of traumatic brain injury and is associated with substantial mortality and morbidity. It is still a challenge for clinicians to make an early diagnosis of dTAI and generate accurate prognosis and direct therapeutic decisions because most patients rapidly progress to coma after trauma and because specific neurologic symptoms and focal lesions detectable with current routine imaging techniques are absent. To address these issues, many investigations have sought to identify biomarkers of dTAI.
  
  
  METHODS
  This article is a review of the pertinent medical literature.
  
  
  RESULTS
  From the perspective of the pathophysiology of dTAI, we reviewed several biomarkers that are associated with structural damage and biochemical cascades in the secondary injury or repair response to traumatic brain injury. Although some biomarkers are not specific to dTAI, they are nevertheless useful in elucidating its pathogenesis, making early diagnosis possible, predicting outcomes, and providing candidate targets for novel therapeutic strategies.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The availability of biomarker data, clinical case histories, and radiologic information can improve our current ability to diagnose and monitor pathogenic conditions and predict outcomes in patients with dTAI.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, No. 3 People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Jia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Xue-Yuan
authors.initials: XY
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Dong-Fu
authors.initials: DF
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.forename: Dong-Chao
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Pan
mesh_terms: D015415:Biomarkers / Q000032:analysis*; D020833:Diffuse Axonal Injury / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D042241:Early Diagnosis; D006801:Humans; D004676:Myelin Basic Protein / Q000032:analysis; D016900:Neurofilament Proteins / Q000032:analysis; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011379:Prognosis; D013049:Spectrin / Q000032:analysis; D016875:tau Proteins / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; C054369:MAPT protein, human; D004676:Myelin Basic Protein; D016900:Neurofilament Proteins; D016875:tau Proteins; D013049:Spectrin