title: Intracerebroventricular administration of chondroitinase ABC reduces acute edema after traumatic brain injury in mice.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Brain edema is a significant challenge facing clinicians managing severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) in the acute period. If edema reaches a critical point, it leads to runaway intracranial hypertension that, in turn, leads to severe morbidity or death if left untreated. Clinical data on the efficacy of standard interventions is mixed. The goal of this study was to validate a novel therapeutic strategy for reducing post-traumatic brain edema in a mouse model. Prior in vitro work reported that the brain swells due to coupled electrostatic and osmotic forces generated by large, negatively charged, immobile molecules in the matrix that comprises brain tissue. Chondroitinase ABC (ChABC) digests chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan, a molecule that contributes to this negative charge. Therefore, we administered ChABC by intracerebroventricular (ICV) injection after controlled cortical impact TBI in the mouse and measured associated changes in edema.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Almost half of the edema induced by injury was eliminated by ChABC treatment.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  ICV administration of ChABC may be a novel and effective method of treating post-traumatic brain edema in the acute period.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, NorthShore University Health System, 1001 University Place, Evanston, IL, 60201, USA.
authors.forename: John D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Finan
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University, 351 Engineering Terrace, Mail Code 8904, 1210 Amsterdam Avenue, New York, NY, 10027, USA.
authors.forename: Frances S
authors.initials: FS
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics and Pathology and Cell Biology, Columbia University Medical Center, 3959 Broadway, CHN 10-24, New York, NY, 10032, USA.
authors.forename: Steven G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Kernie
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University, 351 Engineering Terrace, Mail Code 8904, 1210 Amsterdam Avenue, New York, NY, 10027, USA. bm2119@columbia.edu.
authors.forename: Barclay
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Morrison
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000818:Animals; D001929:Brain Edema / Q000150:complications* / Q000188:drug therapy*; D000070642:Brain Injuries, Traumatic / Q000150:complications* / Q000188:drug therapy*; D019765:Chondroitin ABC Lyase / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D007276:Injections, Intraventricular; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D014867:Water / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D014867:Water; D019765:Chondroitin ABC Lyase
keywords: Chondroitinase ABC; Edema; Therapy; Traumatic brain injury