Despite pre-clinical evidence for the role of inflammation in traumatic brain injury (TBI), there is limited data on inflammatory biomarkers in mild TBI (mTBI). In this study, we describe the profile of plasma inflammatory cytokines and explore associations between these cytokines and neuropsychological outcomes after mTBI. Patients with mTBI with negative computed tomography and orthopedic injury (OI) controls without mTBI were prospectively recruited from emergency rooms at three trauma centers. Plasma inflammatory cytokine levels were measured from venous whole–blood samples that were collected at enrollment (within 24 h of injury) and at 6 months after injury. Neuropsychological tests were performed at 1 week, 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months after the injury. Multivariate regression analysis was performed to identify associations between inflammatory cytokines and neuropsychological outcomes. A total of 53 mTBI and 24 OI controls were included in this study. The majority of patients were male (62.3%), and injured in motor vehicle accidents (37.7%). Plasma interleukin (IL)-2 (p = 0.01) and IL-6 (p = 0.01) within 24 h post-injury were significantly higher for mTBI patients compared with OI controls. Elevated plasma IL-2 at 24 h was associated with more severe 1-week post-concussive symptoms (p = 0.001). At 6 months, elevated plasma IL-10 was associated with greater depression scores (p = 0.004) and more severe post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms (p = 0.001). Plasma cytokine levels (within 24 h and at 6 months post-injury) were significantly associated with early and late post-concussive symptoms, PTSD, and depression scores after mTBI. These results highlight the potential role of inflammation in the pathophysiology of post-traumatic symptoms after mTBI.

中文翻译：

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轻度创伤性脑损伤后炎症细胞因子的早期与晚期特征及其与神经心理学结果的关联。

尽管有临床前证据表明炎症在创伤性脑损伤 (TBI) 中的作用，但关于轻度 TBI (mTBI) 炎症生物标志物的数据有限。在这项研究中，我们描述了血浆炎症细胞因子的概况，并探讨了这些细胞因子与 mTBI 后神经心理学结果之间的关联。前瞻性地从三个创伤中心的急诊室招募了具有阴性计算机断层扫描和骨科损伤 (OI) 对照但没有 mTBI 的 mTBI 患者。血浆炎性细胞因子水平是从入组时（受伤后 24 小时内）和受伤后 6 个月收集的静脉全血样本中测量的。在受伤后1周、1个月、3个月和6个月进行神经心理学测试。进行多变量回归分析以确定炎性细胞因子与神经心理学结果之间的关联。本研究共包括 53 名 mTBI 和 24 名 OI 对照。大多数患者为男性（62.3%），并在机动车事故中受伤（37.7%）。血浆白细胞介素 (IL)-2 ( 与 OI 对照相比，mTBI 患者在受伤后 24 小时内的p  = 0.01) 和 IL-6 ( p = 0.01) 显着更高。24 小时血浆 IL-2 升高与更严重的 1 周后脑震荡症状相关 ( p  = 0.001)。在 6 个月时，血浆 IL-10 升高与更高的抑郁评分 ( p  = 0.004) 和更严重的创伤后应激障碍 (PTSD) 症状 ( p  = 0.001) 相关。血浆细胞因子水平（受伤后 24 小时内和 6 个月内）与 mTBI 后早期和晚期脑震荡后症状、PTSD 和抑郁评分显着相关。这些结果强调了炎症在 mTBI 后创伤后症状的病理生理学中的潜在作用。