Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a serious public health concern for which sensitive and objective diagnostic methods remain lacking. While advances in neuroimaging have improved diagnostic capabilities, the complementary use of molecular biomarkers can provide clinicians with additional insight into the nature and severity of TBI. In this study, a panel of eight metabolites involved in distinct pathophysiological processes related to concussion was quantified using high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS). Specifically, the newly developed method can simultaneously determine urinary concentrations of glutamic acid, homovanillic acid, 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid, methionine sulfoxide, lactic acid, pyruvic acid, N-acetylaspartic acid, and F2α-isoprostane without intensive sample preparation or preconcentration. The method was systematically validated to assess sensitivity (method detection limits: 1-20 μg/L), accuracy (81-124% spike recoveries in urine), and reproducibility (relative standard deviation: 4-12%). The method was ultimately applied to a small cohort of urine specimens obtained from healthy college student volunteers. The method presented here provides a new technique to facilitate future work aiming to assess the clinical efficacy of these putative biomarkers for noninvasive assessment of TBI.

中文翻译：

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通过 HPLC-MS/MS 同时测定八种尿液代谢物，用于创伤性脑损伤的无创评估。

创伤性脑损伤 (TBI) 是一个严重的公共卫生问题，仍然缺乏敏感和客观的诊断方法。虽然神经影像学的进步提高了诊断能力，但分子生物标志物的补充使用可以为临床医生提供对 TBI 的性质和严重程度的更多了解。在这项研究中，使用高效液相色谱-串联质谱 (HPLC-MS/MS) 对一组涉及与脑震荡相关的不同病理生理过程的八种代谢物进行了量化。具体而言，新开发的方法可以同时测定谷氨酸、高香草酸、5-羟基吲哚乙酸、甲硫氨酸亚砜、乳酸、丙酮酸、N-乙酰天冬氨酸和 F2α-异前列烷的尿液浓度，无需大量样品制备或预浓缩。该方法经过系统验证以评估灵敏度（方法检测限：1-20 μg/L）、准确度（尿液中的加标回收率为 81-124%）和重现性（相对标准偏差：4-12%）。该方法最终应用于从健康大学生志愿者那里获得的一小部分尿液样本。这里介绍的方法提供了一种新技术，以促进未来的工作，旨在评估这些假定的生物标志物对 TBI 的无创评估的临床疗效。