Blood Biomarkers in Brain Injury Medicine

Purpose of Review This review seeks to explore blood-based biomarkers with the potential for clinical implementation. Recent Findings Emerging non-proteomic biomarkers hold promise for more accurate diagnostic and prognostic capabilities, especially in the subacute to chronic phase of TBI recovery. Furthermore, there is a growing understanding of the overlap between TBI-related and dementia-related blood biomarkers. Given the significant heterogeneity inherent in the clinical diagnosis of traumatic brain injury (TBI), there has been an exponential increase in TBI-related biomarker research over the past two decades. While TBI-related biomarker assessments include both cerebrospinal fluid analysis and advanced neuroimaging modalities, blood-based biomarkers hold the most promise to be non-invasive biomarkers widely available to Brain Injury Medicine clinicians in diverse practice settings. In this article, we review the most relevant blood biomarkers for the field of Brain Injury Medicine, including both proteomic and non-proteomic blood biomarkers, biomarkers of cerebral microvascular injury, and biomarkers that overlap between TBI and dementia.

Automated summary

This review explores blood-based biomarkers with potential clinical applications, particularly in the subacute to chronic phase of TBI recovery. Recent findings suggest that emerging non-proteomic biomarkers play a crucial role in accurate diagnosis and prognostic capabilities, and there is substantial overlap between TBI-related and dementia-related blood biomarkers. Blood-based biomarkers hold the most promise as non-invasive biomarkers widely available to clinicians in the field of Brain Injury Medicine.