Expression of inflammatory (interleukin-6 [IL-6]) and vascular homeostatic (angiopoietin-2 [AP-2], endothelin-1 [ET-1], endocan-2 [EC-2]) biomarkers in pediatric traumatic brain injury (TBI) was examined in this prospective, observational cohort study of 28 children hospitalized with mild, moderate, and severe TBI by clinical measures (age, sex, Glasgow Coma Scale score [GCS], Injury Severity Score [ISS], and cerebral autoregulation status). Biomarker patterns suggest an inverse relationship between GCS and AP-2, GCS and IL-6, ISS and ET-1, but a direct relationship between GCS and ET-1 and ISS and AP-2. Biomarker patterns suggest an inverse relationship between AP-2 and ET-1, AP-2 and EC-2, but a direct relationship between AP-2 and IL-6, IL-6 and EC-2, and IL-6 and ET-1. Plasma concentrations of inflammatory and vascular homeostatic biomarkers suggest a role for inflammation and disruption of vascular homeostasis during the first 10 days across the severity spectrum of pediatric TBI. Although not statistically significant, without impact on cerebral autoregulation, biomarker patterns suggest a relationship between inflammation and alterations in vascular homeostasis. The large variation in biomarker levels within TBI severity and age groups, and by sex suggests other contributory factors to biomarker expression.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.