Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy in Blast-Exposed Individuals

摘要

The invention is based on the surprising discovery that as few as one episode of blast exposure increases the risk of CTE. Blast exposure is associated with chronic traumatic encephalopathy, impaired neuronal function, and persistent cognitive deficits in blast-exposed military veterans and experimental animals. Early diagnosis and assessment of risk permits physicians to prescribe treatment to reduce or slow progression of impairment before the onset of overt symptoms that become apparent decades after an initial insult or trauma to brain tissue. The invention provides methods and compositions for diagnosis and prognosis of individuals at risk of long term complications related to blast injury or concussive injury.

主权项

1. A method of determining risk of developing chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) of a subject, comprising detecting a CTE-linked neuropathic marker, said marker comprising a microtubule associated tau protein (Tau) or a fragment thereof, in a bodily fluid after at least a first blast injury, subconcussive injury, acute concussive or subconcussive head injury from blast exposure, impact head injury, acceleration or deceleration head trauma, or closed-skull neurotrauma, wherein a concentration of greater than 0.5±1 pg/ml of the total Tau protein or fragment thereof in the bodily fluid indicates an increased risk of developing CTE, a concentration of greater than 1 pg/ml of the total Tau protein or fragment thereof in the bodily fluid indicates a moderate risk of developing CTE, and a concentration of greater than 5 pg/ml of the total Tau protein or fragment thereof in the bodily fluid indicates a severe risk of developing CTE.