The Use of Biomarkers in Diagnosis and Treatment of Traumatic Brain Injury

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major central nervous system (CNS) disorder. The most frequent indicators of TBI are magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computerized tomography (CT) scans, which are highly expensive, and their sensitivity is limited to the first 24 hours after injury. There is a substantial need for finding other reliable methods including the development of biomarkers to assess the condition of brain cells after presumed injury. Biomarkers are correlated with disease severity, time course of disease progression and drug response. This literature review focuses on four different types of biomarkers –Serum S100B, II-spectrin Breakdown Products, Serum Tc, and Neuronal Specific Enolase (NSE) which have been designed to assist in the determination of the severity of human brain injury and to monitor the effects of various therapies