PR000683 (Project)

Description:According to the report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2014, traumatic brain injury (TBI) accounts for 30% of all injury-related deaths in the U.S. Developing epilepsy after severe head injury is as high as 40%-50% in some settings. Importantly, many TBI victims develop epilepsy months or years following the initial injury. However, it has not been fully identified how to predict who will develop epilepsy and/or the underlying mechanism of post traumatic epilesy (PTE) development. The main goal of this proposal is to identify the metabolomics biomarker of TBI-induced epilepsy and to investigate the underlying mechanism of the transition from TBI to PTE. To do so, we will develop PTE using two TBI animal models: ferrous chloride injection model and cortical undercut model. Once the brain damage is made, electroencephalogram (EEG) and video monitoring will be performed to determine the onset point of epilepsy. Then, metabolomics profile changes will be analyzed and compared before and after PTE development.