Pierce, M. E., Hayes, J., Huber, B. R., Jeromin, A., Fortier, C., Fonda, J., Lasseter, H., Chaby, L., McGlinchey, R., & Milberg, W. (2022). Plasma biomarkers associated with deployment trauma and its consequences in post-9/11 era veterans: initial findings from the TRACTS longitudinal cohort. Transl Psychiatry, 12, 80.
NOTES
2158-3188Pierce, Meghan EOrcid: 0000-0002-3310-1452Hayes, JasmeetOrcid: 0000-0002-5157-0666Huber, Bertrand RussellJeromin, AndreasFortier, Catherine BFonda, Jennifer RLasseter, HeatherChaby, LaurenMcGlinchey, ReginaMilberg, WilliamR01 AG058822/AG/NIA NIH HHS/United StatesJournal ArticleResearch Support, N.I.H., ExtramuralResearch Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.Transl Psychiatry. 2022 Feb 26;12(1):80. doi: 10.1038/s41398-022-01853-w.
Abstract
Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) is among the most common injuries sustained by post-9/11 veterans; however, these injuries often occur within the context of psychological trauma. Blast exposure, even in the absence of a diagnosable TBI, leads to changes in neural connectivity and congitive functioning. Therefore, considering clinical comorbidities and injury characteristics is critical to understanding the long-term effects of mTBI. Research is moving towards identifying diagnostic and prognostic blood-based biomarkers for TBI; however, few studies include other prevalent clinical and medical comorbidities related to deployment. Here, we present the initial cross-sectional relationships between plasma biomarkers, clinical, and medical comorbidities in a well-characterized longitudinal sample of 550 post-9/11 veteran men and women. We examined biomarkers associated with inflammation (interleukin 6 and 10, tumor necrosis factor α, and eotaxin) and neurodegeneration (neurofilament light, glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), tau, brain derived neurotrophic factor, amyloid ß 40 and 42, phosphorylated neurofilament heavy chain, and neuron specific enolase). Univariate analyses of covariance (ANCOVA) were conducted to determine mean level differences between close blast (blasts that occur within 0-10 meters) and mTBI groups. Our primary findings were twofold: (1) Inflammatory markers were consistently higher in participants exposed to close blasts and were strongly related to deployment-related psychopathology. (2) GFAP was consistently lower in participants exposed to blast and mTBI and lower GFAP was associated with more severe psychological symptoms. More research is clearly needed; however, our findings indicate that chronic increased inflammation and decreased GFAP may be related to close blast exposure.
Last updated on 03/06/2023
