Traumatic white matter injury and glial activation: From basic science to clinics

Zhifeng Kou, Pamela J. VandeVord

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

80 Scopus citations

Abstract

An improved understanding and characterization of glial activation and its relationship with white matter injury will likely serve as a novel treatment target to curb post injury inflammation and promote axonal remyelination after brain trauma. Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a significant public healthcare burden and a leading cause of death and disability in the United States. Particularly, traumatic white matter (WM) injury or traumatic axonal injury has been reported as being associated with patients' poor outcomes. However, there is very limited data reporting the importance of glial activation after TBI and its interaction with WM injury. This article presents a systematic review of traumatic WM injury and the associated glial activation, from basic science to clinical diagnosis and prognosis, from advanced neuroimaging perspective. It concludes that there is a disconnection between WM injury research and the essential role of glia which serve to restore a healthy environment for axonal regeneration following WM injury. Particularly, there is a significant lack of non-invasive means to characterize the complex pathophysiology of WM injury and glial activation in both animal models and in humans. An improved understanding and characterization of the relationship between glia and WM injury will likely serve as a novel treatment target to curb post injury inflammation and promote axonal remyelination.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1831-1855
Number of pages25
JournalGLIA
Volume62
Issue number11
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 2014
Externally publishedYes

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Neurology
  • Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience

Keywords

  • Astrocyte
  • Biomarkers
  • Diffuse axonal injury
  • Diffusion tensor imaging
  • Glial activation
  • Magnetic resonance imaging
  • Microglia
  • Neuroimaging
  • Neuroinflammation
  • Traumatic axonal injury
  • Traumatic brain injury

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