Systemic inflammation in traumatic brain injury predicts poor cognitive function
Wende Xu, Shenglei Yue, Peng Wang, Bin Wen, Xiaojue Zhang
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) impairs cognitive function. Systemic inflammation plays important role in cognitive deficits. It remains unclear if systemic inflammation in TBI is associated with poor cognitive function. METHODS: From January 2018 to December 2020, two groups of subjects were recruited: patients with TBI (n = 120), and healthy control (n = 120), followed up to 3 months. Blood was collected from TBI patients and healthy control, and serum inflammatory cytokines including interferon-α (IFN-α), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) were measured at baseline and end of 3 months. Multivariate regression was used for analysis for the relationship between cognitive function and inflammatory cytokines. RESULTS: Inflammatory cytokines were higher in patients with brain injury and remained high at end of 3 months. Some cytokines such as IFN-α, IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α were associated with worsening memory and predicted poor performance. CONCLUSION: Systemic inflammation in patients with TBI predicts poor cognitive function.