Diagnosis and Monitoring of Neuronal Lesion in Severe Brain Injury

Abstract

Objective: to search for an accessible, valid, and easy-to-use method for the diagnosis and monitoring of a neuronal lesion in severe brain injury (SBI). Subjects and methods. Thirty-three patients aged 18—55 years with isolated SBI (the Glasgow coma scores for admission consciousness were 6±2) were examined; the serum content of neuron-specific protein S-100B was further analyzed. Results and discussion. The cell damage marker concentration was substantially increased in the acute period of brain injury. When the pathological process followed a favorable course, S-100B was considerably decreased just on day 2 of the disease. When the changes were negative, S-100B concentrations remained virtually unchanged or even increased, which was indicative of secondary brain reperfusion/ischemic lesions. The mean baseline marker level varied with the type of brain injury diagnosed by computed tomography; the highest figures being noted in the groups where significant brain tissue lesion was detected. Key words: severe brain injury, prognosis, S-100B protein.