Monoaminergic agonists for acute traumatic brain injury.

Background: Although there have been considerable gains in understanding the cascade of events that lead to secondary injury after traumatic brain injury (TBI), efforts to translate this understanding into new therapeutic, so-called neuroprotective approaches, have so far proven disappointing. As an alternative, there is growing interest in approaches to enhance brain repair after injury. Animal models suggest that agents enhancing monoaminergic (MA) transmission, particularly amphetamines, promote motor recovery from focal brain injury and it is proposed that this might represent a complementary means of therapeutic intervention in the later post-injury phase.

Noradrenergic agonists for acute traumatic brain injury.

Background: Although there have been considerable gains in understanding the cascade of events that lead to secondary injury after traumatic brain injury (TBI), efforts to translate this understanding into new therapeutic, so-called neuroprotective, approaches have so far proven disappointing. Animal models suggest an alternative strategy: agents enhancing monoaminergic transmission, particularly amphetamines, have been shown to promote motor recovery from focal brain injury and it has been suggested that this might represent a complementary means of therapeutic intervention in the later post-injury phase.

Objectives: To evaluate the evidence that amphetamines improve final outcome after traumatic brain injury.