Plasma Lipid Profiles Change with Increasing Numbers of Mild Traumatic Brain Injuries in Rats.

Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) causes structural, cellular and biochemical alterations which are difficult to detect in the brain and may persist chronically following single or repeated injury. Lipids are abundant in the brain and readily cross the blood-brain barrier, suggesting that lipidomic analysis of blood samples may provide valuable insight into the neuropathological state. This study used liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) to examine plasma lipid concentrations at 11 days following sham (no injury), one (1×) or two (2×) mTBI in rats.