Inflammatory changes in optic nerve after closed-head repeated traumatic brain injury: Preliminary study.

Background: Closed-head, repeated, mild traumatic brain injury (r-mTBI) leads to inflammatory and degenerative changes in the optic nerve of young wild type mice. This work has investigated whether similar changes may be present when the same model is applied to htau mice, a transgenic mouse in which the non-mutated human tau gene is expressed on a null murine tau background.

Methods: This study investigated neuropathological changes in the optic nerve in both young (15 weeks) and old (65-70 weeks) htau mice at 24 hours after r-mTBI or anaesthesia only (r-sham).

Chronic cerebrovascular abnormalities in a mouse model of repetitive mild traumatic brain injury.

Primary Objective: To investigate the status of the cerebrovasculature following repetitive mild traumatic brain injury (r-mTBI).

Research Design: TBI is a risk factor for development of various neurodegenerative disorders. A common feature of neurodegenerative disease is cerebrovascular dysfunction which includes alterations in cerebral blood flow (CBF).