The Importance of Sex and Age in Repetitive Mild Traumatic Brain Injury
Date
2022-05
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Abstract
Adolescence is the age group who experience the highest rates of mild traumatic brain injuries (mTBI). In part due to high risk-taking situations and sensation seeking behaviours adolescents are also at high risk for repetitive mTBIs (RmTBI). As a field, we know shockingly little about the risk factors to receive mTBI, immediate, and long-term outcomes following mTBI in this age group. Although sex appears to exert the greatest influence on these outcomes, even less is known about mTBI and RmTBI in female adolescents. Previous research has focused on adult males, but it is becoming ever clearer that understanding the pathophysiology of underrepresented groups (females and adolescents) may help us fully appreciate the sequelae of mTBI and RmTBI. The review article in chapter two highlights what is currently known about mTBI in adolescence, the role of microglia, and generates hypotheses about the potential long-term consequences of injuries during this critical window of development. The research article in chapter three translates an ecologically valid model of RmTBI from rats to mice and probes the dynamics of the neuroinflammatory response in adolescents, specifically focusing on time- and region-dependent dynamics of microglia. The research article in chapter four directly compares the adolescent and adult behavioural, microglial, and neuronal response to RmTBI. Chapter five probes the influence of epigenetics by manipulating paternal preconception environment and transfer of these experiences to adolescent offspring responses to RmTBI. My current research provides new research directions for future experiments, particularly highlighting the need to include underrepresented groups; emphasizing that females are not small males and adolescents are not small adults. Understanding the age- and sex-specific pathophysiological mechanisms at play following RmTBI will allow us to identify new targeted avenues to treat diverse populations who experience these recurring injuries.
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Keywords
Microglia, Spine Density, Sex Differences, Paternal, Complement Proteins
Citation
Eyolfson, E. (2022). The importance of sex and age in repetitive mild traumatic brain injury (Doctoral thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.